Philipp Schwartz Initiative (Bridge and full Fellowships)

All application documents must be submitted exclusively via the online portal which you can access by clicking on the "Start online application" button in the right-hand column. We kindly ask for your understanding that only complete applications, consisting of a submitted framework form and the individual nominations, can be considered.

Researchers who are demonstrably at risk – irrespective of discipline and country of origin – are eligible for sponsorship under the Initiative. At-risk status can be verified either by a residence status in the context of an asylum-granting procedure within the EU that confirms a recognised threat or a credible threat assessment issued by a third party. Threat assessment: At the start of each call for applications, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will announce which of its partner organisations can carry out risk assessments. Please note: As their capacities are exhausted, SAR and Cara are unable to process any further requests for the current call for applications. If you are nominating individuals from Belarus, Russia, Azerbaijan or the Central Asian countries, please email us at schwartz-initiative[at]avh.de. For nominees from Afghanistan, Sudan and Ukraine, a self-report on their at-risk status is sufficient (one to two pages in German or English, written and signed by the nominee). We would like to remind you that risk can also be documented by other credible third parties. Only nominating organisations should request proof of risk. Please refer to our handout (PDF) on threat assessments and contact us before requesting a threat assessment from a third-party organisation. Candidates for a Philipp Schwartz Fellowship must, moreover, fulfil the following criteria: have completed a doctorate or comparable academic degree (PhD, CSc or equivalent); in the case of legal or medical doctorates, provide evidence of equivalence to a research PhD not be or have been resident outside their own country for more than five years at the time of application; researchers who hold German university entrance qualifications (“Bildungsinländer”) are not eligible have the language skills required to successfully conduct their research projects have academic qualifications (e.g. publications) have the potential to be integrated in the (broader academic) employment market Researchers who have already received sponsorship under the Philipp Schwartz Initiative or who have access to residence in safe countries due to dual nationality or other circumstances (e.g. marriage to an EU citizen) are not eligible for sponsorship; the same applies to German citizens. Multiple nominations of one and the same individual by various potential host institutions are not permissible.

Accepts transfer credit.