Mathilde-von-Mevissen Funding
Promotion of doctoral positions for women
For TH Köln, actively promoting equal opportunities for women and men is an integral part of sustainable university development. With the Mathilde von Mevissen funding program, female master's graduates and doctoral researchers at TH Köln have the opportunity to pursue a doctorate in cooperation with a university or with Promotionskolleg NRW.
Women with a master's degree, who are pursuing (or would like to pursue) a doctoral project at TH Köln, and who meet the requirements of the respective doctoral regulations can apply for funding for up to 36 months.
Women doctoral researchers at TH Köln who have not previously received funding from the Mathilde von Mevissen program can apply for funding to complete their doctorate. This funding can cover up to twelve months.
The funding program is primarily aimed at female doctoral candidates from degree programs in which the proportion of women pursuing a doctorate is significantly below 50 percent. However, applications from all faculties and subjects are welcome.
Funding is provided through the partial financing of a TV-L E 13 position as a research associate. Co-financing is provided in equal parts by the applicant professor at the faculties.
More detailed information on the application process will be available here on January 28, 2026. Application deadline: March 2, 2026.
Doctoral researchers who have previously received Mathilde von Mevissen funding:
Mathilde von Mevissen-Figur am Kölner Rathausturm
(Image: Raimond Spekking, wikimedia commons)
Who was Mathilde von Mevissen?
Mathilde von Mevissen (1848-1924) from Cologne was one of the most influential women's rights activists of the 19th and 20th centuries with her initiatives to improve educational opportunities for girls and women. In her tireless struggle to get women admitted to universities, she came to believe that women can only get an academic education if they meet the same educational requirements as men. To improve girls 'education in Cologne, she founded, with the support of friends and acquaintances, the association "Mädchengymnasium Köln", with the help of which she established a humanistic girls' high school. After the Prussian reform of the girls' school system in 1908, the school became a full-fledged girls' high school and was taken over from the city of Cologne. In 1909, the association "Mädchengymnasium Köln" was transferred to the "Verein Frauenstudium" and from now on devoted itself to the financial support of female students. Mathilde von Mevissen insisted on admitting up to three female students herself and supporting all female students as a mentor in coping with their everyday university life.
