KWI International Fellowships 2027

The KWI International Fellowship Program welcomes outstanding researchers from around the world working in the humanities, cultural studies, and social sciences. We particularly encourage applications from scholars whose research projects align with KWI’s research agenda and contribute to ongoing conversations at the institute.

Table of Content

• Summary
• Benefits
• Requirements
• Interview Process
• Application Documents
• Application Deadline
• How To Apply

Summary

• Application DeadlineAugust 17, 2026
• Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
• SponsorUniversity Alliance Ruhr
• Eligible CountryAll Countries

Benefits

• Selected fellows will receive a fellowship contract (not a full-employment contract) and a monthly allowance of 3.000 € (pre-tax). This allowance is intended to cover rent, insurances and living expenses.
• Partial reimbursement of travel expenses for arrival at and departure from KWI is also possible. Fellows are responsible for covering any additional travel expenses, such as those related to conferences, using their allowance.
• The institute provides fellows with research infrastructure, office space, technical support and offers a library service, event and research management as well as administrative and communicative support.

Requirements

• Applicants must have completed a PhD in the humanities or social sciences and have up to six years of postdoctoral experience (R2 level of the European Framework for Research Careers).
• Postdoctoral experience is calculated from the date of PhD completion; for the current call, applicants who completed their PhD in 2021 or later are eligible.
• Career breaks, for example for care-related reasons or as a scholar at risk, may be explained in the cover letter and will be taken into consideration when assessing eligibility The KWI International Fellowship Program is open to researchers from around the world.
• German nationals are eligible to apply only if they are currently employed at an international institution. As a fellowship for individual researchers, the program does not accept applications from groups or teams.

Selection Process

• The fellows will be selected by a committee assembling members of the KWI governing board and the institute’s director.

Application Documents

• The application must be formulated in English and must contain a CV, a list of publications, a PhD certificate, and a proposal sketching your KWI project (up to max. 5.000 characters).

Check also:
2026 Fully Funded Humboldt Research Fellowship
2026 Eutopia PhD Co-tutelle Call

Application Deadline

How To Apply

• We kindly ask you to apply in the form of one single PDF-file (max. 20 MB) which must be submitted electronically to [email protected]. Due to IT safety regulations, we cannot accept applications via links to external platforms.

For more information, kindly visit the UAR webpage.