Georg Forster Research Fellowship

About us

We promote academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany.
 Our research fellowships and research awards allow you to come to Germany to work on a research project
you have chosen yourself together with a host and collaborative partner.
 If you are a scientist or scholar from Germany you can profit from our support and carry out a research
project abroad as a guest of one of more than 27,000 Humboldt Foundation alumni worldwide — the
Humboldtians.
 As an intermediary organisation for German foreign cultural and educational policy we promote international
cultural dialogue and academic exchange.
What is important to us
If you would like to become a member of the Humboldt Family, only one thing counts: your own excellent
performance. There are no quotas, neither for individual countries, nor for particular academic disciplines. Our
selection committees comprise academics from all fields of specialisation and they make independent decisions,
based solely on the applicant’s academic record. We support people, not projects. After all, even in times of
increasing teamwork, it is the individual’s ability and dedication that are decisive for academic success.
Become an Humboldtian
Whether you are a young postdoctoral researcher at the beginning of your academic career, an experienced,
established academic, or even a world authority in your discipline — our research fellowships and research awards
offer you sponsorship tailored to you and your career situation.
Become a host in Germany
Every Humboldtian needs an academic host. Become a host and encourage your young, collaborative partners
from abroad to apply for a Humboldt Foundation research fellowship for a research stay at your institute, or
nominate a cutting-edge researcher of your choice for a Humboldt Research Award. The fellowship includes an
allowance for research costs towards financing equipment, research assistance, administrative costs and so on.
It helps you and your guest researcher to create optimum conditions for fruitful cooperation.
Become a Humboldtian –
Sponsorship Programmes for Postdoctoral Scientists and Scholars
We promote academic cooperation between excellent scientists and scholars from abroad and from Germany.
Whether you are a young postdoctoral researcher at the beginning of your academic career, an experienced,
established academic, or even a world authority in your discipline — our research fellowships and research awards
offer you sponsorship tailored to you and to your career situation.
If you would like to become a member of the Humboldt Family, only one thing counts:
your own excellent performance.
Support during Research Stay
Being an Humboldtian is something special. That is why we care for every one of you individually and flexibly. We
want you and the family accompanying you to feel at home in Germany so that you are able to focus completely
on your work. Academic success for the guest and the host and a worthwhile stay from a private point of view are
the objectives. The Humboldt Foundation’s portfolio of measures for their fellows and award winners includes
German language courses, networking meetings and study visits for fellows, annual meetings, and symposia for
research award winners. Our German fellows going abroad on a research stay also receive individual mentoring
and support.
Here you can find the forms of sponsorship linked to the respective programmes:
Fellowships for researchers coming to Germany
 Humboldt Research Fellowships
 Georg Forster Research Fellowships
Fellowships for prospective leaders
 German Chancellor Fellows

 International Climate Protection Fellows
Fellowships for researchers going abroad
 Feodor Lynen Research Fellows
 JSPS Research Fellowships for postdoctoral researchers
 MOST (Taiwan) Research Fellowships
Research awards
 Alexander von Humboldt Professoships
 Anneliese Maier Research Awards
 Fraunhofer Bessel Research Awards
 Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Awards
 Research Awards for top researchers in Germany
 Georg Forster Research Awards
 Humboldt Research Awards
 Konrad Adenauer Research Awards for Canadian scholars in the humanities and social sciences
 Max Planck Research Awards
 Philipp Franz von Siebold Awards for Japanese Researchers
 Reimar Lüst Awards
 Sofja Kovalevskaja Awards
Service
 Guest houses and International Meeting Centres
Guidance to finding accommodation is provided by our list of all the guest houses and International Meeting Centres in
Germany established with the support of the Humboldt Foundation.

Humboldt Life — The Humboldt Foundation’s new online network
https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/support-research-stay.html
https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/information-for-women-academics.html
FAQ for women academics and families
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation campaigns for equal opportunities for men and women in research,
particularly with regard to young families. We have bundled questions focusing on this area here.
The Humboldt Foundation handles its sponsorship as flexibly as possible. If you fail to find the answer to your
question in the FAQ, please do not hesitate to approach your contact at the Foundation directly. It is often
possible to find tailor-made solutions.

