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National Research Funding and Scholarships for Postdocs

The most important national funding institutions for junior scholars are the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft – DFG) and the other large German foundations.

1. German Research Foundation (DFG)

• Research grants to conduct a research project; this can include funding for one's own position
• Walter Benjamin Programme for conducting a research project abroad (scholarship) or in Germany (position)
• Emmy Noether Programme to enable junior scholars to lead their own independent junior research group
• Heisenberg Programme for a scholarship, a position or a professorship if the requirements for tenure are met

Applications for these programs can be submitted at any time.

2. Foundations and Other Sources of Funding

• Alexander von Humboldt Foundation – promotes academic collaboration between outstanding researchers in Germany and abroad
  
  • Feodor Lynen Research Fellowship – for postdocs from Germany, to promote a research stay at a research institution abroad
  • Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdocs from abroad, to promote a research stay at a research institution in Germany
  • Georg Forster Research Fellowship for postdocs from developing countries who are pursuing research that is relevant to development and contributes to the transfer of knowledge and technology to developing countries
    
    
• Volkswagen Foundation – promotes research and teaching in science and technology
  
  • 'Freigeist' Fellowships – provide junior researchers with funding for their own position (head of a junior research group)
  • Lichtenberg Endowed Professorships – provide funding for professorships with acquisition of endowment capital by the host university
    
    
• Fritz Thyssen Foundation – promotes research in the following areas of support: history, language & culture, state, economy & society, medicine and natural sciences, as well as in the interdisciplinary area image–sound–language
  
  • Research Stipends for research projects shortly after completing one's doctoral degree
    
    
• Daimler and Benz Foundation – promotes interdisciplinary research to clarify interrelations between man, environment, and technology
  
  • Scholarships for postdoctoral scholars, assistant professors, and young managers of new research projects to finance research assistants, technical equipment, research trips, or attendance at conferences
    
    
• Leopoldina German National Academy of Sciences – represents the German scientific community in international bodie
  
  • Leopoldina Postdoc Scholarship for scientists from natural science and medicine from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
    
    
• German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) – promotes the international exchange of students and researchers
  
  • P.R.I.M.E. Postdoctoral Researchers International Mobility Experience – provides funding for a researcher position at a German university, including a period spent abroad and an integration phase in Germany
    
    
• Helmholtz Association – natural scientific-technical and medical-biological top-level research in the fields of energy, earth & environment, health, aeronautics, space, and transport, matter, and key techologies
  
  • Helmholtz Young Investigator Groups Program provides junior researchers with funding for their own position (head of a junior research group)
    
    
• Max Planck Society – top-level basic research in the natural sciences, life sciences, humanities, and social sciences
  
  • Max Planck Research Groups provide junior researchers with funding for their own position (head of an "institute-specific" or a "centrally announced" junior research group)

Please be mindful of the respective application deadlines.