As part of the interdisciplinary doctoral specialisation Dimensions of Concern [de], the Evangelisches Studienwerk Villigst financed four scholarships each year for doctoral research focused on concern-related topics. The programme began in autumn 2014, and in 2019, an extension was granted, allowing it to continue until 2023.

The following doctoral projects were conducted in Practical Philosophy within the framework of this specialisation funding:

Birthe Frenzel 's doctoral project, "Nudging in the name of environmental care", explores the extent to which "weakly paternalistic" measures could be considered legitimate in the interest of environmental protection. The project focuses particularly on situations where those affected by such measures recognise a gap between their concern for environmental integrity and their everyday behaviour.

Henk van Gils successfully completed his doctoral project. As part of his project, he analysed the structures (and pathologies) of the practical self-relationship of rational agents, with a particular focus on philosophical interpretations of self-distancing and self-identification. His thesis, entitled On the Guiding Role of Practical Identities in Practical Deliberation, was accepted in 2019 as part of a binational doctoral procedure (Antwerp/Greifswald).

Applications for scholarships for relevant doctoral projects [de], along with corresponding preliminary enquiries, are welcome.