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Humboldt Research Award

The award is granted in recognition of a researcher's entire achievements to date to academics whose fundamental discoveries, new theories, or insights have had a significant impact on their own discipline and who are expected to continue producing cutting-edge achievements in the future.

Academics from abroad, regardless of their discipline or nationality, may be nominated for a Humboldt Research Award. The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation particularly encourages the nomination of qualified female academics.

Award winners are invited to spend a period of up to one year cooperating on a long-term research project with specialist colleagues at a research institution in Germany. The stay may be divided up into blocks.

The Humboldt Foundation grants up to 100 Humboldt Research Awards annually.

Nominations may be submitted by established academics in Germany. Nominations may also be initiated by award winners of the Humboldt Foundation working abroad, provided that the nomination is made jointly with a colleague working in Germany. Direct applications are not accepted. The award is valued at 60,000 EUR.

Other important details

Further information

  1. The nominee must be recognised internationally as an outstandingly qualified academic (e.g. awards, positive responses to publications, etc.).
  2. The nominee's future perspectives must indicate that she/he will continue to be an active, academically influential researcher in the coming years.
  3. Detailed expert opinion by an academic working at a research institution in Germany who would like to invite the nominee to spend time researching in Germany.
  4. Two expert reviews by important international and one from German collaborative partners and/or academics.
  5. The Humboldt Foundation assumes that candidates will abide by the Rules of Good Scientific Practice during the application and sponsorship periods.
 

Nominations may be sent to the following address at any time:

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, Selection Department,
Jean-Paul-Str. 12, 53173 Bonn, Germany

Selection Committee meetings are held twice a year – currently at the beginning of spring and in early autumn. Please bear in mind that processing the nomination normally takes up to six months. Therefore, nominations should be submitted well before the Selection Committee Meeting targeted.

It is the nominator's responsibility to ensure that he or she has submitted all the necessary documents. Nominations not submitted as a single entity will take longer to process. The documents required in addition to the nomination documents, i.e. the confidential statements by the expert reviewers, can be submitted to the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation directly, at the same time as the nomination. Subsequently, independent peer reviewers assess the nominations.

An independent Selection Committee composed of academics from all disciplines makes the final decision on the nominations received. The competition between nominations is international and there are no quotas for countries or disciplines. The Selection Committee makes its decision solely on the basis of the nominees' academic qualifications.

Nominees will be notified about the Selection Committee's decision immediately after the meeting.

Further information

One of our hallmarks is the degree of support we try to provide for every single guest researcher. This is why we offer you extra benefits in addition to the award amount: from invitations to events to language courses.

Further information

Once a Humboldtian, always a Humboldtian: Even after your initial research stay has come to an end, we shall still maintain close contact with you. Our alumni sponsorship is flexible and designed to support every Humboldtian’s particular path in life and development as well as collaborations between individuals.

Further information