VDS of Theology and Research on Religion
The Vienna Doctoral School of Theology and Research on Religion VDTR offers innovative, research-led doctoral education in an environment that fosters interdisciplinary thinking. “Theology, Divinity and Religious Studies” is consistently ranked among the University of Vienna’s top subject areas, attesting to the high quality of the education and research opportunities available to our PhD candidates.
With dedicated advisors, small cohorts, and a vibrant peer culture, every PhD candidate receives the support they need throughout their PhD journey. The VDTR supports and trains doctoral candidates within an active network spanning Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, and Islamic theology, religious studies, Islamic studies, Jewish studies, and the philosophy of religion.
Application language: Applications to this doctoral school may be submitted in English or German.
Update: The application deadline was 2 March, 14:00 CET.
You can still access your submitted application via the Application Portal.
Please do not inquire about the status of your application. All candidates will be informed of the outcome of the selection process as soon as possible.
Supervisor / Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Appel´s research areas are Hegel and German Idealism, Philosophy of Religion, Philosophy of the Bible, Eschatology and Philosophy of history. His thought aims at a disclosure of the meaning of history in a contemporary societal context. One of his achievements is the reconstruction of Hegelian philosophy under the consideration of postmodern (Derrida, Deleuze, Agamben) and phenomenological (Heidegger, Merleau-Ponty) critiques and readings. Appel tries to put forth an innovative reading of Hegel that is sensitive to alterity and finitude. Against this backdrop Appel discloses the relevance of Hegelian categories for contemporary discourses on philosophy of religion, society and political theology. He has engaged in developing a theological theory of time and history, not least in dialogue with the natural sciences. Another focus of his work is the philosophical interpretation of biblical texts and demonstrating the fruitfulness of biblical categories for philosophical thinking today.
Weblink for further information: www.kurt-appel.at
Email: kurt.appel(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
I supervise dissertation projects that explore questions related to the Jewish literary and cultural history of the rabbinic period (70–1040 CE). | Ich betreue Dissertationsprojekte, die Fragestellungen zur jüdischen Literatur- und Kulturgeschichte der rabbinischen Periode untersuchen (70–1040 n. Z.).
Weblink for further information: https://judaistik.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/institutsmitarbeiterinnen/constanza-cordoni/
Email: constanza.cordoni(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Systematic Theology, Philosophy of Religion, Theology of Religions, German Idealism (Schelling), Paul Tillich; History of Modern Protestant Theology
Weblink for further information: https://etfst.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/christian-danz/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Religion and Aesthetics
Religion and Arts
Philosophy of Religion
Religion and Poetry
Friedrich Hölderlin
Weblink for further information: https://jakob-helmut-deibl.at/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
– Religious Rituals in Film/Movies
– Anglican Liturgical Patrimony (in the Catholic Church)
– Ordination Rites (in different liturgical traditions)
– Bilingual Interim Missals after the Second Vatican Council (1964–1969)
– Ritual Studies in the Context of a Modified “Comparative Liturgiology”
– Liturgy and Ecumenism
– Liturgies of the Oriental Churches
– Liturgy and Hygiene
– Prayer for the Deceased
– Coronation Rites/Rituals
...
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Further possible research themes or topics of dissertations:
+ The Bilingual French Interim Missal
+ The Bilingual Portuguese Interim Missal
+ Funerals in Film/Movies
+ The Portrait of Priests in Film/Movies from a Liturgical Perspective
+ The History of Liturgical Studies in Austria
+ Commemoration of the Dead in Liturgical Practices (ecumenical)
+ The Liturgy of the Hours in the Personal Ordinariates (for former Anglicans)
+ Liturgical Celebrations during Pandemics – Challenges and Perspectives
+ Liturgical Culture during the Plague in the Middle Ages and Early Modern Times
+ Liturgical Services with Disabled Persons
and many more
Weblink for further information: https://lit-ktf.univie.ac.at/forschung/forschungsprojekte
Email: hans-juergen.feulner(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Basic questions of Christian social ethics, ethics of public communication (media ethics), technology ethics/digital ethics, political ethics/practical social philosophy, philosophical pragmatism, social empiricism and ethics, normative aspects of social theory
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
I am particularly looking for doctoral candidates in the field of society and AI, especially those interested in how AI transformations affect issues of justice.
