This book describes and analyses the doctoral students in the humanities at the Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität zu Berlin and at Columbia University, New York, from 1871 to 1913 as well as the reforms related to the doctoral programs at these institutions. It uses primary sources such as the doctoral theses and curricula vitae of the doctoral students, but also university reports, published statistics, censuses of state institutions as well as newspapers and biographical collections. The aim is to compare the doctoral students at these two universities according to number, age, gender, religion, place of birth and social background. It also includes a comparison of the reforms and transformations of the two universities, with a focus on those that have most affected the doctoral students. Rather than focusing on the careers of doctoral students after graduation (as in most other studies), this book focuses on the background and life of doctoral students before graduating from their university. In this way, this book will contribute to an understanding of the development of universities and societies in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, considering the debates on the German Sonderweg, the professionalisation of education and cross-border exchanges among scholars wherever possible
