The Swiss Centre for Islam and Society (SZIG) is a national centre of excellence for current social issues related to Islam in Switzerland. It pursues a multi-perspective approach, which includes Islamic self-reflection as to how the multiple bases of Islamic knowledge and tradition can be transformed and integrated into a Swiss context. On the one hand, it analyses the manifestations of Islam and the day-to-day realities of Muslim men and women in Europe by means of theoretical approaches. It further investigates a possible development in Islamic thinking and Islamic self-reflection in the context of Europe. In its research, the SZIG employs interdisciplinary and intersectional methods. The research question under study determines the methodological approach.

As an inter-faculty institute, the SZIG is part of the faculties of Arts and Humanities, Theology and Law. Doctoral projects may be conducted in all three faculties provided the appropriate supervision is available.

During supervision, doctoral students remain in close contact with their supervisors and submit regular progress reports in a variety of formats. Personal networking within the institute and the University of Fribourg and further afield with relevant researchers from Switzerland and abroad allows doctoral students to benefit from very varied fields of competence.

Professors who are eligible to supervise theses

• Prof. Amir Dziri (Faculty of Humanities)

Areas of specialisation:
– Islam in Switzerland and in Europe
– Islamic History of Ideas
– Islamic Hermeneutics

Theses can be supervised in German, English and French.

• Prof. Hansjörg Schmid (Faculty of Theology or Faculty of Humanities)

Areas of specialisation:
– Interreligious Ethics (Faculty of Theology: PhD in Study of Religion, in Theological Studies or in Theology)
– Research in Contemporary Islam (Faculty of Humanities: PhD in Islam and Society)