22 Humanities PhD Degree Programs

The purpose of doctoral studies in the field of Biblical Theology is for students to cultivate, in the usual way for advanced studies, their ability to think theologically and to deepen their knowledge in the relevant biblical theology disciplines on an expert level. The field covers all aspects of the specialist study of the Bible, such as theological, literary, and historical factors. Studies focus on either the Old Testament or the New Testament field. They include the examination of biblical texts in their relevance for religious and cultural traditions. Depending on the specific dissertation project, studies may deal with textual, linguistic, literary, literary-historical, historiographical, religious, or cultural issues. Normally, they must also raise questions about the theological profile or overall testimony of Scripture in relation to relevant theological questions, and also deal with issues of understanding, communication, and interpretation. The working field of biblical studies also includes the related specialist disciplines – for example, the philology of the ancient and classical languages, the literature of the ancient Near East and the principal cultures of Antiquity, the phenomenology of religions and the study of the religions of antiquity, the archaeology and historiography of the relevant regions – and also a reflection on methodologies in the biblical field, hermeneutical issues, and the history of biblical research and its current trends. Studies are linked to an appropriate degree with other theological fields, and, like other branches of theology, have an interdisciplinary dimension.

Upon successful completion of the study program students receive an international private Doctorate in Global Studies degree awarded by the school's headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, based on the recommendation of the faculty of the local campuses where credits were earned.

The purpose of doctoral studies in the field of Historical and Systematic Theology is for students to cultivate, in the usual way for advanced studies, their ability to think theologically and to deepen their knowledge of the theological tradition in its historical and systematic dimensions on an expert level. Students learn to critically analyze and reflect on the knowledge acquired and methods used in their field and to interpret them both in their own specific contexts and in the interdisciplinary settings of contemporary scholarly knowledge. Depending on the subject of their dissertation project, their studies are focused on a specific specialized field of historical or systematic theology (for example, church history, the history of dogma, systematic theology, or dogmatics), but at the same time, they retain the appropriate breadth of vision and interdisciplinary orientation that pertains to all branches of theology.

The purpose of doctoral studies in the field of Practical and Ecumenical Theology and Theological Ethics is for students to cultivate, in the usual way for advanced studies, their ability to think theologically and to deepen their knowledge of the theological tradition in its ecumenical, practical, and ethical dimensions on an expert level. Students learn to critically analyze and reflect on the knowledge acquired and methods used in their field and to interpret them both in their own specific contexts and in the interdisciplinary settings of contemporary scholarly knowledge. Depending on the subject of their dissertation project, their studies are focused on the relevant specialization in the field of ecumenical or practical theology (for example, homiletics, catechetics, poimenics, practical ecclesiology, hymnology, or missiology), or on theological ethics or Christian social work (diaconia). At the same time, however, they retain the appropriate breadth of vision and interdisciplinary orientation that pertains to all branches of theology.

The purpose of doctoral studies in the field of Philosophy of Religion is for students to cultivate, in the usual way for advanced studies, their ability to examine, using philosophical tools and approaches, religious phenomena and issues relating to the religious dimension of human culture, including theological thought and its traditions. Students learn to reflect critically on these approaches and their results and to interpret them both in their specific context and within the framework of current academic knowledge. In direct connection with its multidisciplinary nature, this study program develops the skills necessary for analyzing complex issues, and students learn to combine various specialist perspectives and discourses in evaluating specific findings and testing hypotheses, while at the same time ensuring that the methods used are appropriate, the thinking is precise, and complex or controversial problems are expressed clearly. The study program not only leads to the acquisition of expert knowledge and skills, but also develops the ability to understand views, concepts, teachings and theories that are non-traditional or differ from one’s own, cultivates argumentative approaches to critical debate, and refines the ability to evaluate oneself and to formulate one’s own opinion or position.

