The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is a non-profit foundation established by the Federal Republic of Germany for the promotion of international research co-operation. It enables highly qualified scientists and scholars not resident in Germany to spend extended periods of research in Germany and promotes the ensuing academic contacts. The Humboldt Foundation promotes an active world-wide network of researchers.

Alexander Von Humboldt Professorship

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To recruit on a long-term basis top scientists and scholars from abroad for research in Germany and to give German universities–also in cooperation with non-university research institutions–the opportunity to establish or upgrade internationally visible research focus areas, thus raising their profile.

Eligibility: Academics of all disciplines from abroad, who are internationally recognized as leaders in their field.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Professorship

Value: Up to €180,000 per year

Length of Study: 5 years

Frequency: Annual, 2 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: German universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 10

Application Procedure: Applications may be made by German universities. Non-university research institutions may also submit nominations jointly with a German university.

Closing Date: April 15th and October 15th

Funding: Government

Anneliese Maier Research Award

Subjects: Humanities, social science, cultural science, law, and economics.

Purpose: To promote research collaboration between outstanding researchers from abroad and specialist colleagues in Germany, contributing towards the further internationalisation of the humanities and social sciences in Germany.

Eligibility: Researchers from abroad who already number among the established leaders in their subject as well as researchers who are not yet so advanced in their scientific careers but who are already internationally established researchers.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: €250,000 for annually

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: Universities and Research Institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 8

Application Procedure: Nominations may be submitted by established academics in Germany. Direct applications are not accepted.

Closing Date: April 30th

Funding: Government

Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship for Experienced Researchers

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable researchers from Germany to carry out a long-term research project of their own choice in cooperation with an academic host at a research institution abroad. The host must be an academic working abroad who has already been sponsored by the Humboldt Foundation.

Eligibility: This programme targets outstanding academics from Germany who completed their doctorates less than 12 years ago and whose work demonstrates an independent academic profile. Typically applicants should be working at least at the level of an assistant professor or junior research group leader or as an independent researcher in a comparable position.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate, Professional development, Research

Type: Fellowship

Value: The provisions of the fellowship comprise a basic monthly sum and a monthly foreign allowance which may differ according to location and marital status.

Length of Study: 6–18 months; the fellowship is flexible and can be divided into as many as three stays within three years

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Research institutions or Universities

No. of awards offered: Up to 100 per year (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: Applications can be made at any time

Funding: Government

Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable researchers from Germany to carry out a long-term research project of their own choice in cooperation with an academic host at a research institution abroad. The host must be an academic working abroad who has already been sponsored by the Humboldt Foundation.

Eligibility: Open to researchers from Germany with above average qualifications, at the beginning of their academic career, who have completed their doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent) less than four years prior to the application. Please check the website for further details.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate

Type: Fellowship

Value: A basic monthly sum and a monthly foreign allowance which may differ according to location and marital status. In addition marital and child allowances may be paid.

Length of Study: 6–24 months

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Research institutions or universities

No. of awards offered: Up to 100 (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: Applications can be made at any time

Funding: Government

Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To support scientists and scholars, internationally renowned in their field, who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements which will have a seminal influence on their discipline beyond their immediate field of work.

Eligibility: The nominee must be recognised internationally as an outstanding researcher in his/her field and has a doctorate completed less than 18 years ago.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: €45,000

Length of Study: 6–12 months

Frequency: Annual, Two selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 20

Application Procedure: Nominations may be submitted by established academics in Germany. Direct applications are not accepted.

Closing Date: Nominations are accepted throughout the year

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Selection committee meetings are held twice a year in Spring and Autumn.

Georg Forster Fellowships (HERMES) for Experienced Researchers

Subjects: The research proposal must address issues of significant relevance to the future development of the candidate’s country of origin, and, in this context, promise to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and methods to developing and emerging countries.

Purpose: To enable researchers from developing and emerging countries to carry out long-term research project of their own choice with an academic host at a research institution in Germany.

Eligibility: This programme targets outstanding academics from developing and emerging countries (excluding the Republic of China and India) who completed their doctorates or comparable academic degrees (PhD, CSc or equivalent) less than 12 years ago and whose work demonstrates an independent academic profile. Typically, applicants should be working at least at the level of an assistant professor or junior research group leader, or as an independent researcher in a comparable position.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate, Professional development, Research

Type: Fellowship

Value: €3,150 per month (includes a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance as well as additional benefits)

Length of Study: 6–18 months; the fellowship is flexible and may be divided up into as many as three stays in Germany within three years; plus 12 months return fellowship

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities or research institution

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 80 per year (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: The complete application should be submitted to the Humboldt Foundation at least 4–7 months ahead of the prospective selection date. Information regarding the application procedure is available at www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/georg-forster-fellowship-experienced.html.

