Austrian Database for Scholarships and Research Grants – www.grants.at
Richard Plaschka Fellowship
Country of origin:
All except Austria
Target country:
Austria
Area of study or research:
Humanities
History, Archaeology
Type of grant:
grants
Detailed type of grant:
Semester and/or one-year grants, Research grants
Funding:
National
Target group:
PhD students
PhD holders, post docs
Researchers
Funding organisation:
Republic of Austria, Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF);
Awarding organisation: OeAD-GmbH – Austria’s Agency for Education and Internationalisation; Mobility Programmes and Cooperation
Duration:
4 to 18 months
The initial award is up to 12 months; following a positive evaluation, it is possible to extend the grant for up to 18 months.
Grant benefit paid:
Supplementary grant, own funds are required

1. Monthly grant rate: 2,500 Euro

2. Assistance in arranging accommodation and health insurance
  • It is possible for OeAD scholarship holders to book accommodation (dormitory or apartment) with the OeAD student housing. The monthly costs are:
    • monthly rent: roughly 330 Euro to 800 Euro (depending on the amenities)
    • monthly administrative fee: currently 24 Euro.
  • OeAD scholarship holders need to have health insurance that is accepted by the Austrian authorities for the duration of their stay in Austria. The OeAD-GmbH can help with taking out such insurance. The monthly costs can vary, at the moment you should calculate 55 Euro to 200 Euro (depending on your age, scholarship category and state of health).
  • Scholarship holders have to pay the costs for accommodation and insurance themselves.
  • Applicants from EU/EEA countries: within the European Union, costs for medical care are covered by the national insurance carrier in your home country. Please have your European health insurance card with you at all times.
3. Scholarship holders from non European developing countries (Least Developed Countries, Low Income Countries and Lower Middle Income Countries and Territories“ according to DAC list 2022/23 + Gabon, Malaysia, Namibia, South Africa, Thailand) [https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/ICM/MPC/BMBWF_travel_allowance_dac_list_2022-2023_final.pdf], will also receive a travel costs subsidy of max. 1.200 Euro.

4. Applicants from non-EU/EEA countries who are planning a research stay of more than 6 months: If your monthly costs for accommodation in Austria exceed 300 Euro you may need to provide proof of additional funds to the Austrian residence authority when you apply for your residence permit. This figure may vary depending on your individual costs for health insurance and other liabilities.
Closing date for applications:
01. 03. 2025
Apply direct
Application form:
Required documents for the application:
The following documents have to be uploaded with the online application at https://www.scholarships.at :
  • Two letters of recommendation by university lecturers who qualify as professors (habilitation or equal qualification). The Austrian supervisor must not issue a letter of recommendation in addition to the consent (see below). For these letters of recommendation no specific form is required; however, they must contain the letterhead, date and signature of the person recommending the applicant and the stamp of the university/department and must not be older than six months at the time of application;
  • Consent of a habilitated lecturer at the Austrian target institution to supervise the applicant academically;
  • Scan of your passport (page with name and photo);
  • Scan of your university graduation certificate of your diploma or master and/or PhD or doctoral studies;
  • Scientific synopsis and bibliography related to the research project;
  • proof of teaching assignment;
  • proof of employment at a university.
Only for Praedocs:
  • current confirmation that proves your participation in a PhD-programme at your home university.
Applicants without employment or teaching experience are advised to apply for the Ernst Mach grant programme.
Advice on how to apply:
Goals:
  • To support young academics. The fellowship should take place in the first half of the fellow’s academic career.
  • To promote research cooperation.
  • To establish an effective network of researchers with relations to Austria.
Eligible for application are:
Eligible for application are highly qualified researchers in the field of history who are primarily occupied with Austria-related topics. These are: Postdocs as well as Praedocs from countries not familiar with the Habilitation system (state doctorate/postdoctoral lecture qualification).
The applicants teaching activity and publications will be considered when evaluating their qualification for the Richard Plaschka-Fellowship.

Recipients of Richard Plaschka grants can work as visiting researchers at university departments and institutes and carry out studies in libraries, archives or at research institutions.

Applicants must not have lived/studied/pursued research/pursued academic work in Austria in the last six months before taking up the grant. Applicants who are already permanently residing in Austria or who have completed their academic education mainly in Austria are not eligible to apply.

It is mandatory for applicants to get in contact with the research institution of their choice in Austria before applying for this grant.

