Lesia Ukraїnka Fellowship

The Lesia Ukraїnka Junior and Senior Visiting Fellowships, named after Ukrainian writer, poet, and feminist Lesia Ukraїnka (pen name of Larysa Kosach, 1872-1913), are awarded every academic year to outstanding scholars in the social sciences and humanities to support their research and development.

These fellowships are open to those whose scholarship addresses global issues in culture, society, or politics with reference to the Ukrainian past and present. Projects that consider feminism, literary history, anti-imperialism, and illness and disability—key facets of Lesia Ukrainka’s life and work—are particularly welcome.

Eligibility

Candidates for the Lesia Ukrainka Junior Visiting Fellowship

• must be enrolled in a doctoral program in the humanities or social sciences or have obtained a PhD in the same fields in the past four years.

Preference will be given to candidates currently based in Ukraine.

Senior visiting fellowships in this program are granted by invitation only.

Conditions

The Junior Visiting Fellowship lasts four months and can be spent at the IWM in Vienna between September 2025 and June 2026. Postdoctoral candidates––i.e., those who have defended their PhD by the date of the fellowship application deadline––will receive a stipend of EUR 3,300 per month; candidates currently pursuing their doctoral degree will receive a stipend of EUR 2,750 per month. These stipends are intended to cover accommodation, living expenses, travel, health insurance, and any incidental costs related to fellows’ stay in Vienna.

In addition, the IWM provides visiting fellows with office space, including internet access, in-house research and administrative facilities, as well as other services free of charge. The visiting fellows will join the scholarly community and participate in the activities of the Institute. Generally, fellowships start on the first day of the month and end on the last day of the month.

Application

Applications must be submitted through the IWM's online application form; we will be unable to consider applications sent via email.

Application materials consist of the following:

• Concise project proposal (max. 7,500 characters) that includes:
  • A statement of the research question(s)
  • A critical assessment of the existing literature
  • Research goals and expected results/outcome
• Brief cover letter that addresses:
  • How the project would benefit from time at the IWM
  • The connection to the IWM’s mission and research
  • Concrete research/writing goals during the fellowship 
• Curriculum vitae
• List of publications
• Two letters of recommendation by scholars familiar with the applicant’s academic work (Please note that the letters of recommendation need to be submitted directly by your referees within the application period. Your referees will receive an automatic email with a link to a webform after you have submitted your application.)

All application materials should be in English.

Important! Attached documents must be combined into a single PDF, as the online submission form only allows for one attachment. File names of attachments must use Latin characters. 

Applications are now closed.

Selection

The finalists will be selected by a jury of experts. Applicants will be notified of the jury’s decision in March/April 2025.

The jury is not required to publicly justify its decisions, nor to provide applicants individual feedback on their applications.