The programme

• Drawing on internationally well-established research environments based in the fields of Anthropology, Global Studies, and the Study of Religion, a particular strength of the PhD programme is interdisciplinarity. Strong research environments dedicated to exploring and integrating methods from beyond the Humanities, e.g. in the study of culture, cognition and religion as well as in human security and international development, offer students unique opportunities for the pursuit of new directions in and across the associated disciplines. At the same time, strong individual research environments ensure disciplinary training at the highest levels.
• The programme draws on well-established research and teaching in European and Asian Studies, the Middle East, Africa, and the circumpolar regions. Collaborations with institutions in the respective regions and with leading universities in Australia, across Europe and North America provide extensive opportunities for international research and training.
• Current core research areas include: ethnographic methods; experimental anthropology; visual anthropology; welfare, children and youth; democracy, globalization and transnational mobility; contemporary religion and contemplative traditions; history of religions; cognitive science of religion; gender and politics; human security and post-conflict studies.
• Theoretical interests are founded on a combination of solid social and human science theories, and range from phenomenology, post-structuralism and grounded theory over various comparative, sociological and historically-based approaches to cognitive science.
• All B-level courses of the study programme will be available in English. The programme is affiliated with the national PhD education networks for Anthropology, International Area Studies and the Study of Religion.

Research facilities available

• In the context of collaborations with researchers in the cognitive neuro- and behavioral sciences in the context of MindLab some PhD projects draw on the world-class experimental facilities at AU. 

Geographic location

• All students are provided offices in close proximity to their principal disciplinary environments, predominantly on the main campus in Aarhus.
• Research stations are being established on Mauritius and in Australia.

National cooperation

• Courses in Anthropology are offered in collaboration with the Institute for Anthropology at the University of Copenhagen.

Approx. number of PhD students

• 50-60