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Sofja Kovalevskaja Award

Submit an application if you are a successful top-rank junior researcher from abroad, only completed your doctorate with distinction in the last six years, and have published work in prestigious international journals or publishing houses. The Sofja Kovalevskaja Award allows you to spend five years building up working groups and working on a high-profile, innovative research project of your own choice at a research institution of your own choice in Germany.

Scientists and scholars from all disciplines may apply directly to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. The Humboldt Foundation plans to grant up to eight Sofja Kovalevskaja Awards. The award is valued at 1.65 million EUR.

The next application round will start in 2011.

Other important details

Further information

  1. Doctorate or comparable academic degree (Ph.D., C.Sc. or equivalent), completed with distinction less than six years prior to the date of application. Should it not be possible or customary to take a Ph.D. in your subject or country of origin, you may apply up to ten years after completing your Master's or Diploma Degree provided that your publication record is commensurate with a Ph.D. and your current career stage.
  2. Cutting-edge academic achievements documented by a comprehensive list of academic publications for internationally-reviewed journals and publishing houses.
  3. Detailed expert's report by an academic host at a research institution in Germany as well as the host's agreement and the administrative agreement from the host institution.
  4. Expert references by important collaborative partners and academics at the applicant's own institute and other institutes, if possible not all located in his/her country of origin.
  5. Language skills: scholars in the humanities or social sciences and physicians must have a good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the project successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English; scientists and engineers must have a good knowledge of German or English.
  6. Origin: Foreign academics staying in Germany are eligible to apply if they have not been working in an academic capacity in Germany for more than two years at the time of application. German academics are eligible to apply if they have been working in an academic capacity abroad for a longer time. If in doubt, check with the Humboldt Foundation before submitting an application as formal grounds might militate against the application.
  7. No previous Sofja Kovalevskaja Award: This award can only be granted once to any individual researcher.
  8. The Humboldt Foundation assumes that candidates will abide by the Rules of Good Scientific Practice during the application and sponsorship periods.

The deadline for application is 15 October 2009.

It is the applicant's responsibility to ensure that he or she has submitted all the necessary documents. Applications not submitted as a single entity will take longer to process. The documents required in addition to the application documents, i.e. the signed host's agreement and the administrative agreement, can be submitted at the same time as the application to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation directly. Subsequently, independent peer reviewers assess the applications.

On the basis of these peer reviews, an independent Selection Committee composed of academics from all disciplines makes the final decision on the applications received.

Candidates will be notified about the Selection Committee's decision immediately after the meeting, which will take place in March 2010.

Further information

One of our hallmarks is the degree of support we try to provide for every single guest researcher. This is why we offer you extra benefits in addition to the award amount: from invitations to events to language courses.

Further information

Once an Humboldtian, always an Humboldtian: Even after your initial research stay has come to an end, we shall still maintain close contact with you. Our alumni sponsorship is flexible and designed to support every Humboldtian’s particular path in life and development as well as collaborations between individuals.

Further information