1. Questions relating to your application to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation

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I completed my doctorate more than four years ago. Can I apply for a postdoctoral fellowship none the less?
To what extent do you recognise periods spent on child-rearing and family care when evaluating academic
performance?
Can I bring my family with me?

2. Provisions for women academics and young families receiving sponsorship
QUESTIONS FROM FOREIGN FELLOWS COMING TO GERMANY

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Will you grant an allowance for my marital partner if s/he accompanies me to Germany?

Will I receive child benefit or substitutional payment by the Foundation for my children if they accompany me?
Which additional allowances can I apply for as a single-parent?
Will my family receive an allowance for health insurance during their stay?
Will it be possible for me and my family to attend a language course?
Can my marital partner and I apply for parental allowance?
Can I extend my research fellowship in case of childbirth?
Can I extend my research fellowship in the context of parenting support?
Can I interrupt my research fellowship due to childbirth or childcare leave?
Can the allowance for research costs be used to support families?

QUESTIONS FROM FELLOWS GOING ABROAD

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Will you grant an allowance for my family if they accompany me abroad?
How is the monthly fellowship amount calculated?
Will I receive support for childcare if any children accompany me abroad?
Can I interrupt my research fellowship due to childbirth or childcare leave?
Can I extend my research fellowship in case of childbirth?

https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/pls/web/pub_auswahlergebnisse.main?p_lang=en&p_bereich=PUBL-GF
https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/pls/web/pub_auswahlergebnisse.main?p_lang=en&p_bereich=PUBL-GF
Dr. Duane Jethro
Georg Forster Research Fellowship
Selection date: June 2016
Business address at the time of the selection committee meeting:
University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
Country of origin: South Africa
Field of research: Cultural Studies
Host: Prof. Dr. Sharon Jeanette Macdonald (Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz, Berlin, Germany)

Field of research: Theory of Law, Philosophy of Law, Sociology of Law
Host: Dr. Matthias Hartwig (Max-Planck-Institut für ausländisches öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, Heidelberg,
Germany)
Georg Forster Research Fellowship
Selection date: June 2016

Business address at the time of the selection committee meeting:
Ivan Franko National University of Lviv, Ukraine
Country of origin: Ukraine
Field of research: Private Law, Civil Law
Host: Prof. Dr. Andreas Spickhoff (Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München (LMU), Germany)
Georg Forster Research Fellowship
Selection date: February 2016
Business address at the time of the selection committee meeting:
Donetsk Institute of Law (Kryvyj Rih), Kryvyj Rih, Ukraine
Country of origin: Ukraine
Field of research: Modern and Current History
Host: Prof. Dr. Tanja Penter (Ruprecht-Karls-Universität Heidelberg, Germany)
https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/georg-forster-award.html
The Georg Forster Research Award is granted in recognition of a researcher’s entire achievements to date to
academics of all disciplines whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant
impact on their own discipline and beyond and who are expected to continue developing research-based
solutions to the specific challenges facing transition and developing countries.
Nominees must be nationals of a developing or transition country (excluding People’s Republic of China and
India; cf. detailed  list of countries ). Furthermore, at the time of nomination, they must have had their main
residence and place of work in one of these countries for at least five years.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation particularly encourages the nomination of qualified female researchers.
The award amount totals €60,000. In Germany, research awards are generally exempt from income tax under
German tax law.
In addition, award winners are invited to conduct a research project of their own choosing in Germany in close
collaboration with a specialist colleague. To support the collaboration, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
may grant additional funding of up to €25,000, particularly for participating in scientific conferences, additional
material resources, e.g., specialist literature and scientific equipment for the nominee’s own institute, as well as
for involving junior researchers.
An established academic employed by a university or research institution in Germany must take the initiative to
nominate a candidate for the Georg Forster Research Award. Nominations may also be initiated by award
winners of the Humboldt Foundation working abroad, provided that the nomination is made jointly with a
colleague working in Germany. Self-nomination is not possible.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is granting up to six Georg Forster Research Awards annually.
 Requirements
 Selection procedure
 Nomination documents
1. The nominee must be recognised internationally as an outstandingly qualified academic (e.g. awards,
positive responses to publications, etc.).
2. The nominee’s future perspectives must indicate that she/he will continue to be an active,
academically influential researcher in the coming years with relevance to the development of the
nominee’s own county.
3. The nominee must be exceptionally qualified to continue developing research-based solutions to the
specific challenges facing transition and developing countries.
4. The nominee must be a national of a developing or transition country (excluding People’s Republic
of China and India; cf. detailed  list of countries ). At the time of nomination, he or she must have had
his or her main residence and place of work in one of these countries for at least five years.;
5. Detailed expert opinion (laudation) by an academic working at a research institution in Germany who
would like to invite the nominee to spend time researching in Germany.
6. Two expert reviews by important international academics and one from a German scientist/scholar;
7. The Humboldt Foundation assumes that candidates will abide by the  Rules of Good Scientific
Practice  during the application and sponsorship periods

