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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 30,000 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.
Our principles and guidelines
Facilitating collaboration that is based on respect and reciprocity where the collaborating partners can work together on equal footing is of primary importance to the Humboldt Foundation. As a consequence, we promote the imparting of liberal values, the bolstering of democracy and the strengthening of academic and scientific freedom.
These fundamental principles are grounded in our rules of good scientific practice which govern our concrete actions and activities. These rules cover various aspects of scientific work and publication, working collaboratively with colleagues in research teams, and mentoring young researchers. One of the indispensable expectations of those receiving support from the Foundation is that they do not demean others on the basis of their belonging to a particular group as defined by, for example, their nationality, religion, gender, ethnicity or sexual orientation. The rules of good scientific practice are an integral element of our Funding Guidelines. Applicants and nominees agree to comply with them. Individuals who are supported by the Foundation unconditionally obligate themselves to comply with them when they accept a sponsorship. In the event of a violation of these rules, the Foundation can impose sanctions which can extend to the revocation of funding decisions. Foundation events are subject to a code of conduct. This code was designed to ensure that we can offer all participants a respectful environment where they can experience these activities without disturbances.
- Rules of good scientific practice, procedures, and penalties in the event of malpractice (PDF, 163 KB)
- Security-relevant research in international research collaborations
- Resilient science for a changing world - Strategy for the period 2024-28
- Promoting diversity as one of the Humboldt Foundation’s key objectives