The Wissenschaftskolleg would like to offer more researchers in the early stages of their careers the opportunity to become a Fellow. During a residency in Berlin, they will be given the chance to develop new ideas and bring old projects to a successful conclusion, free from the pressures of everyday academic life. To this end, a special call for applications has been launched for fellowships starting already in the following academic year.
Table of Content
Summary
- Application DeadlineSeptember 1, 2026
- Study LevelPostdoctoral Fellowships
- SponsorWissenschaftskolleg Zu Berlin
- Eligible CountryAll Countries
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Benefits
- A leave of absence at full pay.
If necessary, the Wissenschaftskolleg covers the costs for a substitute at the home institution, as a rule up to the equivalent of € 60,000.
- A sabbatical.
- A stipend from the Wissenschaftskolleg if a contribution from the home institution is not possible. The amount of such a stipend is calculated based on the income from the Fellow’s home institution (as a rule up to the amount of € 60,000) or a stipend oriented toward comparable salaries in Germany.
To determine the amount of the stipend or the costs of substitution, the Wissenschaftskolleg needs certification of a Fellow’s salary in the year before the fellowship. Additional income of the Fellow and the income of his or her partner will not be considered when calculating the stipend.
- Fellows without institutional affiliation receive a stipend oriented toward comparable salaries in Germany. Public figures and self-employed artists without institutional affiliation or a fixed income receive a monthly stipend of € 5,100 (plus a contribution to social security costs).
The stipend is tax-free in Germany as long as it does not exceed the Fellow’s salary in the previous year. It is up to the Fellows to determine whether this tax-free status is recognized in their home country.
If Fellows contribute their income partly or completely to the Wissenschaftskolleg
If the Fellow’s home institution can only partly cover the Fellow’s salary, the Wissenschaftskolleg will provide the Fellow with a stipend that compensates for the difference in income, as a rule up to the limit of € 60,000.
An additional stipend of € 850/month will be granted to cover local costs (meals and utilities) to:
- Fellows who come to the Wissenschaftskolleg with their entire salary and whose home institutions expect no substitution expenses.
- Fellows for whom the Wissenschaftskolleg covers only low substitution costs (at most 25% of gross income with an income of a maximum of 240,000 €).
- Emeritae and Emeriti who come to the Wissenschaftskolleg with their complete pension incomes. Additional income from teaching assignments or the like that is earned after receiving emeritus status is not taken into consideration.
If the funds that a Fellow contributes are not sufficient to cover living costs in Germany
In this case, the Wissenschaftskolleg offers a stipend oriented toward comparable salaries in Germany, minus the amount provided by the home institution.
In all cases
The fellowship from the Wissenschaftskolleg does not establish an employment relationship. For this reason, the Wissenschaftskolleg is not obligated to make social insurance contributions and, accordingly, does not contribute to pension or unemployment insurance.
Travel and transport expenses
- The Wissenschaftskolleg covers the Fellows’ arrival and departure costs.
If the fellowship is for more than three months, the travel costs of partners and of children up to their 21th birthday who live in the Fellow’s household are covered once. There are certain limits to this.
As a rule, the Wissenschaftskolleg books and pays for flight tickets. If agreed upon, self-bookings are also possible. In such cases, the costs of the lowest-priced Economy Class tickets are reimbursed.
- A lump sum of € 0.20 per kilometer is reimbursed for arrivals by car.
- The costs of train tickets are reimbursed up to the amount of a 2nd-class ticket.
The Wissenschaftskolleg reimburses Fellows for the costs of transporting working materials and luggage up to a certain limit. The amount of the reimbursement depends on the home country in question and the number of accompanying family members.
Health insurance
All foreign Fellows are requested to clarify whether their health insurance provides adequate coverage when they are abroad.
As a rule, EU citizens (with residence in the EU) have health insurance coverage everywhere in the EU with the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC). Citizens of the United Kingdom can apply for a Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) to obtain coverage also in Germany.
If the health insurance does not guarantee sufficient coverage for the period of the Fellow’s stay at the Wissenschaftskolleg, the Fellow and accompanying family members can purchase insurance from the EUROPA Krankenversicherung AG through the Wissenschaftskolleg in the framework of a group contract. The costs are borne by the Fellow.
Personal liability insurance
The Wissenschaftskolleg recommends contracting for personal liability insurance that will cover any damages to the rented apartment and its furnishings. The Fellow Services can mediate such an insurance policy after the Fellow’s arrival.
Requirements
- Intellectual curiosity, interest in disciplines other than one’s own, and readiness to discuss also beyond one’s own disciplinary interest are decisive preconditions for a fruitful Fellow residency. We regard researchers who reflect on and theoretically or conceptually work on the basic assumptions of their discipline as the ideal candidates for a fellowship. Creativity is an important asset; it should not, however, be achieved at the expense of thoroughness – or vice versa.
- In general, candidates who apply with an academic/scientific project must have completed a doctorate. Knowledge of English is required. In addition, two articles in high-quality journals as first author or a monograph are the minimum requirements for an application.
- The Fellows live and work on the Wissenschaftskolleg’s small campus in Grunewald district; this includes a common meal on weekdays. Research projects that require constant absence (in labs, archives, or other facilities outside Berlin) are thus unsuitable for a fellowship.
- One aspect of the Wissenschaftskolleg’s mode of operation is to separate the invited researchers from their routines and accustomed surroundings and to expose them to new experiences. For this reason, researchers from Berlin research institutes or Institutes of higher learning are not considered for fellowships.
Selection Process
Applications must include the following documents:
- a current curriculum vitae with a list of publications;
- two recent articles (or – in the case of early-career applicants–- one recent article) that are characteristic of the applicant’s work and/or related to the proposed research topic; at least one of the articles should be in English, the second one can also be in German, French, or Spanish
- a description of the project to be pursued during the applicant’s stay in Berlin
Application Deadline
September 1, 2026How To Apply
There are two paths to candidacies for fellowships: Candidates for fellowships can either apply on their own behalf or they can be nominated.
For more information, kindly visit the Wissenschaftskolleg webpage.
