17th Call for Proposals of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative

The 17th round of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will begin on 15.12.2025. The application deadline for the KIT-internal deadline is 30.01.2026.

All application documents must be submitted exclusively via the International Scholars and Welcome Office of KIT.

We ask for your understanding that only complete applications, consisting of a submitted framework form and the individual nominations, can be considered.

The selection results are expected to be available by the end of May 2026. Funding can be accepted from 01.07.2026. The current program documents and further information can be found on the website of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative.

For Information:

Endangerment can be documented, for example, by the Scholars at Risk Network (SAR) or by CARA (the Council for At-Risk Academics). Please contact us in advance, we will be happy to advise you and take over the communication with SAR or CARA for you.

For nominations of persons from Belarus, Russia, Azerbaijan and Central Asian countries, please contact us! Requests for proof of risk can only be made by nominating institutions (at KIT this is exclusively the International Scholars and Welcome Office Front Office).

For Afghan, Sudanese and Ukrainian nominees, a self-declaration of risk is sufficient (1 - 2 pages, German or English, written and signed by the nominee).

We advise you to contact us as soon as possible if you intend to nominate someone for the Philipp Schwartz Initiative. This is important as the partner organizations can only undertake a limited number of vulnerability assessments.

Proof of vulnerability can also be provided by other credible third parties. Please refer to the handout (PDF) on how to provide proof of vulnerability and contact the International Scholars and Welcome Office before asking a third party organization (as one of the partner organizations then mentioned) for proof of vulnerability.

In addition, candidates for a Philipp Schwartz Fellowship must fulfill the following criteria:

• Doctorate or comparable academic degree (Ph.D., C.Sc. or equivalent). In the case of legal or medical doctorates, proof of equivalence to a research doctorate must be provided.
• At the time of application, the person has not been living outside their home country for more than five years; "Bildungsinländer" are excluded.
• Language skills required for the successful completion of the research project.
• Scientific qualifications (e.g. publications)
• Potential for integration into the (science-related) labor market

Researchers who have already received funding as part of the Philipp Schwartz Initiative or who have access to a safe country of residence due to dual citizenship or other circumstances (e.g. marriage to an EU citizen) as well as German nationals are excluded from funding. Multiple nominations of one person by different potential host organizations are not possible.

If you have any questions, please get in touch with the following contact person: