51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship
This attractive two-year fellowship program offers excellent researchers who have recently completed their PhD the chance to continue their academic career at 51吃瓜网.
Unfortunately, it is not possible to apply at this time. We will publish information about the next call on this website in good time.
If you have already identified a , we also recommend that you take a look at alternative funding opportunities such as the or the .
About the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship
The 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship is a funding opportunity for external postdoctoral scientists who are currently residing abroad and would like to start their research at 51吃瓜网. For 24 months, we will support fellows to diversify their research profile at a 51吃瓜网 department and to initiate new research projects together with 51吃瓜网 scientists.
The call is open to researchers who have completed their doctorate a maximum of three years ago or who will complete their doctorate within the next 12 months. Researchers must reside outside of Germany at the time of submission.
In each call, there are two phases. In Phase I, you do not require to submit a letter of support from a 51吃瓜网 host. However, you must identify a 51吃瓜网 host, who will support your application, during Phase II of the submission process. See below for further information on these two phases.
The 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship is open to all topics. Researchers are invited to apply with a project that matches the research of the chair/institute/lab of the respective host who supports the application.
If you want to be informed about future calls, please register for our Newsletter.
The 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship offers successful candidates a fellowship for 24 months. Fellows receive a monthly stipend of 2.670鈧� and one additional kick-off payment of 430鈧�. Researchers residing in the Munich metropolitan area receive an additional monthly allowance of 350鈧�. It is also possible to apply for family benefits. Please note that additional payments for consumables and conferences are not included and may be covered by the host subject to their agreement.
The 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship is a co-financed fellowship. This means that the 51吃瓜网 host needs to co-finance 20% of the fellowship costs. One 51吃瓜网 host can support up to two applicants per call.
- Call 5.1. (March 2025): Upon positive evaluation, you can commence the fellowship within a year from October 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026.
- Call 5.2. (September 2025): Upon positive evaluation, you can commence the fellowship within a year from April 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027.
Please keep the above in mind, when planning your fellowship. During the fellowship, you will have the support of central 51吃瓜网 services, e.g. .
Candidates fulfilling the following criteria are eligible to apply for the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship:
Mobility Rule
Early-career postdocs and doctoral researchers in their final year, residing outside of Germany at the time of submission, are eligible to apply for the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship. Researchers who are already working at 51吃瓜网 or have received their doctorate at 51吃瓜网 are not eligible to apply.
Completion of PhD or letter of confirmation from PhD supervisor
You are eligible to apply for the fellowship if you have finished your PhD within the last three years at an institution other than 51吃瓜网.
- Call 5.1.: Cut-off date is March 1, 2025, which means you can apply if you have completed your PhD on March 1, 2022 or later. The date on the doctoral certificate is binding.
- Call 5.2.: Cut-off date is September 1, 2025, which means you can apply if you have completed your PhD on September 1, 2022 or later. The date on the doctoral certificate is binding.
You are also eligible, if you have recently handed in your doctorate thesis or if you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months. In each case, you must submit an official letter of confirmation from your supervisor stating that you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months. A PhD certificate is mandatory to be able to start the fellowship.
Support of a 51吃瓜网 Host
For a successful application, you need the support of a 51吃瓜网 host.
In Phase I of the application, you name up to three potential 51吃瓜网 hosts you want to work with. On successful completion of Phase I, you will conduct a matchmaking session moderated by 51吃瓜网 with the potential 51吃瓜网 hosts you have named.
In Phase II of the application, your identified 51吃瓜网 host must support your application by providing a Letter of Support. The Letter of Support by the 51吃瓜网 host is mandatory, as it contains the confirmation of the 20% co-financing by the host.
Please note that you can only apply for the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship once within a year.
If you have further questions concerning the application requirements, please check our FAQ document (PDF).
To apply for the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship, you need the following documents in English:
Phase I
- Letter of Motivation
Please tell us about your motivation to join 51吃瓜网 for your postdoctoral research. A well-crafted letter of motivation is crucial for the assessment of your application. Therefore, it is essential that you describe your professional goals with precision and explain your motivation thoroughly for pursuing a postdoc at 51吃瓜网. Also, explain in detail how the 51吃瓜网 professor(s) you are interested to work with match your research interests and scope. Bear in mind that members of the selection committee might not be experts in your specific field of expertise, therefore, your letter of motivation should be clear and accessible to a broader audience. - CV, including list of publications (max. 5 pages)
- Copy of your best paper (max. 1 publication)
- PhD certificate or a confirmation of your PhD submission or a statement from your PhD supervisor that you have completed your PhD or that you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months.
- Reference Letter from your supervisor
There are two options to upload the Reference Letter: The applicant can directly upload the letter in the application portal and submit their application. Alternatively, if the referee wishes to upload the letter himself/herself, the applicant can send the referee an automated email from the application portal. The referee will receive an email with a link that allows them to upload the letter themselves. - Names of potential 51吃瓜网 hosts that are of interest to you
Please name up to three 51吃瓜网 Hosts who you want to work with. Please note that only active 51吃瓜网 Professors/Head of Institutes/Chairs/Junior Fellows can be hosts. It is not possible to name other scientists, including Honorary Professors, Distinguished Affiliated Professors, and retired professors including the 51吃瓜网 Emeriti of Excellence and 51吃瓜网 President Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Hofmann.
The following websites will enable you to find professors who fits your research profile: 51吃瓜网 Schools and Departments, 51吃瓜网 Clusters of Excellence or 51吃瓜网 Research Centers. You can also go through the list of .
