Doctoral fellowships in accordance with the Hamburg Act for the Promotion of Young Researchers and Artists (HmbNFG)

You can either apply in April or May. Funding will start six months later on 1 October or 1 April.

Please note the exclusion clauses established by the University. Application periods customarily end on the last Fridays of April and October respectively. 

Please see our current call for fellowship applications (pdf) - the next funding period commences in April 2013.

You must have graduated with excellent, above-average grades and pursue your doctoral project at Universität Hamburg.

Basic fellowship: your university graduation should not date back more than one year. In special cases we may also consider applicants who graduated up to three years back (absolute max!), for instance, when family-related reasons have prevented you from continuing sooner.

Completion fellowship (alternative): you are a university graduate employed as a research associate at a University or research institution in Hamburg; your employment period must not exceed 4 years (absolute max!).

Fellowship funding, in principle granted for a year, should follow employment immediately. Exceptions will be made for special cases. You may be allowed 4 years of employment plus 3 more years of work (absolute max!) if family-related reasons prevented you from continuing sooner.

Funding cannot be granted if the applicant

• holds a doctorate
• receives or received funding for his doctoral project from a public or private source
• is still enrolled in a training or study course, e.g. teacher training course.

Important note! Your University graduation ought not date back more than one year from the beginning of the funding period.

The monthly fellowship amount is EUR 820. Parenting fellows may be eligible for an additional EUR 154 for childcare. Please submit verification for the latter.

Fellowships are granted for one year. Stipends maybe extended for an additional year. Completion fellowships cannot be extended!

All revenues defined as income by German tax law will be set off against the fellowship sum; i.e. if your

• marital status is single and your annual after income taxt deduction exceeds EUR 7,669
• you are married and your annual income after income tax deduction exceeds EUR 12,271.
  

The above amounts increase by EUR 1,023 per year with each supported child. This calculation is based on the total income as defined by § 2 (1) and (2) of the Income Tax Act. (Compare: § 5 of the Hamburg Act for the Promotion of Young Researchers and Artists (HmbNFG).

Please use the forms under "Downloads" to apply; it is very important that you follow the above instructions on application procedure specifics.

You can only apply for extensions of stipends during the application period. Your application must comprise a research report and two expert reviews.

Before applying, please read the act und die bylaws (pdf, in German only). You can find both under brochure (pdf) In special cases, do not hesitate to ask us!

Applicants are responsible for the timely and complete submission of all requested documents! For formal reasons late applications will not be accepted. The date of online submission applies. Certificates and diplomas may be submitted within a one-week extended deadline - please enquire after the exact date! 

Please address applications to:

Judith Dömer/Melanie Salge
Abteilung für Forschung und Wissenschaftsförderung
Mittelweg 177
20148 Hamburg

Your application will be examined by the responsible departmental committees for young researchers' funding. All committees state their assessments of the individual candidates and their projects in a priority list. The final decision lies with the University's central committee for young researchers' funding (Zentraler Ausschuss für die Nachwuchsförderung, ZANF).

• Step-by-step procedure (pdf)

Chances of success

Twice a year we receive 60 applications; approximately 15 candidates are accepted. About 30 extensions are granted.

Extension requests are tied to the deadlines established in the call for applications. As a rule theses cover the complete months April and October.

The application deadline for extensions starting in April 2013 has expired.

The next call for fellowship extensions concerning October 2013 will be posted this April. 

• Extension request (pdf)

Fellows are permitted supplementary jobs that comprise 4 hours per week. Income from the4-hour outside activity will not be set off against the fellowship sum.

• Notification about a supplementary job (pdf)

Per funding period material and travel costs up to EUR 1,023 can be reimbursed. This does not include expenses for books. Travel costs are granted according to the lowest level of the Hamburg Travel Cost Act (HmbRkG). The German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) provides supplementary grants for periods abroad - covering 31 days to 12 months.

Please make sure to apply at least 4 weeks prior to your trip. Travel costs can only be reimbursed if you apply for support well in advance of your journey.

Requests for reimbursement of material and travel costs can be submitted at any time. If approved the University conducts reimbursements 4 times per annum (August; November; February; May). In urgent cases advance payments may be possible.

• Request for travel cost reimbursement (pdf)
  
• Request for Material cost reimbursement (pdf)
  

Graduates and postdocs with German citizenship can apply for supplementary DAAD funding for research projects abroad. Funding can be granted for a maximum of 12 months aboad within the framework of the States' Graduate Funding program. More information at:

• DAAD supplementary grants within the framework of the State Graduate funding program (DAAD web site)
• Application form for DAAD funding (pdf)
  
• Information sheet funding for extended periods abroad (pdf)