Fellowship
Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers
Alexander von Humboldt Foundation
At a glance
- Deadline
- Opens 15 November 2026, closing date not published
- Fee
- No fee to apply
- Who may apply
- not a German national
- a doctorate completed in the last twelve years, or a masters completed up to sixteen years ago where a doctorate is uncommon in your field or country
- a leadership role such as assistant professor, lecturer or head of an independent research group
- Where
- A German research institution of your choice
Six to eighteen months of research in Germany on 3,600 euros a month, for a researcher who already leads a group or holds a lecturer or assistant professor post. You keep your post at home and can split the stay into three visits.
The facts
- What you get
- 3,600 euros a month plus additional benefits, family allowances, travel, private health insurance subsidy and a language course
- Where
- A German research institution of your choice
- How long
- 6 to 18 months, which can be split into up to three stays over three years
Where you stand
This one is free. There is no fee to apply, and nobody should ask you for money at any point.
What they ask for
- not a German national
- a doctorate completed in the last twelve years, or a masters completed up to sixteen years ago where a doctorate is uncommon in your field or country
- a leadership role such as assistant professor, lecturer or head of an independent research group
- an extensive publication list including papers where you were the thematic lead
- a host researcher at a German institution who signs a mentoring agreement and confirms facilities, plus two expert reviews
- you have not lived in Germany for more than 90 days in the last 18 months
Get ready to apply
Built only from what this listing states. Tick as you go; the ticks stay on your phone and are not sent anywhere.
A long application, by our reading.
1. What to get ready
It also names something beyond these; read their words below.
In their words: “CV of two pages maximum, research outline of five pages maximum, full publication list, list of key publications and the publications themselves, doctoral certificate, plus a host statement and two expert reviews uploaded by those people themselves”
2. Dates
- Opens 15 November 2026. You cannot apply before then.
- On the date, the listing says: The current call is full. The next call opens on 15 November 2026, for the July 2027 selection meeting, and each call closes once 800 applications are received.
Download checklist (.txt) Send to WhatsApp
The download is a small text file. You can read it later without data. It also lists each condition they set, so you can tick yourself against them. WhatsApp sends the same list to you, or to somebody helping you.
No CV yet? Make a plain one from your answers. Nothing you type is kept.
Tips for applying for a fellowship
General advice from us, the same for every fellowship. It is not what this organisation says; that is above.
- Fellowships choose people for what they have already started. Lead with something you did, even small, and what it changed.
- Answer each question they ask, in the order they ask it. Do not reuse an essay that answers a different question.
- Ask your referees early, at least two weeks before the deadline, and send them the listing so they can write to it.
- Have somebody you trust read your answers before you send them.
If there is an interview or a test
- Expect questions about your motivation, your leadership, and what you will do after.
- Know your own application well; they will ask about what you wrote.
- Prepare one clear example of a setback and what you did next.
All our tips and messages to copy. Practise answering, with nothing kept. Received an offer? Check whether it is real, then read before you say yes.
Common essay questions, and how to answer them
These questions come up in scholarship and fellowship essays. They are not taken from this listing: its own questions are on its page, and those are the ones to answer. Draft these once, then change each answer to fit the exact question asked.
- Why do you want this scholarship or programme?They want to know: Whether you know what it is and why it fits you, not only that you want money or a place.How to answer: Name two or three things about this programme and link each to something you have done or want to do. Use its own words for what it offers.Avoid: The same answer sent to every programme. Readers can tell.
- What are your goals, and how will this help you reach them?They want to know: That you have a direction, and that this step is part of it.How to answer: Say where you want to be in five to ten years, what you will do in the next two, and exactly how this programme closes the gap between the two.Avoid: Goals so big and vague that nothing could be checked, such as "change Africa".
- Tell us about yourself.They want to know: Who you are beyond your grades: what shaped you, and what you care about.How to answer: Pick one or two moments that explain you, and say what you learned from them. Then connect them to what you want to do next.Avoid: Your CV in sentences. They already have it.
- Describe a challenge you faced and how you overcame it.They want to know: How you act when things go wrong, and what you learned.How to answer: Keep the problem short and spend most of the words on what you did, step by step, and what changed. End with what you would do the same or differently.Avoid: Only describing how hard it was, with little about what you did.
- Give an example of your leadership.They want to know: That you have made something happen with other people, at any size.How to answer: Leading a study group, a church or mosque youth group, a family business or a neighbourhood clean up counts. Say what you started, who you brought in, and what came of it, with a number if you have one.Avoid: Listing titles you held without saying what you did in them.
- How have you served your community, or how will you?They want to know: That what you gain will reach other people too.How to answer: Describe something you have already done for others, then a specific plan for after the programme: who, where, and what you will do.Avoid: Promises with nothing you have already done behind them.
- Why have you chosen this field of study or work?They want to know: That your choice is considered and that you understand the field.How to answer: Tell the moment or experience that drew you to it, what you have done in it so far, and one question in the field you want to work on.Avoid: Saying you have always loved it, with nothing to show it.
- Describe an achievement you are proud of.They want to know: What you count as success, and how you got there.How to answer: Choose something you did yourself, set out where you started, what you did and the result. Small is fine when it is real.Avoid: Choosing a prize you won without saying what you did to win it.
- Why do you need this support, and how will you use it?They want to know: That the award will make a real difference, and that you have thought about the money.How to answer: Say plainly what you cannot do without it and what it will pay for. Be honest about your situation without apologising for it.Avoid: Exaggerating hardship. Say what is true; it is enough.
- What problem in your country or community do you want to solve?They want to know: That you see a problem clearly and have a realistic idea about your part in it.How to answer: Name one problem, say who it affects and why it persists, and what you, specifically, will do about one part of it. Use what you have seen yourself.Avoid: Taking on everything at once. One part, done well, reads as serious.
Before you send it
- It answers the exact question they asked, in the words they used.
- It says I, not we: what you did yourself.
- One or two examples told in detail, rather than a long list.
- It adds to your CV instead of repeating it.
- Full sentences, not bullet points, unless they ask for a list.
- It says why you, why this programme, and why now.
- The names of the organisation, university and course are spelled exactly right.
- It fits their word limit, and you wrote it first in a notes app or on paper, so a form that fails does not lose it.
- Every word of it is true.
How to apply
Several listings link to this page. Look for "Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers" from Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
You apply on Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's own website, not here. We never send an application for anybody and we never ask you for anything to pass on. Check their page for anything not shown here.
Opens 15 November 2026
Read it on Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's own page
More like this, open now
How we checked this
This was opened and verified at Alexander von Humboldt Foundation's own website on 20 October 2026: it was real, not yet open, and open to people from African countries. If anything here is wrong, tell us.