Weblink for further information: https://se-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/alexander-filipovic/
Email: alexander.filipovic(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Hebrew Bible: Psalms; Lamentations; anthropology; gender studies; metaphor theory; Jewish and Christian dialogue
Weblink for further information: https://etfat.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/marianne-grohmann/#c162780
Email: marianne.grohmann(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Philosophy of Religion, Ontological Arguments, Wittgenstein, Simone Weil, Philosophy and Hebrew Bible
Weblink for further information: https://members.phl.univie.ac.at/heinrich-ramharter/
Email: esther.heinrich(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Islamic Studies, Islamic Law, Cultural and Intellectual History of Islam, History of Ideas
Weblink for further information: https://orientalistik.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/staff/details-staff/user/ivanyik80/inum/1073/backpid/86978/
Email: katharina.ivanyi(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research focuses on Qurʾānic studies, including Qurʾānic sciences and exegesis and Islamic textual studies. I work on Isrāʾīliyyāt traditions, the environmental and intertextual contexts of the Qurʾān, and the study of Islamic primary sources through philological and historical-critical methods. Further areas of interest include the early history of Islam, the sources and formation of Islamic traditions, the cultural and religious landscape of the Arabian Peninsula, and the historical development of Islamic mysticism. My approach is grounded in comparative hermeneutics and the critical study of Islamic texts in their Late Antique context.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Possible doctoral topics may include comparative studies of the Qurʾān and Syriac Christian literature; Christian–Muslim encounters in Late Antiquity; intertextual relations between Qurʾānic discourse and Syriac patristic traditions; Qurʾānic archaeology and the material culture of early Islam; the reception of biblical and para-biblical material in early Islamic literature; and comparative hermeneutical approaches to Qurʾānic and Eastern Christian texts.
Weblink for further information: https://iits.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/professorships/tugrul-kurt/
Email: tugrul.kurt(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research interests are religious diversity and changing religious landscapes, youth religiosity, digital religion, feminist perspectives on religion, political aspects of Christianity and Islam in Europe, the intersections of migration and religion, empirical methods in studying religion;
As a supervisor, I am aim to accompany you in developing your ideas, supporting you in making smart research desicions and offer responsivity and availability.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects:
- Politicization of religion in schools
- Religion and secularity in parliament
- Religious communities in transformation
- Youth religiosity in digital times
- (your own ideas are welcome!)
Weblink for further information: astrid-mattes.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Orthodox Theology (Dogmatics, Systematic Theology, Ecumenical Theology)
Eastern Christian Studies (History of Theology, Theology of Spirituality)
Actual research interests: Contemporary Christological Discourses; Ecclesiology; Theological Discourses in Orthodox-Catholic Dialogue; Diaspora-Theology; Theology of Eastern Christian Spirituality in Modern Contexts
Weblink for further information: https://okk-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/#c53823
Email: ioan.moga(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
My research fields are the History of Moral Theology (especially from the Middle Ages to modern times), Fundamental Questions of Theological Ethics, Bioethics (especially beginning of life, xenotransplantation, and other fields related to the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine), Ecological ethics, and intercultural ethics.
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
The research field "Theological Ethics" contributes to the Institute for Ethics and Law in Medicine, to Central European networks on bioethics as well as to European and international networks in Theological Ethics. Main supervision languages are German and English, but other languages (French, Italian, Spanish) are welcome.
Weblink for further information: https://st-theoethik-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/mueller-sigrid/
Email: sigrid.mueller(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Theology and history of the Eastern Churches (Orthodox Churches and Eastern Catholic Churches, also Oriental Orthodox Churches). Focus areas: Modern history of the Eastern Churches in Central/Eastern Europe and in the Habsburg Empire (18th-20th c.); religion and churches in Ukraine (including the current context of Russia's war against Ukraine and legal issues); identity, tradition, and reception in the Eastern Churches; Ecumenism; Eastern church law (especially of the Eastern Catholic Churches); liturgy and art (iconography) of Byzantine churches.
Weblink for further information: https://okk-ktf.univie.ac.at/
Email: thomas.nemeth(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
New Testament, Early Christianity, Second Temple Judaism, Social History of the Greco-Roman World
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects:
Epigraphical Commentary on the New Testament (on one of the smaller Pauline [Deutero-Pauline] epistels or part of a bigger one)
Any topic connected to Paul's letter Romans is welcomed.
Topics on aspects of the life of Greco-Roman associations.
Weblink for further information: https://etfnt.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/markus-oehler/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
History of Christianity/Church history, especially in late antiquity/early Byzantine era and early modern times.
Special focus:
Regarding antiquity/the early Byzantine era, I will gladly supervise projects touching upon: Christianisation, social history, hagiography, martyr cults, epigraphy, archaeology. The preferred area is the eastern Mediterranean region, esp. Asia Minor.
Regarding early modern times, I am happy to supervise projects in university history, practical aspects of studying, the education of pastors; centered on middle Europe. Projects on aspects of Austrian protestantism, esp. 16th century, will be possible, too.
Projects relating to digital humanities are also very welcome.
