About us
The Friends of the University of Potsdam was founded in February 2019 to support teaching and research activities in the field of military and violent history at the University of Potsdam.
A particular concern is the promotion of the English-language Master's programme International War Studies, which the University of Potsdam offers together with University College Dublin. The only bi-national course of study of its kind in the world is intended to contribute to a better understanding of the emergence and termination of military conflicts, the dynamics of violence triggered by them, and the relationship between the military and society.
The association continues to promote projects and events for the exchange of views between society, business and the humanities.
Call for Applications: Merit and Social Scholarships for IWS Students
The Association of Friends of the Chair of War Studies at the University of Potsdam will again generously provide two full tuition scholarships for students of the MA programme in International War Studies. They are worth 7.000 EUR each and will cover the tuition fees at UCD (EU rate). The Chair of War Studies is very grateful for this opportunity and invites applications for this scholarship from the latest cohort of IWS students.
These merit scholarships are intended to support two aspiring IWS students who have demonstrated outstanding academic potential during her or his first academic year at Potsdam.
Additionally, we are now also able – for the first time and in cooperation with a dedicated foundation – to offer one social scholarship: Irrespective of academic merit, this scholarship provides a monthly allowance to subsidize living expenses, even if it does not cover tuition fees. We encourage students coming from underprivileged backgrounds to apply for this scholarship as well.
Please send your application directly to Christian E. Rieck, who will then liaise with the president of the Association of Friends. Your application should consist of a letter of motivation explaining the reasons for your application, as well as a PULS transcript of records.
Applications are open until June 23, 2023.
Good luck from all of us at the Chair of War Studies!
A New Cohort Goes Up:
Opening Ceremony of the Academic Year and Awards
The Chair of War Studies welcomed the incoming students of its MA programs in International War Studies (IWS) and War and Conflict Studies (WCS) on 14. Oktober 2022. Over 60 students, parents, partners and friends were in attendance. The ceremony opened the new academic year with the usual pomp and circumstance: Prof. Dr. Sönke Neitzel warmly welcomed the incoming students and bade farewell to the outgoing cohort. Prof. Dr. William Mulligan, Head of the School of History at University College Dublin which is UP’s partner university for the double degree in International War Studies, also send a short welcome message by video.
Ms. Irene Sánchez Cózar was awarded the Chair of War Studies’ annual prize for best graduate. It includes a ring inscribed with the year of graduation and a prize money of 500 EUR as a recognition of this exceptional accomplishment. Ms. Sánchez, an IWS veteran who had already won last year’s UP tuition scholarship for UCD, has graduated with the best grade average ever since the inception of the WCS program in 2015. In her acceptance speech, she impressed upon her fellow students the responsibility her generation bears for making the world a safer and better place by understanding war and conflict so that humanity might take away the right lessons from history so as not to repeat past mistakes that have unleashed the hounds of war.
For the first time, the Chair was able to award two scholarships of 7.000 EUR each to help pay for the tuition fees for the Dublin year UCD. The scholarships are awarded on a merit basis as well and were won by Mr. Lukas Joselewitsch and Ms. Sarah Westvik respectively, two outstanding IWS students. Professor Neitzel thanked the benefactors at the Association of Friends of the Chair of War Studies for their sustained commitment to the MA programs, which – among many other things – includes supporting promising IWS students through a scholarship. The second scholarship was made possible by a generous grant by the consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
Prof. Dr. Ilse Wischer, Deputy Student Dean of the Faculty of Arts at the University of Potsdam, then hailed all outgoing students and presented each of them with a certificate of completion. She also read out the titles of the MA theses written in Potsdam and Dublin which showed the impressive range of academic interests our students bring to their programs.
The evening ended with snacks and sparkling wine on the terrace of the Communs, with magnificent views of the New Palace at sunset. We congratulate the awardees for their sustained efforts and academic excellence and wish all of our new students a great start into the university year. Welcome to UP!
Best Prize Speech Ms. Irene Sánchez Cózar, october 14th 2022 (pdf)
The colloquium of the DFG Research Group "Military Cultures of Violence - Illegitimate Military Violence from the Early Modern Period to the Second World War" took place on 9 and 10 February 2023. On the two work-intensive days we were kindly supported again by the Förderverein.
Vorstand
- Prof. Dr. Sönke Neitzel (1. Vorsitzender)
Seit 2015 Inhaber des Lehrstuhls für Militärgeschichte an der Universität Potsdam
- Peter Matteo (2. Vorsitzender)
Bauingenieur und Projektentwickler
- Rainer Ruff (Schatzmeister)
Rechtsanwalt und Generalsekretär des Volksbundes Deutscher Kriegsgräberfürsorge a.D.
- Dr. Alexander Schmid-Lossberg (Schriftführer)
Rechtsanwalt bei der Kanzlei SKW Schwarz
Spendenkonto
Badische Beamtenbank
IBAN: DE 2866 0908 0000 0704 1934
BIC: GENODE61BBB
Kontakt
Förderverein des Lehrstuhls für Militärgeschichte e.V. | Prof. Dr. Sönke Neitzel |