LIMES, the Latin word for border, is a doctoral programme for 13 talented PhD candidates in the domain of the humanities and social sciences, centred on the theme of ‘The Hardening and Softening of Borders: Europe in a Globalising World’.

Borders – as reality and metaphor – exist not only on the edge of the territory of the nation-state or the European Union, but also in numerous areas within and beyond these geographical units, not least in the minds of people. Borders are intrinsically moveable and permeable, and it is precisely this malleability that LIMES researchers focus on.

The project LIMES is led by the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences (FASoS), thereby working closely with University College Maastricht (UCM), the School of Business and Economics (SBE), and the Faculty of Law (FL). Maastricht University, with four faculties and 13 PhD candidates, is literally and figuratively exploring and crossing borders.