Fellowships for Doctoral Students

The IEG announces calls for applications for doctoral students twice a year, usually in December and June. The application deadlines are February 15 for a stay beginning in September and August 15 for a stay beginning in March of the following year.

Current open calls for applications

The fellowship

The Leibniz Institute of European History (IEG) in Mainz awards 6-12 month fellowships for doctoral students in European history, the history of religion and other historical disciplines.

The IEG funds PhD projects in European history from early modern to contemporary history. We are particularly interested in projects

with a comparative or cross-border approach,
on Europe in its relation to the wider world,
on topics of intellectual and religious history,
with digital tools and methods, or
on environmental history.

The fellowship is intended to support you in pursuing your individual research project. Preference will be given to funding for the writing of a dissertation; preparatory research, language courses, and the revision of book manuscripts are not eligible for funding.

We particularly welcome applications from qualified women.

zwei junge Frauen sitzen auf einem Sofa und unterhalten sich. Im Hintergrund hängen Postkarten und Bilder. Eine der Frauen hat eine Kaffeetasse in der Hand.

What we offer

Funding and accommodation for a minimum of 6 to 12 months
A monthly stipend of €1,350
A possible family allowance that can be applied for (250 Euro for partner, 400 Euro first child, 100 Euro every other child). Please contact the fellowship office for any questions regarding your family situation
The earliest possible start date for the fellowship is March or September
An affordable room in our dormitory with shared kitchen and bathroom. Option for a partner room
Work space in our open-plan offices or library
Accompanying mentoring by the institute’s scientific staff

Requirements

Please also read our FAQ.

History, religious history, historical theology, or another historically oriented discipline; minimum degree: MA, state examination, diploma, ecclesiastical examination

The working languages at the IEG are German and English. Good English skills are important for participating in the discussions at the institute.

Fellows must live and work at the IEG in Mainz for the entire duration of the fellowship period. Fellows with partners may also live together in the institute’s dormitory, depending on the availability of double rooms. Special arrangements, subject to negotiation, are possible for fellows with children. For family-friendly arrangements, please contact the fellowship office.

Fellows are expected to be active members of the IEG’s research community and to participate in the weekly colloquia and scholarly activities. Attendance at the remaining academic events, such as workshops or conferences, is approved of but not mandatory. Moreover, they will present their work in progress at least once during their stay.

By accepting the fellowship, fellows undertake to provide the institute’s library with a copy of their academic publications made possible by the IEG research fellowship without being asked to do so.

By the application deadline, you should have worked on your dissertation for a maximum of three years; justified exceptions are possible.

At the time of application, your dissertation should be conceptually mature and the source research should be sufficiently advanced that a 6-12 month research stay at the IEG in Mainz would significantly advance the completion of your dissertation.

As a non-university research institution, the institute does not conduct examinations or award academic degrees. Dissertations are completed under the responsibility of the respective supervisor at the home university.

IEG fellowships are financed by federal and state funds. The research fellowships are intended solely for the purpose of working on the proposed research project at the IEG. Therefore, gainful employment or other financial support is not permitted during the funding period.

Application

Applications must be submitted online via our application portal. To apply, please fill out the online application form linked in the call for applications.

You will also need: 1. CV and, if applicable, list of publications 2. Table of contents of the dissertation project 3. Project description of the dissertation project (max. 15,000 characters, excluding footnotes and spaces) 4. Detailed work and time schedule for the research stay at the IEG 5. Copies of university certificates 6. Language certificates, if applicable

You can write your application in either English or German. We recommend choosing the language you are most proficient in.

References

For your application, you will need two references for your research project in German or English, which you are responsible for obtaining yourself. The first reference should be from your primary academic supervisor for your dissertation, and the second from an external referee (from another university or a related discipline). Both should be authorized to supervise doctoral theses at a university.

Please inform the reviewers of your application well in advance.

The reviewers should send the current reference in PDF format directly by email to application@ieg-mainz.de by the application deadline.

The reference should contain information about the research question, methodology, results, and presentation of your research project and provide an assessment with regard to the current state of research on the topic. They should address the applicant’s academic qualifications as well as the exposé and the work and time schedule for the fellowship stay in Mainz.

Awarding

The selection process may take some time due to the thorough review of applications. We kindly ask for your patience. Selection meetings for the awarding of fellowships for doctoral students take place in May and October. We will inform you of the selection committee’s decision by email after the selection meeting. Please refrain from making inquiries in the meantime.

In the event of rejection, you are welcome to reapply if your project has developed significantly and differs substantially from your initial application.