Should you have any questions which are not covered in either the FAQ or the Call for Applications, you may contact us via e-mail to kwi.fellowships@gmail.com. Given that we are receiving a lot of e-mails, please understand that we may not always answer immediately and may not respond to questions which are already stated in the FAQ.
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE “KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS” AND THE “THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP”?
Our KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS address excellent international researchers from the humanities, cultural studies, and the social sciences with a completed PhD plus up to 6 years of post-doctoral experience.
The THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP, funded by the Fritz Thyssen Foundation, is integrated into the fellowship programme and reaches out to excellent researchers of all nationalities with a completed PhD plus several years of post-doctoral experience. We expect applicants to work on a project that differs from their PhD research.
PLEASE NOTE THE DIFFERENTIATION IN THE FOLLOWING FAQS.
HOW DO I SUBMIT MY APPLICATION?
The application is to be submitted digitally to kwi.fellowships@gmail.com. When applying to the KWI International Fellowships, use the SUBJECT LINE: “KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS” ; for the Thyssen@KWI Fellowship, please use the SUBJECT LINE: “THYSSEN@KWI-FELLOWSHIP”.
The application must contain a CV, a list of publications and a proposal sketching your KWI project (up to 5.000 characters including spaces). Applications which are incomplete or submitted too late will not be considered.
Once your application has been submitted, you will receive an automatically generated email. Please note that you will receive this e-mail only once, regardless of the numbers of e-mails previously sent to us (including possible questions). This is no binding confirmation of receipt. The applicants are responsible for the correct submission of the application; we will not provide any further “certificates”.
SHALL I SEND MY APPLICATION IN ONE SINGLE FILE?
Applications must be sent in the form of ONE SINGLE PDF-file (max. 20 MB). Due to IT safety regulations, we will not accept applications with links to external platforms. Applications that consist of several documents or that include word documents will not be considered.
CAN I SEND MY APPLICATION IN OTHER FILE FORMATS?
Please send your application in PDF-format only. Due to data security reasons, word files or other file formats may get rejected.
YOUR CALL ASKS FOR A PROPOSAL OF UP TO 5,000 CHARACTERS. DOES THIS MEAN 5,000 WORDS?
The project proposal requests 5,000 characters including spaces, which does not mean 5,000 words. Please use the “word count” of your word processor to determine the number of characters (including spaces).
ARE GERMANS ELIGIBLE TO APPLY?
The KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS primarily address international researchers. Researchers of German nationality are only eligible to apply if they are currently employed at an international institute.
The THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP addresses international researchers as well as researchers of German nationality if they can demonstrate excellent international contacts and work experiences.
IS THIS FELLOWSHIP OPEN TO SCHOLARS AT ALL STAGES OF THEIR CAREERS? OR IS IT LIMITED TO RECENT PHDS?
The KWI INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIPS address research fellows with a completed PhD plus up to but no more than six years of post-doctoral experience. The PhD must be completed at the start of the fellowship and fellows will be required to send a PhD certificate with the applications. Applications from fellows who exceed these 6 years of post-doctoral experience can, however, be considered if this is due to reasons of employment related to the fellow’s research field (e.g. curatorial activity in a museum) or due to biographical explanations (e.g. parenthood, scholar at risk etc.).
In contrast, the THYSSEN@KWI FELLOWSHIP addresses researchers with a completed PhD and requires several years (no limit) of post-doctoral experience. We expect applicants to work on a project that differs from their PhD research.
I HAVE NOT YET FINISHED MY PHD. CAN I STILL APPLY FOR THE INTERNATIONAL FELLOWSHIP?
The PhD must be completed at the start of the fellowship, so that at the time of the application, the PhD thesis will need to be submitted with a Viva date expected to take place before the beginning of the fellowship. Candidates are asked to send a PhD certificate, an alternative for those who recently submitted will be a letter of the department/institute confirming the thesis submission.
ARE THE START AND END DATES OF THE FELLOWSHIP FIXED? WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO START A MONTH EARLIER/LATER AND END A MONTH EARLIER/LATER?
The start and end dates of the fellowship as well as the duration are not flexible. Due to our term schedule and its research activities, we cannot accommodate changes or postponements, apart from reasons related to the COVID-19 pandemic.
WHAT ARE APPROPRIATE PROJECTS FOR THIS FELLOWSHIP?
The fellowship could be devoted to, among others, finishing a manuscript, designing a new research project or writing a grant application. The research project needs to be linked to KWI’S programmatic agenda. Please note that during the application phase, we will not give any feedback on either the suitability or quality of projects as well as applications.
I AM WONDERING IF I AM ELIGIBLE TO APPLY.
The conditions for applying for a KWI fellowship are explained in our calls.
The suitability of your application will be assessed by the committee. We cannot give you any feedback before the assessment and before the application deadline.
WILL I RECEIVE FEEDBACK SHOULD MY APPLICATION BE REJECTED?
Due to the large number of applications, we unfortunately cannot provide feedback on applications or projects.
HOW LONG WILL THE EVALUATION PROCESS TAKE?
Decisions will be announced roughly 4 months before the beginning of the fellowship.
DO I HAVE TO APPLY FOR THE ENTIRE PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS OR CAN I STAY ONLY FOR PART OF THE TIME?
We do not offer fellowships that are shorter than six months since our research activities are structured around our term schedule. Fellows are requested to actively take part in lectures, conferences, reading groups and other academic events at KWI during their fellowship. We expect the fellows to be present at least 4 days a week.
DOES THE FELLOWSHIP INCLUDE A FAMILY ALLOWANCE OR COVER TRAVELING EXPENSES?
Fellows are free to bring their family, but the fellowship does not include an additional family allowance. Travel expenses for arrival to and departure from KWI can be partially reimbursed for the fellow but not for the fellow’s family or relatives. KWI offers a separate parent-child office that can be booked for hours or days.
I HAVE MISSED THE DEADLINE. CAN MY APPLICATION STILL BE CONSIDERED?
We do not accept applications that are sent to us after the deadline.
CAN I RESEND THE APPLICATION IF I FIND A MISTAKE IN THE MATERIAL?
You may send us an updated version of your application during the application period. Once the evaluation process is underway, we do not accept corrections to the application materials.
CAN I UPDATE MY APPLICATION AFTER THE APPLICATION PERIOD HAS ENDED?
We will not update application materials after the deadline; however, if you wish to inform the committee of significant developments relating to your career progress, you may notify us by e-mail. We will pass relevant information on to the committee.