The Public history Ph.D. program gives students a wider range of knowledge and skills in historical science and contemporary aspects of historical science and methodological trends which give students important competence in order to present their future scientific work in the community, professional fora, and the public. The application framework of this program leads students towards didactization of public history. The core aspect of the studies is the dissertation thesis completion which represents an original scientific work based on wide research, further and deeper focus based on literature and terrain work which uses adequate methodological processes, the benefits of didactic principles, and also results of international historiography research. The dissertation should represent a significant addition to the specific historical topic and should prove students' abilities, knowledge and skills to create an independent scientific work and its application in practice. Program without specialization.

This study program submitted for review aims to train professionals who can creatively apply their theoretical expertise in English studies within a broadly conceived context of education that spans all educational stages. The program also fosters ingenuity and flexibility, thus producing erudite experts who can reassess the ever-changing needs of foreign language teaching and incorporate these into their methodology. Perhaps most importantly, the study program submitted for review is a symbiosis between the major field of study (i.e. English philology, spanning linguistic and literary-cultural aspects) on the one hand, and didactics of English and applied didactics on the other. This is a program without specialization.

There are numerous ethical issues in every field of human activity. The aim of this programme is to critically reflect on these issues, whilst applying ethics as a philosophical discipline. Students of Applied Ethics will acquire skills in analytical thinking and qualitative research methods. They will be able to hierarchically organize, evaluate and propose solutions to dilemmas or situations requiring ethical insight in their profession, using the theoretical and practical knowledge obtained during this programme.

Computational linguistics is an interdisciplinary scientific field involving mathematics (including topics such as discrete mathematics, statistics, and probability), computer science (e.g. algorithmization, machine learning, artificial intelligence), and classical linguistics (e.g. morphology, syntax, language typology). Computational linguistics investigates language from a formal point of view, and it aims at developing methods that could be used in software applications in the field of Natural Language Processing, in which languages in their spoken or written form are handled. The program does not contain specializations.

The Doctoral Program in Modern History presents its Ph.D. students with the possibility of undertaking original research on topics dealing with Europe and North America in the 19th, 20th, and 21st centuries, as well as relationships between the two continents.

The main topics of historical sociology lie in questions of social change, modernisation, modernisation processes, civilizational analysis, the formation of states and nations, the formation of the world system, and globalization trends. These questions are studied through an extensive comparative analysis involving a wide geographical perspective and long-time intervals. Part of the field of historical sociology comprises a number of partial, specific research areas, which include issues such as collective mentalities, habits and social memory. Historical sociology is a very diverse and internally differentiated discipline that has general theoretical approaches, a number of special theories, a variety of specialised research directions, and develops research at an empirical level.

Communication is one of the determining manifestations of life of contemporary society. We have become part of communities that are formed in communication processes taking place in reality as well as in digital networks. The study programME Semiotics and Philosophy of Communication focuses on the study of communication strategies, their preconditions and their effects. The peculiarity of this programme will appear in connection with the emphasis placed on the study of visual components of communication. This way we take into account the role that nowadays belongs to images in contemporary communication. It is also important to point out that the analysis of the semiosis, mediation and communication processes is extended to expose the manipulative character of some media discourse procedures which contributes to the specific features of this program.

The study program "Algebra, Number Theory, and Mathematical Logic" offers students an advanced education in a selected area. Education allows the program graduates to follow contemporary research. It teaches them the basics of independent scientific work and how to approach various abstract problems.

The Doctor of Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Gratz College is designed for students already holding a graduate degree in Holocaust and Genocide Studies, history, or another related discipline. Doctoral students will engage in a meta-study of genocide to understand the phenomenon from a comprehensive range of academic approaches—historical, sociological, geographical, psychological, legal, theological and scientific—to inform their dissertations while reviewing the significant literature and conducting in-depth original research in the field.

The Doctoral Studies program in English Linguistics develops students’ knowledge of linguistic disciplines and prepares them for independent research activity, especially in the fields of functional syntax, pragmatics, sociolinguistics, stylistics and translation studies. Students become conversant with methods of linguistic research, which they then apply in the preparation of their doctoral dissertation.