Austrian Database for Scholarships and Research Grants – www.grants.at
Franz Werfel Fellowship for young university teachers of German language and Austrian literature
Country of origin:
All except Austria
Target country:
Austria
Area of study or research:
Humanities
Linguistics and Literature
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
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 9 months
Quota:
Maximum of 7 new awards per academic year. If the research activity is successful, the grant can, on request, be renewed (total duration 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 250 Euro to 600 Euro (depending on the amenities)
- monthly administrative fee: 21 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 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 will also receive a travel costs subsidy of up to 1,000 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
15. 09. 2025
Advice on how to apply:
Goals:
The Franz Werfel fellowship is a research and teaching excellence programme in Austrian literature aimed at fostering academic cooperation as well as the growth of an international network of scholars of Austrian literature.
Target group:
Applications are only open to university teachers who are primarily occupied with Austrian literature.
These are:
Postdocs as well as Praedocs from countries not familiar with the Habilitation system (state doctorate/postdoctoral lecture qualification).
Applicants without employment or teaching experience are advised to apply for the Ernst Mach grant programme.
Applicants must not have studied/pursued research/pursued academic work in Austria in the last six months before taking up the grant. Applicants who are permanently residing in Austria or who have studied in Austria for the most part of their academic career are not eligible for application.
Those in receipt of a Werfel grant can work as visiting researchers at university departments and carry out specialist studies in libraries, archives or at research institutions.
Age limit:
There is no age limit. However, as this grant is intended to support young academics - it is not aimed at lifelong learning - the study abroad period should take place at the start of a candidate's academic career.
Required documents for the application:
1. Two letters of recommendation by university lecturers (for these letters of recommendation no specific form is required; they must contain the letterhead, date and signature of the person recommending the applicant and the stamp of the university/department and must be no older than six months at the time of application.
2. Consent of a lecturer at the Austrian target university to supervise the applicant academically
3. List of the titles of courses taught
4. Scan of your passport (page with the name and photo)
5. Scan of your university graduation certificate of your diploma, master, PhD or doctoral studies
6. Complete list of publications as a separate attachment (identify your top 5 publications on the form)
7. proof of employment at a university
8. proof of teaching assignment
only for Praedocs:
9. current confirmation that proves your participation in a PhD-programme at your home university.
It is absolutely essential that prior contact with an educational or research institution in Austria has already been made before applying.
Submission deadlines and grant start and end dates
- 1 March (start date: July-December)
- 15 September (start date: January-July)
Follow-on support:
After completion of at least 12 months of research supported by the grant, the Franz Werfel scholarship-commission will decide, in consultation with the academic supervisor, whether to award the fellow admission into the follow-on support programme. For more information about this programme, please contact the OeAD (details below).
General information:
- 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.
- Information for applicants who would like to apply for admission to studies in Austria: Tuition fees may be waived upon request to the Rectorate of the public university or university college for teacher education for the semesters in which studies or research can be shown to have been completed elsewhere, i.e. as part of transnational EU, state or university mobility programmes. Any tuition fees at universities of applied sciences may be waived by the rectorate upon application. This does not apply to tuition fees at private universities and private colleges.
- 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 at a later date.
- Grant holders must be continuously present at their place of study to work or conduct their research project.
- 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 agree that the personal data provided within their application will be processed diligently on the legal basis of the 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 version,
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
Selection procedure:
Incomplete applications and applications not complying with the application criteria will not be accepted for the further selection process.
The selection process consists of the following stages:
1. Formal evaluation
2. Overall plausibility check
3. Assessment and evaluation of the application by external experts
4. Interviews by the "Werfel scholarship committee" in Vienna (travel expenses to Vienna will be reimbursed)
5. Final decision by the BMWFW
Further information:
The Federal Ministry of Education, Science and Research (BMBWF) and the OeAD do not guarantee that a stay in Austria or at the host institution, including the journey, will be possible 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/through 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 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).
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/
Legal basis in Austria:
Federal Ministries Act 1986 in its current version, Federal Law Gazette I No. 164/2017.
Ordinance of the Federal Ministry of Finance on General Framework Agreements for the Granting of Federal Funds (Allgemeine Rahmenrichtlinien – 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.
Federal Finance Act (Bundesfinanzgesetz) as in force at the date the scholarship was awarded.
Special Guideline for the Granting of Federal Funds "Stipendienprogramme INCOMING"
of the Federal Minister of Education, Science and Research
Approval of the announcement by the BMBWF Decree GZ 2024-0.531.844
Contact at the OeAD-GmbH:
Teresa Karamat
Last update:
07.10.2024
Request date:
14.12.2024 18:21:57
© OeAD-GmbH
This database has been financed by funds of the Austrian Federal Ministry of Science, Research and Economy (BMWFW) and the EU. Despite the fact that all entries have been carefully checked we cannot accept any liability for the correctness, completeness and topicality of the entries.