Introducing the Selection Department – “Literary Studies”

For thousands of years, literature has shaped society and reflected it at the same time. In the Selection Department, Literary Studies is just as diverse: It encompasses literature from mediaeval times to the present day and includes the most varied linguistic and cultural areas. A particularly large number of applications are received from German Studies, Romance Studies and English but Slavonic Studies also regularly feature. Literary Studies are complemented by cultural studies and comparative literature, which often overlap and are characterised by a comparative perspective.

Such a multi-faceted subject area naturally requires appropriate support in the Selection Department – so no fewer than four people work on all these applications. Processing is undertaken by Maria Nicolaus and Zoe Speckmann who check and process the applications from the moment they are received until a decision has been made. Astrid Lochthowe coordinates the review process and, finally, Dr Kristina Hamacher is responsible for the Selection Committee’s work. 

In this way, we were able to prepare more than 70 application decisions in the fellowship programmes in 2025, with a success rate of just under 20 percent. The majority of the applications hailed from the United States, the United Kingdom and Europe but we also received applications from China, India, Brazil and Israel. Germans who are now conducting research in the UK, Spain and the US were also amongst the sponsorship-recipients.