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Applications should be sent directly to the Foundation. If this is not possible, applications may be submitted via the branch offices of the DAAD or the German embassy or consulate which will then forward them to the Humboldt Foundation.

Georg Forster Research Fellowships for Postdoctoral Researchers

Subjects: The research proposal must address issues of significant relevance to the future development of the candidate’s country of origin, and in this context, promise to facilitate the transfer of knowledge and methods to developing and threshold countries.

Purpose: To enable researchers from developing and emerging countries to carry out long-term research projects of their own choice with an academic host at a research institution in Germany.

Eligibility: Open to researchers from developing and emerging countries (excluding Republic of China and India) with above average qualifications, at the beginning of their academic career who have only completed their doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent) in the last 4 years. Please check the website for further details.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate

Type: Fellowship

Value: €2,650 per month (including a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance as well as additional benefits.)

Length of Study: 6–24 months, plus 12 months return fellowship

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities or research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 60 (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: Applications are accepted any time until mid-year

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Applications should be sent directly to the Foundation. If this is not possible they may be submitted via the branch offices of the DAAD or the German Embassy or the Consulate, which will then forward them to the Humboldt Foundation. The Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award can only be granted once to any one academic. Researchers who have already received an award for their academic achievements from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation are not eligible to be nominated.

The German Chancellor Fellowships for tomorrow’s leaders

Subjects: Candidates from all professions and disciplines, but especially from the humanities, law, social sciences and economics.

Purpose: To enable prospective leaders from the USA, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China, Brazil or India to carry out an individual project tailored to their professional development and goals in cooperation with a German host they have selected themselves.

Eligibility: Applicants must hold at least a Bachelor’s or comparable degree completed less than 12 years prior to the start of the fellowship (September 1st of the year following the application) and be citizens of the United States, the Russian Federation, or the Republic of China. Candidates must have gained work experience and have already shown outstanding leadership potential in their careers.

Level of Study: Postgraduate, Professional development, requires at least a Bachelor’s degree

Type: Fellowship

Value: €2,150–2,750 monthly (in exceptional cases up to €3,650) including a mobility lump sum and a contribution to health and liability insurance

Length of Study: 1 year (beginning in September), preceded by a mandatory German language course for Fellows with little or no German language skills

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: Any institution/organization in Germany

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: up to 50 awards every year – up to ten of which go to prospective leaders from each of the five countries

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: September 15th

Funding: Government

No. of awards given last year: 10 to US, 10 to Russian and 10 to Chinese citizens

Additional Information: The fellowship begins with a 4-week introductory seminar in Berlin and Bonn.

Hezekiah Wardwell Fellowship

Subjects: Music.

Purpose: To allow young, highly-gifted musicians or musicologists from Spain to pursue further training or advanced studies at a college of music or conservatoire in Germany mentored by an established music teacher.

Eligibility: The Fellowship is aimed at candidates from Spain in transition to their professional careers. Therefore the Fellowship period applied for cannot start later than 3 years after the end of the graduation as a musician or musicologist. The Humboldt Foundation expects candidates to establish contact with supervisors prior to submitting their applications and to obtain binding clarification on whether they can be accepted as students and be given academic supervision.

Level of Study: Graduate, Postgraduate, Professional development

Type: Fellowships

Value: €800 per month and a sum of €250 on arrival for travel expenses

Length of Study: 10 months

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: College of Music, Conservatoire, University in Germany

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 10

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: January 10th

Funding: Foundation

Humboldt Research Award

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To support outstanding scientists and scholars from all disciplines from abroad whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in future.

Eligibility: Eminent foreign researchers at the peak of their academic careers and in leading positions, such as full professors or directors of institutes, may be nominated.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: €60,000

Length of Study: Up to 1 year

Frequency: Annual, 2 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 100

Application Procedure: Applicants are nominated by eminent German scientists and scholars. Direct applications are not accepted.

Closing Date: Nominations are accepted throughout the year

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Selection committee meetings are held twice a year in Spring and Autumn.

Humboldt Research Fellowship for Postdoctoral Researchers

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable researchers from abroad to carry out a long-term research project of their own choice in cooperation with an academic host at a research institution in Germany.

Eligibility: Open to researchers from abroad with above average qualifications, at the beginning of their academic career who have only completed their doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent) in the last 4 years. Please check the website for further details.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate

Type: Fellowship

Value: €2,650 per month (including a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance, plus additional benefits)

Length of Study: 6–24 months

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities or research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Approx. 500 per year (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website.

Closing Date: Applications are accepted at any time

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Applications should be forwarded directly to the Foundation or through diplomatic or consular offices of the Federal Republic of Germany in the candidates’ respective countries.

Humboldt Research Fellowships for Experienced Researchers

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable researchers from abroad to carry out long-term research project of their own choice in cooperation with an academic host at a research institution in Germany.