Follow-on support:
Follow-on support may be requested after a positive evaluation of the candidate’s first 12 months at an Austrian university and if the candidate is working as a Postdoc lecturer at a university abroad. In consultation with the Austrian academic supervisor, the Richard Plaschka Scholarship Commission decides if fellows will be admitted into the follow-on programme.
For more information about the programme, please contact the OeAD-GmbH (details below).

General information:
  • Incomplete applications and applications that do not fulfil the application criteria will not be considered.
  • The selection process for all grants for Austria is competitive, i.e. there is no legal claim to a grant even if all application requirements are fulfilled. The number of grants that will be awarded during one call depends on the quota and/or the available budget. Applicants may apply for several grants at the same time.
  • Grant holders must be present at their place of study in Austria to study or conduct their research project.
  • Once an application has been rejected, it will not be considered any further within that call. However, it is possible to re-apply for this grant with a revised application in the future.
  • Applicants must comply with the admission regulations of the respective university.
  • When planning the timing of your stay, please take into account that no more than 7 scholarship months should be consumed per calendar year
Data protection:
Applicants note that the personal data provided within their application will be processed diligently on the legal basis of General Data Protection Regulation (EU) 2016/679 and Austrian Data Protection regulations, in particular § 2g Research Organisation Act (Forschungsorganisationsgesetz – FOG), Federal Law Gazette No. 341/1981, and OeAD Act (OeAD-Gesetz), Federal Law Gazette I No. 99/2008, all in their current versions, for the purpose of handling their application and compiling statistics. The OeAD is responsible for processing the applicant’s data. More information is available at https://oead.at/en/privacy-policy/ .
Selection procedure:
A panel of experts selects the candidates following a multistage process:
1. Examination of formal requirements
2. Examination of the application’s general plausibility
3. Assessment and evaluation of the application by experts
4. Interviews in person in Vienna
Final decision by the Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF)
Further information:
The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the OeAD do not guarantee that a stay at your destination or at the host institution, including the journey, will be possible, safe and harmless to health if a scholarship is granted. The scholarship holders have to decide themselves whether or not they want to embark on their studies or research stay. The BMBWF and the OeAD do not assume any liability – especially in case of trips to countries or regions for which travel warnings exist – for any complications or resulting additional costs or damages that may arise during your stay at or the journey to your destination or host institution. It is strongly recommended that you take out adequate health, accident and repatriation insurance that is valid at your destination. You, the scholarship holder, are responsible yourself for taking out insurance. The scholarship holder must observe the current conditions of the host institution regarding attendance/participation as well as the current entry conditions of the respective destination countries and the travel advice of the Austrian Federal Ministry for European and International Affairs (BMEIA).

Scholarship holders are not allowed to engage in gainful employment. Exempt is marginal employment within research/the Arts at universities, universities of applied sciences and research institutions in compliance with residence laws and employment laws for foreign nationals (in 2024: 518.44 Euro per month).

Reporting commitment:
Scholarship holders are obliged to submit a final report at the end of the scholarship stay.

Grant contract:
Grant recipients will be issued a grant contract (Letter of Award and Letter of Acceptance). It defines the following: start and end date of the grant, grant amount, payment modalities, compulsory attendance at the guest institution, performance report and final report, data protection, repayment obligations and other conditions and requirements.
Details see: https://oead.at/scholarship-conditions/ [https://oead.at/en/to-austria/scholars/before-arrival/scholarship-conditions]

Legal basis in Austria:
Federal Ministries Act 1986 in its current version, Federal Law Gazette I No. 164/2017
Granting of Federal Funds (Allgemeine Rahmenrichtlinie – ARR), Federal Law Gazette II No. 208/2014, in its current version as subsidiarily applicable.
OeAD Act, Federal Law Gazette I No. 99/2008, in its current version
Research Financing Act (Forschungsfinanzierungsgesetz), Federal Law Gazette I No. 75/2020, in its current version
Special Guideline for the Granting of Federal Funds "Stipendienprogramme INCOMING" of the Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research
https://oead.at/fileadmin/Dokumente/oead.at/ICM/MPC/SRL_INCOMING_fuer_24-29_--_2024-05-21_genehmigt.pdf
Approval of the announcement by the BMBWF Decree GZ 2024-0.531.844

Contact at the OeAD-GmbH:
Mag. Teresa Karamat
T +43 (1) 53408 - 455
E teresa.karamat@oead.at
H https://oead.at/richard-plaschka-grant [https://oead.at/en/to-austria/grants-and-scholarships/richard-plaschka-grant]
Last update:
08.10.2024
Request date:
14.12.2024 17:07:25