This Junior Visiting Fellowship aims to support the research of Ukrainian scholars who are completing or have recently completed their doctoral studies. It offers access to the resources of the Institute for Human Sciences (IWM) in Vienna to younger researchers who have demonstrated exceptional talent to allow them to work on a research project of their own choice. The fellowships are open to all academic disciplines in the humanities and social sciences. Research proposals related to the mission and research of the IWM are strongly encouraged.
Call for Applications 2025–2026
Eligibility
Candidates for the Junior Visiting Fellowship
- must be Ukrainian citizens
- 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 selected finalists will be invited to spend four months between September 2025 and June 2026 at the IWM to pursue their research projects. 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 to cover accommodation, living expenses, travel, health insurance and any incidental costs related to their 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.
The deadline for applications is 15 January 2025.
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.
Mariia Shynkarenko
Research Associate, Ukraine in European Dialogue