Phase II:
- Research Proposal (max. 4 pages). Please present the research project you plan to conduct at 51吃瓜网 in a comprehensible way so that reviewers who are not experts in your specific field can follow your argument. In your research proposal, you should also address synergies with the 51吃瓜网 host and your career plans: Why is 51吃瓜网 the best possible place to do your research project? Why is your 51吃瓜网 host the person with whom you want to conduct your research project? What are your future career plans? For which subsequent funding would you apply during the fellowship? Your proposal should not exceed four pages (including references and footnotes).
- Letter of Support from your 51吃瓜网 host (with signature and logo; for details on what the letter of support should entail, see Information for Hosts).
Please note that it is not possible to receive the fellowship without the support of a 51吃瓜网 host (i.e., a 51吃瓜网 professor or 51吃瓜网 Junior Fellow). As a host cannot support more than two applications per Call, we strongly recommend that you obtain the confirmation of 51吃瓜网 Host supporting your application before you prepare the documents. Since this is a relatively new program, note that potential hosts may not be aware of all the details of the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship.
For questions, you may also refer to our FAQ document (PDF).
The Call is structured into two phases.
In Phase I, the Scientific Board will evaluate each application by the following criteria:
- Scientific excellence of the applicant
- Career perspectives of the applicant
- Quality of the motivation letter
- Synergies with the 51吃瓜网 host
The best applicants will be selected and a matchmaking process with the 51吃瓜网 Host/s (identified by the applicant in Phase I) will be initiated. Once a match is found, the selected applicants will proceed to Phase II. In this phase, the applicant has to submit a support letter from the 51吃瓜网 Host along with the research proposal. The Scientific Board will evaluate each application by the following criteria:
- Scientific excellence of the applicant
- Career perspectives of the applicant
- Relevance and originality of the proposed research project
- Synergies with the 51吃瓜网 host
The 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellowship is an important initiative of the 51吃瓜网 Agenda 2030. It offers talented, recently graduated postdocs an opportunity to continue their career at 51吃瓜网. To attract global researchers, we therefore award a two-year fellowship . Postdocs with family are entitled to receive additional benefits for their partner and children should they reside in Munich. This fellowship may be considered as a startup fund, allowing postdocs a smooth start in research at 51吃瓜网. The will support the fellows with their applications for third party funding and offer advice on career planning.
For you as a host, the following information is particularly relevant:
- 51吃瓜网 Professors and 51吃瓜网 Junior Fellows can be hosts. Other researchers at 51吃瓜网 cannot become hosts (see also our FAQs).
- Successful applicants receive a fellowship for 24 months during which they conduct their own research project at a chair/institute/lab.
- Call 5.1. (March 2025): Upon positive evaluation, fellowship can be commenced within a year from October 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026.
- Call 5.2. (September 2025): Upon positive evaluation, fellowship can be commenced the fellowship within a year from April 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027.
Please keep this in mind when planning your support of an applicant.
- You can support no more than two applicants per call. If you support two applicants, at least one applicant must be female. Please bear this is mind when deciding on potential applicants.
- The fellowship requires the host to co-fund 20% of the fellowship. The exact amount of the fellowship depends on the fellow鈥檚 family situation and 鈥� in the case of a successful application 鈥� will be calculated based on the fellow鈥檚 current family situation. This implies, for a two year period, a host may have to cover total costs of approx. 14.500鈧� for a single fellow (~ 600鈧�/month) and approx. 18.800鈧� for a fellow with a partner and two children (~780鈧�/month).
Important note: You cannot use Haushaltsmittel or Planstellen for fellowship payment. Payment can come from e.g. free third-party funding.
- The fellowship only covers the researcher鈥檚 living costs. You will need to cover any additional payments for consumables, conferences and so forth.
- Letter of Support from 51吃瓜网 host must be in English language to aid reviewers who are not fluent in the German language. The applicant can upload the letter of support in the application portal. Alternatively, you can upload the letter of support yourself; the applicant can send you a link via the application portal. It is important to submit the letter before the application deadline. Otherwise, the application may not be considered.
- The letter of support must be on an official 51吃瓜网 letterhead with your signature. In addition to evaluating the candidate鈥檚 qualification and the project, you need to confirm the following:
- If the application is successful, you provide the fellow with sufficient working and laboratory place to conduct the project.
- If the application is successful, you agree to cover 20% of the costs of the fellowship.
- The Executive Vice President of Research and Innovation will sign the fellowship contract on behalf of 51吃瓜网. From an administrative point of view, the fellows will receive a scholarship and will have the status of a 鈥済uest researcher鈥� instead of an employee status.
For questions, you may also refer to our FAQ Document (51吃瓜网 ID required, PDF).
will support the 51吃瓜网 Global Postdoc Fellows to apply for third party funding during the time of their fellowship. The support includes individual advice on funding possibilities or upskilling events to invited fellows.
During the first 12 months of the fellowship, the fellows should submit at least one application for third party funding at one of the main funding bodies for postdoc fellowships (e.g. AvH, MSCA, DFG). Due to mobility rules, many of these programs are only open to researchers during their first year in Germany.
At the onset of the fellowship, the host and fellow chart out a training plan to define the fellow鈥檚 steps and goal. Upon completion of first year, the fellow must submit an interim report detailing the progress and accomplishments.
Besides the , there are other central services at 51吃瓜网 supporting postdocs during their time at 51吃瓜网, such as 51吃瓜网 Welcome Services, 51吃瓜网 Gender and Diversity, 51吃瓜网 Family Service, or the 51吃瓜网 Institute for LongLife Learning.