Career Mentoring for Doctoral Candidates in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Many doctoral candidates face the question of how to pursue a career outside academia after the completion of their doctorate. The programme “Career Mentoring for Doctoral Candidates in the Humanities and Social Sciences” prepares eight doctoral candidates for a professional future outside of academia. It provides them with better access to career-relevant networks and helps them to develop and expand their competences for the non-academic job market.

The programme offers a combination of three components: mentoring, networking and training. The core of the programme is the mentoring component. An experienced professional from the aspired occupational field will support the mentees for one year. The mentors will pass on their knowledge of structures, strategies and rules in various fields outside academia. In addition, the mentees will meet regularly to connect and support each other. Networking events and four workshops complete the programme.

You can find more information at: https://www.uni-jena.de/en/career-mentoring-hss

Who can apply?

The programme is aimed at doctoral candidates in the humanities and social sciences at Friedrich Schiller University Jena, who want to pursue a career outside academia after their doctoral projects and who are in the final phase of their PhD.

Support

The doctoral candidates (mentees) accepted into the programme take part in the project modules: supervision by mentors, regular peer meetings, networking events and target group-specific workshops. Up to 8 doctoral candidates are accepted into the programme.

The programme lasts 12 months and is conducted mostly in German (Exception: Selected networking events will be held in English). It starts with a preparatory workshop on 15 January 2026 and ends in December 2026.

What are the selection criteria?

The Graduate Academy will select the mentees. The mentees are selected based on the following criteria:

• Motivation for the aspired career in industry and society
• Expectations conform with the topics addressed by the mentoring programme
• The applicant shows initiative and commitment to every component of the programme
• The participation in all programme components is achievable
• The programme matches with the applicant´s career stage

The application documents can be submitted in German or English in the application portal. The application deadline is 24 November 2025.