2026 Einstein Forum and the Wittenstein Stiftung Fellowship – Germany

Location: Germany

Program: Postgraduate – Research

Eligibility: All Nationalities

Duration: 5 to 6 months

Deadline: May 15, 2026

JOIN OUR WHATSAPP GROUP & GET UPDATES ON SCHOLARSHIPS WORLDWIDE

The Albert Einstein Fellowship is a prestigious and distinctive research fellowship awarded jointly by the Einstein Forum and the Wittenstein Stiftung to outstanding young scholars from Germany and abroad who wish to pursue an innovative research project that lies entirely outside their previous academic work. The fellowship is explicitly not for the completion of dissertations or habilitation theses, and submitted projects must differ markedly in content, area, and form from the applicant’s prior work. Named in honour of Albert Einstein and based at the historic Einsteinhaus in Caputh, where Einstein himself spent several summers, the fellowship provides a stipend of EUR 10,000 plus travel costs, and requires the fellow to reside in Einstein’s garden house in Caputh for the full 5 to 6 month duration of the fellowship. Fellows are expected to document their scholarly work appropriately and to deliver a public lecture at both the Einstein Forum and the Wittenstein Stiftung

The Einstein Forum is an internationally recognised interdisciplinary forum for scholarly dialogue based in Potsdam, Germany, located near the historic intellectual and scientific community of Potsdam and Berlin. Founded in the spirit of Albert Einstein’s own model of wide-ranging intellectual curiosity that crossed disciplinary boundaries, the forum convenes leading thinkers from science, philosophy, the arts, and public life, and through the Albert Einstein Fellowship, it actively supports the next generation of scholars who embody that same boundary-crossing intellectual spirit. Since the fellowship’s inception in 2007, it has been awarded to outstanding scholars from India, China, the United States, Australia, Israel, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Gambia, and many other countries, reflecting its genuinely global and interdisciplinary character.

Benefits of the Fellowship

This fellowship will provide the following to its recipients:

Stipend of EUR 10,000 for the fellowship period
Reimbursement of travel costs to and from Caputh
Accommodation
Access to the academic and research communities of Potsdam and Berlin throughout the fellowship period
Other benefits

Also Check:

2026 TGGS-DAAD Full Scholarship – Sirindhorn International Thai-German Graduate School of Engineering (TGGS), Thailand

2026 Psychology Thesis Abroad Postgraduate Scholarships – University of Bologna Cesena Campus, Italy

Eligibility Criteria

To be eligible for this fellowship, applicants must meet the following:

Must be under 35 years of age at the time of application
Must hold a qualified university degree in humanities, social sciences, or natural sciences
Must propose an independent research project that lies clearly outside previous academic work, including master’s theses, published essays, or books; submitted projects must differ markedly in content, area, and form from prior work
The proposed project must not be part of a dissertation or habilitation thesis currently in progress
Application documents must be submitted in English and must include a CV, a project exposé, and two academic references
Must be willing and able to reside in Einstein’s garden house in Caputh, Germany for the full 5 to 6 month fellowship period
Must be available to deliver a public lecture at the Einstein Forum and the Wittenstein Stiftung during or after the fellowship period
Rejected applicants may reapply in subsequent years with a new proposal, provided they still meet all eligibility criteria

Note: Kindly check the official webpage for full and detailed requirements

Also Check:

2026 STAR Postgraduate Scholarships for International Students – University of Brescia, Italy

AISG PhD Fellowship Programme | Nomination for August 2026 Intake – Singapore

Selection Criteria

Applications are evaluated on the quality, originality, and feasibility of the proposed project, as well as the overall academic record and trajectory of the applicant. The review and interview process begins in June 2026, with final decisions communicated by the end of July 2026. Whether or not the applicant has begun or completed a doctorate plays no role in the evaluation.