Fellows
IEG Fellowships for Doctoral Students
These are open to PhD students from Germany and abroad who have at least a Masters level degree in history, theology or another discipline which works historically. They must have been pursuing their doctorate for no more than three years at the time of the application deadline, substantiated exceptions to this rule are possible. As a research institution that is not part of a university, the Institute does not hold any examinations and does not award any academic qualifications. Dissertations are completed under the supervision of the fellowship holder’s supervisor at their home university.
The IEG has two deadlines each year for IEG Fellowships for Doctoral Students: February 15 and August 15.
Application
Please apply online via the link in the current call for applications.Please prepare the following application documents and upload them at the end of this application form.
All documents must be in PDF format. Please name the documents as following: ‘Number. Surname, first name_content of document’.
1. CV and, if applicable, list of publications (please do not send photos)
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
Incomplete applications will not be considered.
You may write in either English or German; we recommend that you use the language in which you are most proficient.
Reference:
In addition to the above-mentioned application documents, two expert opinions are required for an application for an IEG fellowship.1. The primary academic advisor mails an up-to-date reference directly to the IEG by the application deadline to: application@ieg-mainz.de (new from December 2025)
The letter of reference should discuss (please avoid a general letter of recommendation):
- The applicant’s academic qualifications
- Topic matter, goal and current state of the PhD project
- A synopsis of work to be done in Mainz along with possible time and work schedules
2. Additionally, you will need a second external academic referee. Second referees should also send a current review in a PDF directly to application@ieg-mainz.de by the application deadline (new from December 2025). The second referee should come from another university or a neighboring discipline. The second referee should not be the second academic supervisor.
Letters of reference should contain information on the question, method, results, and representation of your research project. Additionally, they should also give an evaluation regarding the recent state of research on the topic.
Value of IEG Fellowships for Doctoral Students
1. Fellowship rates
The IEG Fellowships are jointly funded by the federal and state government. The fellowships are used exclusively for the purpose of conducting the research project described in the application at the IEG. Thus, no other form of employment or funding can be pursued or availed of for the duration of the fellowship.
IEG Fellowship for doctoral students have a monthly value of € 1,350.
2. Family allowance
Fellowship holders whose partners accompany them to Mainz and do not have an income of more than 556 euros per month may receive a family allowance. Please indicate in your application whether your partner accompanies you to Mainz.
Fellows who come to Mainz accompanied by their underage children can apply for child allowance.
Please direct your questions to the following address: fellowship@ieg-mainz.de
In case of doubt the German version is valid.