OPEN CALL: Doctoral Scholarship at the University of Innsbruck’s Department of Art History

The University of Innsbruck is cooperating with the Kontakt Collection to offer a doctoral scholarship, sponsored by the Kontakt Collection, intended to support the authoring of a dissertation at the Department of Art History of the University of Innsbruck. This scholarship, situated in the field of art history, shall be awarded for a maximum of 24 months (interim progress review after one year; two interruptions possible) as a monthly stipend of 1,120 EUR. The scholarship shall be disbursed exclusively by way of SEPA bank transfers. To this end, scholarship recipients must provide account information (IBAN) for a bank account in a SEPA country. No further aid or allowances can be paid out. It is not possible to combine this scholarship with employment by the University of Innsbruck, but employment outside of the University of Innsbruck totaling up to 15 hours per week is permissible. The scholarship period is to begin on 1 October 2026.

Thematic orientation
The doctoral project should be situated within art history, art theory, visual studies, or a comparable field. In order to be considered, the project must feature a recognizable substantive focus on the art of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe and on the period between ca. 1960 and the present. Furthermore, it is desired that applicants take into account artistic stances and themes that are represented in the Kontakt Collection.

Supervision
The funded dissertation project shall be supervised by Univ.-Prof. Dr. Magdalena Nieslony. To this end, one must be accepted to and enrolled in the doctoral program of the University of Innsbruck, and the dissertation project must be registered with the University of Innsbruck prior to disbursement of the first monthly stipend. Co-supervision may be provided by another appropriately qualified person who is eligible to examine doctoral candidates.

Application prerequisites
Applicants must have earned a degree (MA or equivalent) in art history, art theory, visual studies, or a comparable field with excellent marks. Applications may be submitted in English or in German. One’s application materials must include the following:

–Doctoral research proposal (max. five pages)
–Bibliography for one’s research proposal (selected literature, max. two pages)
–A chapter of one’s master’s degree thesis or another scholarly text of which one was the principle author (max. 20 pages)
–Dissertation timeline
–Curriculum vitae with a list of publications, if present
–Copies of one’s final examination certificate and university degree certificate
–Contact details for two references (no letters)
–A completed copy of the form provided via the informational website of the Department of Art History

Please direct your application to Magdalena Nieslony and Kathrin Rhomberg. Applications must be submitted by April 15, 2026, formatted as a single PDF file and sent exclusively via e-mail to the following address: stipendium-kge@uibk.ac.at.

Informational queries may be addressed to Alexa Dobelmann: alexa.dobelmann@uibk.ac.at.

Selection process
A pool of pre-selected applicants will be invited to Innsbruck for personal interviews, which are planned to take place between 24 June 22 and 24, 2026.

This scholarship must be mentioned in any scholarly papers published as part of studies funded by this scholarship (including the recipient’s dissertation). The University of Innsbruck must be indicated as the recipient’s institutional affiliation.

Kontakt Collection
The Kontakt Collection was founded in 2004 as a non-profit association by the ERSTE Foundation in cooperation with Erste Group. It is devoted to artistic developments in Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe that had previously enjoyed little presence in recent art history or in public awareness. With its focus on artistic output produced within Europe’s radically changing political geographies, Kontakt assumes a special position among public and private collections.

Its holdings now encompass over 1,400 works by around 180 artists. By virtue of this programmatic orientation and its decision not to present the collected holdings at facilities of its own, Kontakt helps to improve the fragile situation of public institutions in the region—thereby opening up the art of Central, Eastern, and Southeastern Europe to new interpretations, contexts, and comprehensive inclusion in a worldwide perspective on art history.

University of Innsbruck
The University of Innsbruck, founded in 1669, is now the most important educational and research institution in western Austria and features a broad array of programs covering all fields. Situated at the heart of the Alps, it offers 28,000 students and 5,500 employees ideal conditions. Providing support to early-stage researchers in concert with Austrian and European research and educational policy initiatives is a central objective of the University of Innsbruck. Further information: uibk.ac.at.