Energy Economics
The Cologne Graduate School (CGS) in Economics, Management, and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne (UoC) together with the Institute of Energy Economics at the University of Cologne (EWI) offers a doctoral fellowship programme in energy economics. It comprises education and supervision for acquiring a Doctoral Degree or a PhD at the Faculty of Management Science, Economics, and Social Sciences at the University of Cologne. The fellowship is devoted to EWI’s research topics: Energy Markets and Energy Carriers, Decarbonisation and Sector Coupling, Market Design and Regulation, and Digitalisation and Decentralisation.
EWI Doctoral Fellows enrol into the Doctoral Study Programme in Economics or the PhD Programme in Economics at CGS, obtain a three-year doctoral scholarship, take part in the doctoral programme at EWI, and have the option to take up a part-time position at EWI as a research assistant. Moreover, qualified students without sufficient economic training will receive additional education and a corresponding extension of the scholarship period (“economics booster”). Candidates will be supervised by two members of the Faculty, including at least one Director of EWI.
Combining one of CGS’s structured graduate programmes with EWI’s research agenda and activities provides a unique and inspiring academic environment. In line with the Faculty’s vision of “Today’s ideas, tomorrow’s impact” and EWI’s founding principles, the fellowship is aimed at creating and disseminating innovative knowledge and insights about the enormously challenging transformation of the energy world.
Qualifications
We invite applications for the EWI Doctoral Fellowship to outstanding students who hold, or are close to finishing, a master’s degree (or equivalent) in economics or other fields relevant to EWI’s research agenda, such as e.g. engineering, mathematics, physics, (geo-)information systems etc. The University of Cologne is an equal opportunity employer. We strive for gender and diversity equality and welcome applications from all backgrounds.
Scholarships
The scholarship amounts to 1,515 € per month plus a yearly research budget of 1,000 €. The scholarship is awarded for a maximum period of three years and is tax-free.
Application to the EWI Fellowship
Apply to the EWI Fellowship
Applications for admission for the academic year starting October 2025 are open from 15th December, 2024 until March 15th, 2025 23:59 CET.
Late or incomplete applications will not be considered. Applicants who present a detailed competing offer by another doctoral programme may ask to reach an earlier decision (rolling admission).
Application Documents
For students with or close to completion of a master’s degree, the following documents are required:
- CV
- Letter of motivation explaining your reasons for being interested in the EWI Fellowship programme at the CGS. Please discuss your goals and your research interests. Your letter should be in English.
- School leaving certificate: A transcript from high school | A-levels | Abiturzeugnis for German residents is required.
- Certificates of the university degrees already obtained: B.Sc. and M.Sc. or equivalent.
- Academic transcripts (stamped and signed) showing course work and grades received. Where feasible, transcripts should indicate cohort rank or distinction. If you have not yet finished your current degree, please attach a preliminary grade report.
- GRE: All applicants are highly recommended to submit their General GRE's test taker's copy (quantitative score) in the online application.
- Language Proficiency Certificate (TOEFL, IELTS or Cambridge): Unless a native English speaker, please submit a copy of your language proficiency certificate in the online application (English, proficiency at level C1). For all admissible proofs please see those that are valid for the M.Sc. Economic Research.)
- Two letters of recommendation by professors or university lecturers who are able to assess your academic ability and potential for original research. After you have registered the two indicated referees will receive an e-mail with a link to upload their letter of recommendation for you.
For any document not in English or German a translation is required. At this stage of the application proces,s it is not necessary to notarize the translations. Conditional on acceptance, you will need to provide notarized translations.
Application Procedure
Step 1: Submit your registration form on the online application portal and submit all required documents. Please note that you will not be able to change your data once it has been submitted.
Step 2: Once you have completed your application, your referees will receive an automatically generated email with an upload link. Please make sure that your two reference letters are submitted by the application deadline.
The admission committee will review all complete applications and decide on who will be interviewed. Interviews will be conducted online via Zoom. We ask all applicants to refrain from asking questions about the status of applications until the beginning of May.
