Studying History and Cultural Studies is an invitation to explore the world — its stories, its cultures, and its diversity.
Our faculty covers a vast range of study programs, reflecting the full spectrum of human culture, from the Stone Age to the present day, and spanning regions from Europe and the Mediterranean to the Near East, Africa, and beyond. We explore these cultures in all their forms — from written texts and material artifacts to art, music, and everyday life — using a variety of approaches, including archaeology, philology, history, art history, musicology, and anthropology.
On our website, you’ll find everything you need to know about our studying and research focus, as well as information about the Dean’s Office, Examination Office, and committees. Each of our institutes has its own dedicated page: The Department of History (Historisches Seminar), Institute for Ancient Studies (Institut für Altertumswissenschaften, IAW), the Department of Anthropology and African Studies (Institut für Ethnologie und Afrikastudien, ifeas) and the Institute of Art History and Musicology (Institut für Kunstgeschichte und Musikwissenschaft, IKM).
The institutes offer more than 30 study programs, providing not only essential knowledge and tools for scientific work but also specialized topics and research questions. The academic degree of Dr. phil. can also be obtained at the faculty.
The student mentoring program provides support with course scheduling, campus orientation, and other resources to ensure a great start to your studies.
The Dean’s Office is the central administration of the faculty, led by Dean Prof. Dr. Heide Frielinghaus, Vice Dean Prof. Dr. Nico Nassenstein, and Dean of Studies Prof. Dr. Stefanie Acquavella-Rauch. The Management is handled by Dr. Steffen Haug, Dr. Oliver Gupte (deputy), with assistance from Sabine Wilke and Ines Bergner.
The Faculty Council (FBR) serves as the joint executive committee for the four institutes. It includes representatives from all status groups and is responsible for discussing and deciding on fundamental matters. The Dean serves as its chair. Additional committees provide recommendations, while equality and diversity are especially supported.
The Examination Office of the Faculty manages the final modules of the Bachelor and Master of Arts degree programs, as well as doctoral procedures. It is part of the Dean’s Office. Your main contacts are Dr. Steffen Haug (Head of Office) along with examination managers Nicola Barthelmes, Ines Bergner, and Britta Will.
The Faculty of History and Cultural Studies offers a wide range of academic opportunities across its four institutes with 18 specialized departments, and over 30 subjects. Students can earn degrees including the Bachelor of Arts/Education (BA/BEd), Master of Arts/Education (MA/MEd), and Doctor of Philosophy (Dr. phil.). From their first semester to graduation, students are supported by 37 professors and over 250 staff members dedicated to teaching and academic guidance.
Students have access to current and fundamental research through a range of resources, including digital media, subject-specific libraries (here), archives, collections, and the centrally located University Library Our institutes engage in interdisciplinary exchange and maintain close collaborations with internationally renowned institutions, such as the Leibniz Institute for Archaeology (LEIZA), as the successor institution to the former Romano-Germanic Central Museum, the Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG), the Academy of Sciences and Literature Mainz (Akademie der Wissenschaften), and the Institute for Historical Regional Studies (IGL). These institutions are part of a scientific alliance based in Mainz, fostering a strong connection between research and teaching.
The faculty participates actively in collaborative research projects.
Among its key initiatives is the profile area 40,000 Years of Human Challenges: Perception, Conceptualization and Coping in Premodern Societies, funded by the Ministry of Science and Health of Rhineland-Palatinate. This program brings together internationally recognized research groups known for their outstanding achievements.
Another notable initiative is the Early Modernity: Figurations of the National: Transfer Spaces – Contact Zones – Media (Early Modernity), which also receives support from the Ministry. This collaborative effort brings together scholars exploring new research fields that help shape the university’s academic profile.
The faculty is also home to the DFG Research Training Group GRK 2304: Byzanz und die euromediterranen Kriegskulturen. Austausch, Abgrenzung und Rezeption, investigating the cultural interactions between Byzantium and its neighboring regions. Beyond these large-scale projects, our institutes are home to many other DFG-funded and third-party funded research initiatives.
Internationalization plays a key role in Faculty 07 — both for students and teaching staff. The institutes maintain strong international networks: from ifeas with its focus on African Studies, to IAW’s archaeological collaborations, all the way to the Historical Seminar and IKM with their joint degree programs such as Mainz–Dijon. The faculty also runs its own internationalization initiatives.
A central focus lies on mobility abroad: students can take part in a wide range of scholarship and exchange programs to gain academic, linguistic, and personal experience in other countries. Faculty members may also receive funding, e.g., through the EU’s Erasmus+ program to teach short-term courses at partner universities abroad.
We support international degree-seeking and exchange students to help ensure a successful academic stay at the faculty. For general information, please visit the pages for student exchange (here).
