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Writer's pictureOmran Aburayya

CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship in Germany 2025

Updated: Jun 20

Atenção Pesquisadores! – Attention, researchers from Brazil! The CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship supports you – postdoctoral researchers and experienced researchers – with your research in Germany.

If you are a Brazilian looking for a postdoc fellowship in Germany, The CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship is an option you should definitely consider.

In providing The CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowships for postdocs, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation enables highly-qualified scientists and scholars from Brazil who are just embarking on their academic careers and who completed their doctorates less than four years ago to spend extended periods of research (6–24 months) in Germany. Scientists and scholars from all disciplines may apply.


The research outline is carried out in cooperation with academic hosts at research institutions in Germany. Applicants choose their own topic of research and their host in Germany. Details of the research outline including information on the intended duration of the fellowship must be agreed with the intended host before applying. The duration of the research fellowship is 6-24 months.

Short-term visits for study and training purposes or for attending conferences are not eligible for sponsorship.


In this article we provide you with key details about this opportunity for postdoc fellows.

 

Eligibility

To be Considered for the CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship, you must be a Brazilian satisfying below requirements:


Postdoctoral Researchers: You can apply if you have completed your doctorate less than four years ago. You should have a clearly defined research profile, typically working at least at the level of Assistant Professor or Junior Research Group Leader.


Experienced Researchers: Even if you are well advanced in your academic career, you can still apply for this Fellowship if you collected your doctorate during the last twelve years.


 

Humboldt Research Fellowship benefits


Awardees of the Humboldt Fellowship enjoy the following benefits:

  • Monthly fellowship amount of €2,670 for postdoc fellows

  • Monthly fellowship amount of €3,170 for experienced researchers.

  • Conduct your research in Germany.

  • Individual support from the Humboldt Foundation.

  • Potential subsidy towards research costs for your host.

  • Additional benefits include a mobility lump sum, medical and liability insurance coverage, and more.

  • language fellowship for an intensive language course lasting two to four months at selected language institutes in Germany immediately prior to the actual period of research; language fellowships may also be granted to accompanying marital partners;

  • family allowances for accompanying family members staying at least three months.

  • Additional extension of the fellowship up to 12 months for research fellows accompanied by children under the age of 12;

  • Europe allowance for a research stay at a research institute in another European country

  • A subsidy towards research costs to be paid to the hosts in Germany amounting to 800 EUR per month (for research in the natural sciences and engineering) and 500 EUR (for research in the humanities and social sciences);

  • Extensive alumni sponsorship once a successful research stay has come to an end,

 

Research Stay

The fellowship enables you to conduct research at various stages of your career in collaboration with a host at a German research institution of your choice

The duration of the fellowship can be 6 to 24 months for postdocs and 6 to 18 months for experienced researchers. The research outline is carried out in cooperation with your academic host in Germany. You choose your own research topic and host.

 

General Application requirements


1). Doctorate in Brazil or abroad with an official revalidation in Brazil completed less than four

(4) years prior to the date of application. PhD diplomas and, for diplomas obtained abroad,

also the revalidation in Brazil, must be submitted with the application to both organizations.


2. Academic publications reviewed according to international standards and printed in

journals and/or by publishing houses.


3). Confirmation that research facilities are available and mentoring agreement and a

detailed expert’s statement by an academic host at a research institution in Germany.


4). Necessary language skills:

  • Humanities or social sciences and medicine: good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the research successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English

  • Natural sciences and engineering: good knowledge of German or English.


5). Brazilian nationality or permanent residence visa in Brazil. Potential applicants of German

nationality are eligible to apply provided that their habitual place of work and residence has

been located in Brazil on the assumption of permanence for at least five years. Potential

applicants who have completed their school education and one university degree or one

university degree and their doctorate in Germany are subject to the regulations governing German citizens.


6). Applicants must reside in Brazil at the time of application.


7). Eligible applicants must have lived outside Germany for a minimum of 12 months in total

in the 18-month period prior to submission of the application. Any person who, regardless of

their country of residence, has supported themselves for more than six out of the last 18

months with financing from a German institution or who has worked on a doctoral project at an institution in Germany in the last 18 months also is not eligible to apply.


8). Identical applications have to be submitted to the Humboldt Foundation’s and Capes online systems in time (whereas the host’s documents have to be submitted only to the Humboldt Foundation); Capes may request additional documents from the applicants (see Capes homepage for details).


➢ For more information, see the questions and answers on Humboldt Foundation homepage.

 

Application procedure and documents


Interested candidates are invited to submit their applications online through the online application portal.


A complete application has:

  1. curriculum vitae (two pages max)

  2. research outline ( five pages max)

  3. complete list of your publications

  4. list of selected key publications

  5. key publications

  6. doctoral certificate or proof that your doctorate has been completed successfully, or confirmation that this will be the case within the next six months

  7. German language certificate, if required

  8. If required: publisher’s acceptance notifications and/or acknowledgement of receipt and summaries/translations of key publications that are not available in German or in English

  9. Host’s statement and confirmation that research facilities are available, as well as two expert reviews.


Deadline and key dates

The timetable for the selection rounds can be found on the respective homepages of both

cooperation partners. Applications for a selection round can be submitted until the end of the deadline listed there (until 17:00 local time Brasilia).

The application documents will then usually be forwarded to independent reviewers appointed by Capes and the Humboldt Foundation for written review. On the basis of these independent peer reviews a selection committee composed of about 12 academics reaches a decision on approving research fellowships. The selection committee meets twice a year, in spring and in autumn.


If an application has been approved, The fellow will be asked to fill in a link at Capes system and send additional documents to be able to receive benefits of the scholarship.

 

LINKS


Downloadable content

 

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