FAQ

We go by the date stated on your diploma or provisional degree certificate. The key date for calculating the period after the Bachelor's degree is the start date of your fellowship in case of a successful application (September 1st of the year following the application).

Please indicate on the application form any leave of absence from academic or professional activity after completing your Bachelor for child-rearing purposes. We will determine whether these periods qualify as parental leave. If applicable, the effective application deadline may be extended. We allow up to two years per child at most. If you have additional questions, please contact info@avh.de.

I already am or have recently been in Germany. Are there any formal grounds militating against my application?

You can apply if you have been in Germany for less than six months at the time the Humboldt Foundation receives your application, or you have returned from an extended stay in Germany (more than twelve months) and have subsequently worked in your country of origin for more than twelve months at the time the Humboldt Foundation receives your application. If in doubt, please direct any questions to info@avh.de.

I have studied English, German, or related subjects at the university level. Do I have to submit a language certificate?

English or German is my native language. Do I have to submit a language certificate proving my proficiency?

I completed my first university degree (Bachelor's or equivalent) more than twelve years ago. Can I still apply?

We cannot consider your application if you completed your first university degree (Bachelor's or comparable) more than twelve years ago. If you have just passed the deadline, an exception may be made in well-founded cases (e.g. recognition of parental leave). The key date for calculating the period after your first university degree (Bachelor's or equivalent) is the start date of your fellowship. Please send us your CV so we can advise you (info@avh.de).

Can I apply if I am living in a third country (i.e. neither in my country of origin nor in Germany) at the time of application?

You may apply if you are only staying temporarily (up to 12 months) in a third country and the actual focus of your life and work is still in your country of origin. Provided that your connection with your country of origin is assured (e.g. if you have been sent on a posting abroad by an institution of your country of origin), you may be able to apply even if you have been abroad for longer. In case of doubt, please contact us (info@avh.de) before you apply so we can advise you.

Academic host

Anyone working at a public or private institution in Germany (universities, businesses, associations, NGOs) can serve as a host. To ensure adequate support, there must be some relation between your host's/mentor's field of professional expertise and your proposed project in Germany.

The host's/mentor's principal task is to create the conditions that are essential to carry out your project in Germany and to mediate the necessary contacts (e.g. providing access to institutions in Germany). The role of the host/mentor can range from regular contacts to close cooperation, depending on the requirements of the project.

You are required to choose your own host/mentor. We do not provide any direct support in finding a host. Applicants often turn to existing contacts from their professional or private sphere to identify a host, e.g. their professional or academic supervisors.

Will my host institute receive any additional funds for the costs it incurs in connection with my stay?

No, the fellowship is not meant to support company employees who intend to work at German headquarters or branches. Applicants suggesting a project that includes an inhouse-training have a rather low chance of success.

Preparation/Planning

Can I apply to several Humboldt Foundation fellowship programmes at the same time, or can I apply for a Humboldt Fellowship and the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award at the same time if I fulfil the formal requirements?

No, it is not possible to apply to several fellowship programmes or the Sofja Kovalevskaja Award programme concurrently. Should you be rejected by any of them, you may, however, apply to any other programme as long as you fulfil the formal requirements.

During the sponsorship period, fellows may conduct short-term study or
research visits to institutions elsewhere in Europe (except the fellows’ home
countries), if this is essential for the execution of the project. The maximum duration should be 1 to 2 months. Further information regarding stays in Europe.

Yes. For applicants from the People's Republic of China: June 30. For applicants from the United States: October 15. For applicants from the Russian Federation: November 15.

Yes. In order to assess the viability of your project, the Selection Committee must know if a German mentor has agreed to provide you with adequate professional support during your stay in Germany. The host's/mentor's statement confirming his/her willingness to support you in carrying out your project must be submitted along with your application. Please direct your host's attention to the form for the prospective host's confidential statement.

Can I apply for a fellowship from another institution at the same time I submit my application to the Humboldt Foundation?

In principle, it is possible to file parallel applications. You must, however, indicate this on the application form and inform us immediately of any other applications you submit and any other sponsorship decisions that occur while we are considering your application.

All selected candidates participate in a preliminary orientation meeting in their country of origin. You can start developing your language skills in your country of origin, and possibly continue the process with up to four months of intensive language training in Germany starting in May, prior to the beginning of the fellowship, September 1.

