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Travel Assistance

Map of Europe with a pen of the university
Photo: Rolf K. Wegst

MArburg University Research Academy (MARA) generally awards travel assistance twice a year to its doctoral candidate members and postdocs. For example, you may apply for travel to conferences, field visits, and visits to archives if no other funding opportunities are available.

For application to MARA travel assistance please note the following: 

Proof of application to another institution must always be provided. If it is not possible to apply to another institution at all, be sure to justify this in the application form and include supporting documents.
Particularly relevant in this context is the reference to the DAAD conference travel program, for which applications must be received no later than 4 months (120 days) before the start of the event. If you would like to attend a conference abroad, be sure to apply well in advance. 

By submitting your abstract for an international conference, you can apply directly to the DAAD. This is possible at any time. Your abstract does not have to be accepted yet!
The DAAD only requires a completed application form, your CV with publication list, the abstract and an academic transcript. Everything else can be submitted later.

Afterwards, you are welcome to apply  to the current call for travel assistance at MARA. Applications to MARA are inadmissible if a possible DAAD application is submitted late. These applications will be rejected.

  • Tender period

    Calls for applications are usually made in spring and autumn. You will find information on current tenders further down this page.

  • Funding conditions

    It is important to note that there is only a small budget available for travel allowances each year and that we are therefore unfortunately unable to fund all applications. We ask for your understanding. For this reason, our funding program is designed as a so-called emergency fund or failure funding. This means that MARA only supports scientific trips if no other funding or funding is possible. For you, this means that you must first apply for funding elsewhere (e.g. your department, the DAAD, a foundation, a specialist society, etc.). We ask Begabtenförderungswerke scholarship recipients to inquire with their Begabtenförderungswerk about fixed travel allowances and/or additional assistance for international travel. If your application is rejected there or if there is no funding opportunity at all elsewhere for your specific travel project, you have the option of applying to MARA.

    Should you have already submitted an application for travel assistance elsewhere or be able to apply for such assistance, you are always required to provide proof of such application. If the other entity has not yet decided on granting assistance and all other requirements have been met, MARA may approve travel assistance on the condition that no other funding is granted. If you wish to apply to MARA, please submit a written refusal from the Begabtenförderungswerk.

    • Special rules apply for possible funding of international travel through DAAD programs: Should a corresponding DAAD program exist (see especially the DAAD Kongress- and Vortragsreisenprogramm as well as the Programm für Kurzstipendien für Doktorandinnen und Doktoranden), you are expected to first or parallel apply with the DAAD; please supply us with proof of that application. Please note that missing the DAAD application deadline cannot be recognized by MARA as a valid reason for applying. This also applies if the DAAD has declined an application on formal grounds.
      Please note that in some DAAD programs certain application documents – for example, confirmation of acceptance as a speaker, verification of the amount of the conference fee, or a letter from your advisor – may be submitted later so that you can first submit an application without these documents. Please review the corresponding DAAD conditions for application thoroughly before concluding that you cannot apply for the programs in question.
    • It is obligatory that no travel warning has been issued by the Federal Foreign Office or the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) for the destination of the planned journey.

  • What can be promoted?

    Your travel must be related to your respective doctoral or research project. A travel assistance is then available for

    A) International travel:

    • Travel to conferences (only if applicant is contributing to the conference)
    • Travel for academic collaboration (also summer schools and similar formats in the interest of academic discourse and not exclusively continuing education)
    • Field research (archive, library, monuments, etc.)

    B) Domestic Travel:

    • Travel to national conferences (only if applicant is contributing to the conference)
    • Travel to international conferences (only if applicant is contributing to the conference)
    • Field research (archive, library, monuments, etc.)

    As part of the travel assistance offered by MARA, travel expenses, accommodation expenses, and other expenses such as conference fees can be covered at their actual value.

  • What cannot be promoted?

    Costs for food, including a daily allowance, and costs for books cannot be covered by MARA.

    In principle, all PhD students and post-docs at Philipps University can apply. There is an exception in the case of doctoral candidates in the field of medicine: Medical students obtaining a Dr. med. and dent.  degree are eligible to apply from the second year of the doctorate (the date of enrollment at the department applies here).

    Only one trip per person and call will be sponsored. If you have already received two travel grants from MARA during your doctoral or post-doctoral phase, it is no longer possible to apply.

    Travel from abroad to Germany is not eligible for funding.

    Once an application for a travel allowance has been declined, it cannot be submitted a second time.

    As a result of the Russian attack on Ukraine, Philipps-Universität Marburg and MARA are not promoting any travel to Russia. We are aware of the consequences of these measures and at the same time deeply regret this.

  • How is travel promoted?

    Fundig is available in the amount of 2,000 EUR per applicant and 1,500 EUR per trip during the doctoral and postdoc phase. Only one application for a travel grant can be submitted per person per call.

  • Current calls for application

    The next call for Travel Assistance is expected to take place in spring 2024. Unfortunately, no applications can be accepted outside of the official call for applications.

  • Further hints

    Only applications for travel assistance that is currently being offered will be accepted. Please see the current call for applications for details on the application deadline, documents to be submitted, application procedures, and all additional information.

    Please note that the planning and organization of your travel is not done through MARA but through your department. This also applies if you are requesting permission for work-related travel.

Contact

Dr. Jan-Paul Klünder
MArburg University Research Academy (MARA)
Funding
Tel.: +49 (0)6421 28 21299
E-mail: mara.foerderungen@uni-marburg.de

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