BruLau – PhD School in Gender Studies

Enhance your doctoral research with BruLau, a French-speaking summer school offering essential tools to integrate gender, ethics, reflexivity, and restitution into your work!

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CIVIS focus area
Society, culture, heritage
Open to
  • Phd
  • PhD candidates/students
Field of studies
  • Social Science and humanities
Type
  • Blended Intensive Programmes (BIP)
Course dates
27 March - 12 June 2026
Apply by
30 octobre 2025 Apply now

BruLau is an international French-speaking summer research school in gender studies, designed to provide theoretical, epistemological, and methodological tools for integrating the gender dimension in doctoral research, including aspects such as ethics, restitution, and reflexivity. 

Organised since 2018 by ULB's Interdisciplinary research centre on gender, equality and sexuality (STRIGES) and UNIL's Gender Studies Centre (CEG), each edition has brought together around a hundred doctoral students and researchers in social sciences.

From 2025, the event is organised by 4 universities in the CIVIS alliance (AMU, ULB, UNIL,UB) and will be extended to other disciplines, including the arts, literature, law and economics. BruLau also aims to deepen collaboration with African universities and to promote an intersectional approach to gender knowledge production.

Upon completing the doctoral school, students will have gained a deeper and more comprehensive understanding of the topics covered in the conferences. The presence of experienced researchers will allow participants to engage with the latest and most relevant publications and debates in the field.

Through workshops and "tête-à-tête" sessions, students will receive personalized feedback on their written work, refining both their critical analysis and methodological approaches. Additionally, guidance on publication strategies and career development, along with direct interaction with established international scholars, will provide valuable insights into shaping their academic trajectory.

BruLau offers a unique opportunity to expand professional networks and actively contribute to a dynamic exchange of expertise, fostering academic and cultural dialogue on a global scale. More specifically, the programme aims to offer students:

A. Personalized support for PhD students in gender studies at various stages of their academic careers. Whether at the beginning or nearing the completion of their doctoral training, this program provides:

  1. Epistemological, theoretical, and methodological resources to support research across multiple disciplines (which can also count towards their training credits).
  2. A conducive environment for building academic networks, fostering exchanges, and promoting international mobility within the scholarly community.

B. A platform and showcase for French-speaking research in gender studies. BruLau highlights both local research—featuring a majority of scholars from the region—and research conducted in diverse social and geographical contexts. The program includes a broad range of mentors, ensuring diversity in disciplines, academic status, and generations while maintaining a strong international scope. Special attention is given to inviting colleagues from the Global South for each edition.

To maintain a sustainable pace, BruLau is structured into two virtual phases and one in-person session:

  • an initial virtual preparation period in March 2026
  • a week of physical mobility in June 2026
  • a virtual follow-up and evaluation period in June 2026

Main topics addressed

The program provides to the students knowledge related to the following fields:

  • Anti-gender campaigns and de-democratization
  • Eastern / Western Europe: Migration, Race and Care
  • Gender, race and sexuality in video fames
  • Transnational feminist solidarities
  • Ethical, methodological and epistemological challenges in studying anti-gender campaigns
  • Feminist ethnography
  • Mentoring on academic careers and workshops on publishing

The topics will be completed in the coming period and will be posted ont BruLau's web page.

Learning outcomes

By taking this course, students will be able to:

1. develop their knowledge in gender studies.

2. acquire knowledge of the themes addressed in the BruLau School in relation to one's own research interests.

3.  better master the theoretical, epistemological and methodological tools for dealing with the gender dimension in one's own research (ethics, restitution, reflexivity, etc.).

4.  develop the cross-disciplinary skills needed in the research profession (publication strategy, collaborative research, exploitation of results, etc.).

5.  develop the potential for medium or long-term inclusion in international gender studies research networks.

For a French version, containing detailed information about the BruLau 2026 program and team, please visit https://brulau2026.sciencesconf.org/"?
Dates:  27 March -  12 June 2026 Total workload:  150 hours
Format: Blended ECTS: 6*
Location: Bucharest, Romania Language: French (C1)
Contact: ionela.baluta@unibuc.ro  

*recognition of ECTS depends on your home university

Physical mobility

The physical part of course will be held in Bucharest, (University of Bucharest) from 1st until 5th June 2026. The program is structured as follows:

  • Day 1: Welcome and First Major Lecture/ 5h
  • Day 2: Major Lecture + Workshop on gender + Workshop on gender / 6h
  • Day 3: Major Lecture + Workshop on gender + Methodology Workshop + “Tête à Tête” (Speed dating) / 7h
  • Day 4: Major Lecture + Workshop on gender + “Tête à Tête” / 5h30
  • Day 5: Professional Session + “Tête à Tête” + graduation ceremony / 4h30

