KWI International Fellowship Programmes
We are dedicated to pursuing our interdisciplinary agenda through international collaboration. The international fellowships will contribute to attract new research questions, concepts, methods and theories in close connection with the KWI research programme.
Our KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS are 6-month-scholarships at the INSTITUTE FOR ADVANCED STUDY IN THE HUMANITIES (KWI) in Essen, which address excellent international researchers from the humanities, cultural studies, and the social sciences with a completed PhD plus up to 6 years of post-doctoral experience.
The THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP, financed by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, is integrated into the fellowship programme and reaches out to excellent researchers of all nationalities with a completed PhD plus several years of post-doctoral experience. To apply, various project formats are possible: Fellows might devote their time in Essen to finishing a book or a special issue, to finalizing a research proposal or setting up a research group. We also welcome plans to establish or substantiate collaborations with the universities of the Ruhr Alliance.
Located in the Ruhr Area, the KWI offers a space for independent and innovative research in the humanities and various opportunities to engage and include the public. Currently, research at the KWI focuses on the following areas: literary and cultural sociology, cultural science studies, science communication and public humanities. Further projects are concerned with cultures of communication and political participation. An important contribution to our scholarly and political work comes from the Academy in Exile, offering research space to colleagues whose academic freedom is threatened.
Website
https://kulturwissenschaften.de/en/kwi-international-fellowship-programmes/
Host Country
Germany
Duration
6 months
Applicants
The KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS address research fellows with a completed PhD plus up to but no more than six years of post-doctoral experience. The PhD must be completed at the time of application, including a doctoral certificate. Applications from fellows who exceed these 6 years of post-doctoral experience can, however, be considered if this is due to reasons of employment related to the fellow’s research field (e.g. curatorial activity in a museum) or due to biographical explanations (e.g. parenthood, scholar at risk etc.).
In contrast, the THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP addresses researchers with a completed PhD and requires several years (no limit) of post-doctoral experience.
Contact
international.fellowship@uni-due.de
How To Apply:
Applications must be submitted in the form of one single PDF-file (max. 20 MB) which must be sent electronically to international.fellowship@uni-due.de
[Due to IT safety regulations, we cannot accept applications via links to external platforms.]
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).
• The application deadline is 29 August 2025, 24:00 (midnight, CET). We will not consider applications that are incomplete or submitted after this date.
• The fellows will be selected by a committee assembling members of the KWI governing board and the institute’s director.
• Further information about the application process can be found in the FAQs: https://kulturwissenschaften.de/kwi-international-fellowships/faqs/