Doctoral Students Win Competitive DAAD Scholarships
Three doctoral students Jules Anderson, Katja Riegler, and Shiqi Xu were awarded the DAAD Graduate Scholarship, chosen from more than 600 applicants to conduct research in Germany for one year.
The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) is the world’s largest organization supporting global academic exchange, providing more than 100,000 scholarships and grants annually to advance graduate study and research in Germany. Anderson, Riegler, and Xu will spend the next academic year conducting doctoral research alongside other awardees pursuing master’s degrees and non-university research.
“We are incredibly proud of Jules, Katja, and Shiqi for earning DAAD Graduate Scholarships. This honor reflects their remarkable talent and commitment to advancing knowledge across borders. We are delighted that they will share and enhance their scholarship through Germany’s vibrant academic community,” shared Karen Weber, Executive Director of the Office of University Scholars and Fellows.
A PhD candidate in history, Jules Anderson examines Nazi Germany’s U-Boat war during the Battle of the Atlantic. Their dissertation approaches the topic through a sociocultural lens, focusing on the lived experiences and perspectives of submariners. This work contributes to emerging scholarship on the new histories of Nazi Germany and World War II. With DAAD support, Anderson will work under the mentorship of Professor Jörn Leonhard at Freiburg University. Anderson previously volunteered at the Auschwitz-Birkenau Museum in Poland and worked at Walt Disney World before beginning their doctoral studies. Anderson earned their BA in Theatrical Technology and Design, Theatre, and German from North Central College.
Katja Riegler is pursuing her PhD in the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies, a joint program between Duke University and UNC-Chapel Hill. Her dissertation explores the politicization of images in 1970s literary texts, analyzing how visuality shapes political meaning. Supported by DAAD, Riegler will spend a year studying with Professor Thomas Wortmann at the University of Mannheim. She is also an award‑winning German instructor who has taught at Duke, UNC, Trinity College Dublin, and ELTE University Budapest. Riegler received a Master of Arts in Theatre, Film and Media Studies and a Master of Arts in German as a Foreign and Second Language at the University of Vienna. Beyond her academic work, she enjoys running and regularly volunteers for the Wings for Life Run; a charity event for spinal cord research.
Also a PhD candidate in the Carolina-Duke Graduate Program in German Studies, Shiqi Xu conducts research on the multifaceted concept of home around 1800, exploring how German Romantic literature rethinks origin and belonging in a period of profound instability. Her work traces how the modern fantasy of home emerged with tensions and anxieties, which continue to shape the present. Through the DAAD program, Xu will study with Professor Christian Moser at the University of Bonn. Xu has received multiple teaching awards as a German instructor at Duke and UNC, and has held a wide range of service roles, including lecture series organizer and language corridor advisor. Quadrilingual, Xu speaks Mandarin Chinese, German, French, and English. She earned her MSc from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in International Politics from Liaoning University in China.
To receive support in applying for scholarship opportunities like DAAD, Duke students and recent alumni should contact the Nationally Competitive Scholarships advisors in the Office of University Scholars and Fellows.