https://www.humboldt-foundation.de/web/georg-forster-fellowship.html

Georg Forster Research Fellowship
Top opportunities for researchers from developing countries
Please send us your application,
 if you are a researcher with above average qualifications in a developing or transition country (see  list of
countries ),
 if you intend to carry out long-term research of your own choice (6 to 24 months) at a research institution in
Germany together with an academic host you have chosen yourself,
 if your research outline includes aspects that are important for the continued development of your country or
region of origin and
 if you want to contribute to the exchange of knowledge and methods between Germany and your country of
origin.
We offer you
 a monthly fellowship of €2,650 for postdoctoral researchers (doctorate completed within the last four years)
or €3,150 for experienced researchers (doctorate completed within the last 12 years),
 a flexible starting date and — for experienced researchers — the option of splitting the fellowship up into a
maximum of three stays,
 individual mentoring during the sponsorship period,
 intensive German language course for fellows and their marital partners prior to the fellowship,
 additional financial support for accompanying family members and items like travel expenses and
 comprehensive alumni sponsorship once the research stay has come to an end, such as a Return
Fellowship or further stays in Germany.
Up to 95 Georg Forster Research Fellowships can be granted in 2016. In the last few years, about one third of
applications were successful (see also  positive selection decisions since March 2013).
In addition, the Humboldt Foundation grants  Georg Forster Research Awards  every year to leading
researchers from developing countries.

Temporarily longer processing periods
Due to the introduction of a new database system and high application rates we shall unfortunately need more
time than usual to process your application for a fellowship/your nomination for an award. Therefore, at present,
you must assume it will take up to ten months before you receive a decision. We are very sorry about this
delay and sincerely hope that we shall be able to revert to the usual processing period of six months at the
earliest opportunity.
 Register now and
apply online!
 Continue processing
my application
Additional information for applicants
 Programme information for postdocs (PDF)
 Programme information for experienced researchers  (PDF)
 Timeline of selection procedure
 FAQ
 Members of the selection committee
Information for hosts and reviewers
 Information for hosts
 Information for expert reviewers
 Information for independent peer reviewers
This programme is financed by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ).
Call for applications:
Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES)
Postdoctoral researchers and experienced researchers from all disciplines in developing and transition countries
have until mid-2015 to apply for a Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES).

Applications for a Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES) will be accepted from post-doctoral and
experienced researchers. Individuals who would like to conduct a longer-term research project of their choice in
Germany may apply.
The project should make an important contribution to the development of the fellow’s home country. Fellows who
are postdoctoral researchers receive a monthly stipend of 2,650 EUR and experienced researchers receive 3,150
EUR. All fellows receive extensive additional benefits which include a contribution towards a pension plan, a
bridging grant to cover periods of unemployment in Germany, and improved family benefits.
Postdoctoral applicants must have completed their doctorate in the last four years, experienced researchers in
the last 12 years. It is expected that applications will be accepted until mid-2015.
The programme is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development. Funding for
additional benefits is provided by the European Union.
Contact
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
Press, Communications and Marketing
Jean-Paul-Str. 12
53173 Bonn
Tel: +49 228 833-257/-144
Fax:+49 228 833-441
presse@avh.de
Further Information
 Georg Forster Research Fellowship (HERMES)
 Georg Forster Research Award
 Dossier: Research Cooperation with Developing Countries
 Newsletter 1/2014