Target group focus of the Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme

Interest in the Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme has increased enormously in the last few years: since 2023, applications have gone up by 50 percent. This means we are having to define the target group more precisely whereby the focus will continue to be placed on outstanding researchers from abroad. 

Fellowships should not primarily be used to extend a stay in Germany that has been initiated by another funder. At the same time, we should like to continue enabling researchers to conduct meaningful prior visits to host institutions to prepare the application as well as to enter the country whilst the application procedure. It will, therefore, still be possible to conduct a prior visit to Germany but this will be limited to 90 days within the previous 18 months.   

In the programme for experienced researchers, we are responding to the finding that there is a significantly lower success rate in the selection process amongst applicants at the start of their independent careers. Therefore, in the future, applicants for the programme line for experienced researchers will already be required to hold the position of assistant professor, lecturer or head of a research group in which they are the Principal Investigator. To place greater emphasis on a candidate’s own academic profile during the review process, experienced researchers may now only include titles in which they are the lead author (e.g., sole or corresponding author) in their list of key publications. They will form the basis for evaluating research quality in the peer review process.