Weblink for further information: https://etfkg.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/philipp-pilhofer/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Ritual studies, developing new rituals, spiritual care, preaching; Speaking of "God" in modern society; helping institutions (like caritas) and theories of help,
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects
Analyzing new rituals in the context of loss and burying (especially with focus on religious practices).
Comparison of preaching in an interreligous study, especially focussing on Christianity, Judaism and Islam.
Weblink for further information: https://pt-ktf.univie.ac.at/team/personen/pock/
Email: johann.pock(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
I particularly welcome applications for Ph.D. research linked to the areas of my immediate specialisation.
These include more specifically
- East Asian religions;
- new religious movements;
- millenarianism;
- esotericism/alternative religions;
- religion in Austria; and
- Asian diasporic, alternative, and/or new religion in the West. I am also happy to consider projects pertaining to the wider areas of comparative religion as well as the history of religions.
Weblink for further information: https://rw-ktf.univie.ac.at/en/lukas-pokorny/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Interreligious Dialogue (Christianity, Judaism, Islam); Religion and Migration; Religion and Values
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects:
Combatting Antisemitism after 7th October 2023; Empirical Research on interreligious dialogue Projects; Renewing Catholic Church through Christian-Jewish Dialogue; Spiritual Dimension of interreligious Dialogue; Antisemitism and (anti-Muslim Racism in the context of Migration.
Thematically focused doctoral position at the Department for Practical Theology, Faculty of Catholic Theology
Within the framework of this pooled call, I offer an additional thematically defined pre-doctoral position in the field of practical interreligious dialogue, with a particular focus on:
- Christian–Jewish dialogue,
- Christian–Islamic dialogue, or
- Christian–Jewish–Islamic dialogue.
Applicants interested in this position should:
- hold a degree in Catholic Theology or be willing to focus on Practical Theology within their doctoral studies,
- demonstrate interest in interdisciplinary approaches (social sciences, cultural studies), and
- be willing to engage actively in the research, teaching, and organisational activities of the Department of Practical Theology (according to collective agreement regulations).
Applicants should submit a research proposal that clearly situates their proposed dissertation within this thematic field.
Alongside this thematically focused position, I remain open to supervising dissertation projects across the broader fields described above.
Weblink for further information: https://pt-ktf.univie.ac.at/team/personen/polak/
Email: regina.polak(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Ancient religions, early Christianity, Greek and Roman religions, ancient Mediterranean religions, method and theory in the study of religion, anthropology of religion, theories of religion, atheism, myth, mythology, myth theories
Weblink for further information: https://rw-ktf.univie.ac.at
Email: nickolas.roubekas(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Questions of religious education, upbringing, and socialization; perspectives of children, adolescents, and adults on religion, faith, and religious educational processes; sexuality and religion from a religious-pedagogical perspective; ambiguity from a religious-pedagogical perspective; non-denominationality/non-religiosity from a religious-pedagogical perspective.
Weblink for further information: https://etfrp.univie.ac.at/en/about-us/staff/susanne-schwarz/
Email: susanne.schwarz(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Islamic Theology in Contemporary European Society
Theological Religious Pluralism
Interreligious Dialogue from a Muslim Perspective
Empirical Islamic Theology
Islamic Education in Contemporary Society
Weblink for further information: https://iits.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/professuren/zekirija-sejdini/
Email: zekirija.sejdini(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Old Testament, esp. Psalms, Daniel, feminist exegesis, gender in O.T.,
patristic reception of O.T., patristic exegesis and midrash
Weblink for further information: https://bibelwissenschaft-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/mitarbeiter/siquans-agnethe/
Email: agnethe.siquans(at)univie.ac.at
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
New Testament, Early Christianity, Early Judaism, Bible, Historical Jesus, Apostel Paul
Possible research themes or topics for doctoral projects:
Early Jesus Movement, Early Christianity, Parting of the Ways between Jews and Christians, Pauline Theology, Historical Jesus, Early Judaism and Beginning Christianity
Weblink for further information: https://bibelwissenschaft-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/mitarbeiter/tiwald-markus/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
Dogmatic theology, Christology, Ecclesiology, Eucharistic theology and sacramental theology, dialogue with Judaism, theodicy, literature and religion
Weblink for further information: https://dg-ktf.univie.ac.at/ueber-uns/team/jan-heiner-tueck/
Research Interests and Supervision Areas
- Alevi Studies (Alevi Theology, Alevi History, Bektashi Sufism, Bektashi History, etc.)
- Islamic Studies
- Sufism
- Shiism
- Heterodoxy/Heresy in Islam
- Islamic History
- Middle Eastern Studies
- Ottoman History
- Iranian History (with a focus on the Safavid period)
- Oral Tradition, Collective Memory (projects related to Religious/Islamic Studies)
Weblink for further information: https://univie.academia.edu/RizaYILDIRIM