The activities for the physical week are structured as following:

  • Major Lectures aim to enhance students’ knowledge in gender studies by providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of a particular field or issue.
  • Workshops on Gender: Students’ pre-submitted texts (thesis chapters, draft articles, etc.) are discussed by mentors selected based on their discipline, subject matter, methodology, or field. These workshops help students deepen their understanding of the themes explored at BruLau in relation to their own research interests while strengthening their grasp of theoretical, epistemological, and methodological tools for integrating gender perspectives into their work.
  • Methodology Workshops & Professional Sessions focus on refining methodological reflection (ethics, restitution, reflexivity, etc.) and developing practical skills essential for the research profession, such as publication strategies, collaborative research, result dissemination, and job search techniques.
  • “Tête à Tête” sessions aim to foster connections and long-term integration into international gender studies research networks.

Virtual part

The virtual part of course will be held from 27th March to 12th June 2026.

The virtual component consists of two sessions:

  • The first session, scheduled for March 27, 2026, aims to introduce participants to the main objectives of the in-person week, including key bibliographic references. It will also provide an overview of the thesis topics to be discussed, allowing participants to prepare effectively for the various paper discussion workshops.
  • The second virtual session, taking place after the in-person week (June 2026), will serve as a collective debriefing. This session will focus on two key aspects: (a) addressing any remaining questions and (b) identifying the most valuable activities based on participants' feedback while brainstorming improvements for future editions.

Assessment

Students will be assessed based on the following:

  • Attendance at all conferences and workshops.
  • Workshops on Gender: Submission of a text (minimum 10 pages) related to personal research (e.g., thesis chapter, draft article) before the in-person mobility event. The submitted text will be presented and collectively discussed during the workshops, facilitated by a mentor.

Objectives:

  • Enhance participants' knowledge of gender studies, particularly in relation to the themes of the 2026 edition.
  • Strengthen theoretical, epistemological, and methodological approaches to integrating the gender dimension into one's research.
  • Foster reflexivity and improve academic writing skills through the collective discussion of submitted texts.
  • Encourage critical cultural dialogue by ensuring multidisciplinary and geographically diverse participation (within and beyond Europe).

 

The programme is open to PhD students enrolled at CIVIS member universities, with a background in Gender studies with an interdisciplinary approach - sociology, political science, anthropology, law, history, psychology, communication, literature, AI, etc.

To be selected, students are required to: 

  • Submit their thesis proposal and a covering letter in support of the application to Brulau prior to the virtual mobility. The thesis proposal is presented and discussed collectively during the virtual mobility.
  • The doctoral school is open to all disciplines, but the gender perspective must be central to doctoral research. This research must also be in line with the school's annual themes (according to the programme of Major lectures) and show an appropriate degree of problematization and construction of the research subject.
  • To be able to present and discuss their work in French.

Critical thinking, systematic understanding of gender studies field, ability to communicate with the academic and scientific community on the research topic, being able to present and discuss the  work in French, are also desirable skills to follow the course.

This CIVIS course is a Blended Intensive Programme (BIP) - a new format of Erasmus+ mobility which combines online teaching with a short trip to another campus to learn alongside students and professors across Europe.

NB: Visiting Students - Erasmus Funding Eligibility

To be eligible for your selected CIVIS programme, you must be a fully enrolled student at your CIVIS home university at the time you will be undertaking the programme. 

This course is also open to students with the same academic profile, who are enrolled at a CIVIS strategic partner university in Africa. Please check here, if you can apply and this particular course is open to applications from your university. Successful applicants will receive an Erasmus+ grant covering travel and subsistence costs during their stay. Applicants should be willing to extend their stay at the host university for 1-3 weeks for additional research and/or training purposes.

Partner universities:

  • University of Lausanne (Switzerland)
  • Université Libre de Bruxelles (Belgium)
  • University of Bucharest (Romania)
  • Aix-Marseille Université (France)
  • Université Hassan II de Casablanca (Morocco)
  • Université Cheikh Anta Diop de Dakar (Senegal)
  • Université de Sfax (Tunisia)

Professors:

Provisional list of mentors/ instructors (it will be completed in the coming period):

Send your application by filling in the online application form by 30 October 2025, including:

  • CV
  • Motivation letter
  • Research project outline

Students’ applications will be evaluated based on:

  • Assiduity: participation in all academic activities.
  • Quality of submitted texts: the focus on gender, the degree to which their research subject has been problematised and constructed, the consistency of approach to at least one major aspect of a research: epistemological discussions; theoretical perspectives; methodological tools.
  • Critical engagement in activities: active participation in the workshops (lecture and feedback on the texts); critical contribution to final virtual session.

Apply now

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