Deadline: September 1, 2026
Applications are open for the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Early Career Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences 2027/2028. Each academic year the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin offers several 10-month fellowships for outstanding early career scholars in the humanities and social sciences.
Successful applicants will become members of a lively intellectual community of approximately forty Fellows from all over the world, representing disciplines in the sciences, humanities, and social sciences, as well as the arts. The Institute offers excellent support for Fellows’ research, as well as help to both Fellows and their families in settling in to Berlin life.
At the heart of the Wissenschaftskolleg is the idea that Fellows must have the freedom to choose their own research project. The Fellows’ only obligations are to reside at the Wissenschaftskolleg for 10 months (September to the end of June), and to meet once a day for a meal and each Tuesday for the weekly Colloquium. Such an intellectually heterogeneous atmosphere often creates a productive friction that leads Fellows to reconsider their approaches, and may lead to unexpected insights.
Eligibility
- Applications from early-career scholars from all nations and all disciplines in the social sciences and humanities are welcome.
- Applicants should possess a doctorate granted no more than five years before the fellowship begins.
- Although scholarly communication at the Institute takes place in English and all fellows are expected to be able to discuss their own work and that of others in that language, applications may also be submitted in German and French.
Selection will be based on the applicant’s academic qualifications, including publications commensurate with the applicant’s discipline and career stage, and a research project that the applicant intends to pursue during the fellowship.
Application
The deadline for applications for the academic year 2027/2028 is September 1, 2026 (23:59 CET); applicants will be notified by December 1, 2026.
The following data are required in the application:
- Personal and institutional information (such as name, address, academic degrees, date of degree, etc.)
- Project title
- Short bio
- Bibliographical information on at least three of the candidate’s major publications, of which at least one has to be in English.
These four documents have to be uploaded (PDF format only, 10 MB max. file size each):
- A detailed curriculum vitae (along with a list of publications)
- A description of the project the candidate would like to work on during his or her residency in Berlin (approx. 500 words, including 10 references)
- A recent article that characterizes the candidate’s work (in German, English or French)
- A letter of motivation (approx. 200 words)
For more information, visit Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin Early Career Fellowships.