The following time schedule is mandatory for all German Chancellor Fellows:

May to August	Intensive German language course in Bonn: fellows with no knowledge or only a basic knowledge of German come to Germany before the official start of the fellowship to attend an intensive language course. This course is mandatory and lasts from one to four months depending on existing language skills.
September	Four-week introductory seminar in Bonn and Berlin
October to August of the following year	Eleven-month period spent working on an individual project at a host institution in Germany
June of the following year	Two-day Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Annual Meeting in Berlin
June / July of the following year	Three-day final meeting in Berlin with visits to the German Chancellery and the Federal Foreign Office

The Humboldt Foundation welcomes the idea that fellows´ partners and children should accompany them and encourages this by paying family allowances in addition to the fellowship, provided that the family members accompany the fellow for more than three months.

If the fellow´s own institution does not cover travel expenses, the Humboldt Foundation will pay a single lump sum for return travel. The Humboldt Foundation will only pay travel expenses for family members in exceptional circumstances.

Application procedure

You must apply online. If you wish to submit an application you must register first. Click here to register. Then choose the appropriate programme line. Your email address is also your user name. You must choose a password on registration. After registering you will receive an email with a link which will allow you to log-on and access the application form using your user name and password.

You must upload the following documents before you can submit your application:
- The application form
- Your curriculum vitae (including a list of publications/lectures)
- Your project plan

The following documents must be submitted in order to complete the application:
- Host’s statement including confirmation of support
- Two to three expert reviews
- Transcripts of grades
- Certificate of your first academic degree and, if applicable, further degrees, including certified translations
- Where appropriate German or English language certificate

With the exception of the host’s statement, you should upload all these documents and submit them together with the other application documents online. If one of the documents should be pending you may submit it subsequently by email (info@avh.de). Please note, however, that your complete application must reach the Humboldt Foundation by the closing date at the latest. Incomplete applications may be excluded from the respective selection round.

After the respective closing date it is unfortunately not possible anymore to submit an application online. In this programme applications by email, post or fax are not permitted.

The host must send his or her statement including the confirmation of support to the Humboldt Foundation – by email, post or fax. It is important that the host’s statement reaches the Humboldt Foundation before the closing date for applications. Please draw your host’s attention to our List of questions for the host's statement and the required confirmation of support.

Should expert reviews be sent to the Humboldt Foundation directly or uploaded with the application?

Expert reviews may either be uploaded by the applicant and submitted with the application online or sent to the Humboldt Foundation by email, post or fax by the expert reviewers directly. Please draw your reviewers’ attention to our List of questions for expert reviewers. Expert reviews should not be more than six months old at the time of application.

References of the expert reviewers and the host that cannot be immediately matched to an application will be kept on file for up to six months and matched with the corresponding application when it is received.

Ask for references from two to three different persons who are able to give well-founded accounts of your professional, personal and, if applicable, academic background as well as your leadership skills, among them

• your current supervisor or mentor
• previous supervisors or mentors
• your mentor at a host institution if you spent more than two months working outside of your own institution within the past five years.

I have not yet completed my Bachelor's degree. Do I have to submit my degree certificate later?

Yes. As soon as you complete your Bachelor's degree, we need to receive official confirmation from your university. You will not be able to start the fellowship without this confirmation.

Do I have to have my certificates and transcripts (of grades) officially certified?

No.

If the certificates and transcripts you are submitting are not in German or English, you must provide certified translations. The certification of your translations may also be carried out by a translation bureau.

Selection procedure

The Humboldt Foundation will invite about twenty pre-selected candidates for an interview in the candidates' respective countries. The Selection Committee conducting the interviews is composed of renowned scholars and professionals. Upon completion of the interview process, the committee will select up to ten candidates per country for the fellowship by majority vote.

The interview lasts about twenty minutes and will be conducted in German or English. It is vital that you be very familiar with your application documents. The Selection Committee's questions will focus primarily on your project, your professional or academic background, your interest in Germany, your career plans, as well as the impact that a one-year stay in Germany might have on your future professional career.

In each selection round, the best applicants will be selected for a fellowship. Approval or rejection of an application is always directly related to the qualifications of the other applicants. Thus, it is usually impossible to provide detailed reasons for a rejection.

Selection

The aim of the German Chancellor Fellowship Programme is to recruit young leaders from a broad range of professional and academic backgrounds as future mediators between Germany and their respective countries of origin. In this context, your academic and professional development to date are the central aspects of the assessment.

It is possible to re-apply. The new application should, however, differ significantly from the original, rejected application. Generally, a new application makes sense only after you have entered a new phase of your professional development. Submitting a new application that differs little or not at all from the rejected original may result in a formal rejection of the new application.

Application requirements

Academic host

Preparation/Planning

Application procedure

Selection procedure

Selection