Eligibility: This programme targets outstanding academics who completed their doctorates less than 12 years ago and whose work demonstrates an independent academic profile. Typically, applicants should be working at least at the level of an assistant professor or junior research group leader, or as an independent researcher in a comparable position.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate

Type: Fellowship

Value: €3,150 per month (includes a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance as well as additional benefits)

Length of Study: 6–18 months; The fellowship is flexible and may be divided into as many as three stays in Germany within three years

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: Universities or research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 500 per year (for postdoctoral and experienced researchers together)

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website.

Closing Date: Applications are accepted at any time

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Applications should be sent directly to the Foundation or through diplomatic or consular offices of the federal Republic of Germany in the candidates respective countries.

International Climate Protection Fellowships

Subjects: Climate protection and resource conservation.

Purpose: To enable prospective leaders from non-European emerging and developing countries to conduct a research-related project of their own choice in cooperation with specialist colleagues in Germany.

Eligibility: Open to prospective leaders from non-European emerging and developing countries who are engaged in the field of climate protection and resource conservation in academia, business or administration who have completed at least a first university degree less than 12 years prior to the start of the fellowship and hold a further academic or professional qualification.

Type: Fellowships

Value: Between €2,150 and €2,650 per month (including a mobility lump sum and a contribution towards health and liability insurance)

Length of Study: 1 year

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: Any institution/organisation in Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 20

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: March 1st

Funding: Government

JSPS Research Fellowships for Postdoctoral Researchers

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable highly qualified postdoctoral researchers from Germany to carry out research projects of their own choice in cooperation with an academic at a selected national research institution in Japan.

Eligibility: Open to highly qualified postdoctoral researchers from Germany, who have completed their doctorate in the last 6 years.

Level of Study: Postdoctorate

Type: Fellowship

Value: ¥362,000 per month plus additional allowances

Length of Study: 12–24 months

Frequency: Annual, 3 selection rounds each year

Study Establishment: A university or other research institution

Country of Study: Japan

No. of awards offered: Up to 20

Application Procedure: Information regarding the application procedure is available at the website of the Humboldt Foundation.

Closing Date: Applications can be made at any time

Funding: Government

Additional Information: The current fellows who started his/her tenure before March 2016 are also required to follow the FY2016 Program Guidelines.

Konrad Adenauer Research Award for Canadian Scholars

Subjects: Humanities and social sciences.

Purpose: To promote academic collaboration between Canada and the Federal Republic of Germany.

Eligibility: Open to highly qualified Canadian scholars, whose research work in the humanities or the social sciences has earned international recognition and who are among the group of leading scholars in their respective area of specialization.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: Up to €50,000

Length of Study: Up to 1 year

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: Universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: 1 per year

Application Procedure: Canadian universities and research institutions may nominate Canadian scholars of international renown in the humanities and social sciences for the award. Direct applications are not accepted. Nomination forms and further information can be obtained from the awards coordinator of the Royal Society of Canada.

Closing Date: Please see the website.

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Pre-selection recommendations will be made jointly by the Royal Society of Canada and the University of Toronto and submitted to the Humboldt Foundation.

For further information contact:

Awards Coordinator: The Royal Society of Canada, 170 Waller Street, Ottawa, ON, K1N 9B9, Canada

Max Planck Research Award

Subjects: On an annually alternating basis, the call for nominations addresses areas within the natural and engineering sciences, the life sciences, and the humanities.

Purpose: To enable excellent scientists and scholars of all nationalities who are expected to continue producing outstanding academic achievements in international collaboration to pursue research of their own choosing.

Eligibility: Open to scientists and scholars of all nationalities who are recognized internationally as outstandingly qualified academics.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: €750,000

Length of Study: 3–5 years

Frequency: Annual

Study Establishment: Universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany or abroad

No. of awards offered: 2 per year, 1 researcher working in Germany and 1 researcher working abroad.

Application Procedure: The presidents/vice chancellors of universities and the heads of research institutions in Germany are eligible to make nominations (a detailed list of persons can be found on our website). Direct applications are not accepted.

Closing Date: January 15th

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Selection occurs once per year.

Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Subjects: All subjects.

Purpose: To enable successful top ranking junior researchers from abroad to spend five years building up working groups and working on a high-profile, innovative research project of their own choice at a research institution of their own choice in Germany.

Eligibility: Open to highly qualified scientists and scholars who have a doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent), completed with distinction less than 6 years prior to the date of application.

Level of Study: Research

Type: Prize

Value: Up to €1.65 million

Length of Study: 5 years

Frequency: Every 2 years

Study Establishment: Universities and research institutions

Country of Study: Germany

No. of awards offered: Up to 8

Application Procedure: Applicants may apply directly to the Humboldt Foundation.

Funding: Government

Additional Information: Selection committee meetings are held once every two years. Please check our website for further details.