Doc.CH: SNSF grants for 25 doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences

Since 2013, the Doc.CH funding scheme has enabled promising researchers in the humanities and social sciences to carry out a doctoral thesis. As part of the 22nd call in autumn 2023, the SNSF received a total of 138 applications, 88 of them from the humanities and 50 from the social sciences.

53 research projects in the second evaluation phase

After an initial assessment of the projects, the evaluation panels proposed 53 applications for the second phase. The applicants were invited to present their dissertation project in a personal interview.

In January 2024, the SNSF awarded 25 Doc.CH grants. The grantees will begin their work at twelve universities in Switzerland. They receive an average of 227,705 francs for their projects. This covers the project costs and their own salary. The average duration of funding is 42 months, but durations of two to four years are possible.

The next submission deadline for Doc.CH is 15 March 2024. This will be the final submission deadline for the Doc.CH funding scheme. You will find more information about the current call on the scheme's web page (see link below).

Research projects on a wide range of topics: some examples

The funded projects are highly diverse in nature. For example, Katharina Scheller (Bern University of Applied Sciences, Fine Arts) is working in her dissertation on the question of how cartographic visualisations can be further developed to convey the complex ecological functions of trees. This could improve the transfer of knowledge for ecologically oriented urban planning. In view of current global developments, this aspect is playing an increasingly important role for urban life, as urban spaces are central to urban climate and biodiversity.

Another project focuses on the principle of "one country, one voice". Despite considerable differences between countries - particularly in terms of population size - this principle governs decision-making in many international organisations. In his research, Robin Beglinger (University of Zurich, Law) wants to highlight the challenges arising from the principle of "one country, one vote" and explain how alternative systems of voting rights distribution can respond to them.

Raphael Berger (University of Bern, Archaeology) would like to investigate from an archaeological perspective how social differentiation can arise. Finds from the lakeside settlements discovered on Lake Thun in 2014 and older artefacts from richly furnished graves form the basis of his research. Using a post-humanist social archaeological approach, he wants to find out what role the topographical location of the Thun region played within the transalpine relationship networks of the Early to Late Bronze Age. He is particularly interested in how these relationship networks influenced social affiliation as well as forms of social differentiation.