Application

How to Apply for the Humboldt Research Fellowship 2027, Step by Step

The application is online only. You upload your documents, your reviewers upload theirs, you submit while a call is open, and then your host completes the file. Here is the full sequence and a document tracker.

ScholarshipUnion Editorial 3 min read Updated Oct 6, 2026

Everything on this page follows the “How to apply” and FAQ sections of the official programme page. The foundation is blunt about quality control: applications that miss documents or “diverge substantially from our specifications” — for example in the publication lists — are “formally rejected without further review”.

The sequence

1
Before the call
Agree project and stay with your host
Topic, length (6–24 or 6–18 months), any split into stays and start date must be agreed before you apply.
2
Before the call
Open the online form and prepare uploads
If a call is full you can still create and save drafts only if you started before it closed — otherwise wait for the next opening.
3
Before submitting
Send reviewer links
Each expert reviewer uploads their review into a protected area. Submission is blocked until both are in.
4
Call open
Submit
Possible only when all your own documents and both reviews are uploaded and the portal is open.
5
Right after
Host completes the file
Your host receives a link, uploads a statement and confirmation of research facilities and signs the mentoring agreement.
6
Then
Foundation receives it
You get a confirmation of receipt by email. Track status in the form.

Your application is not “received” when you click submit

It counts as received only when your host has uploaded everything. That date is the one used for the 4/12-year limit and the 90-day Germany rule. Tell your host exactly when you will submit.

The documents

Publication lists: where files fail

The foundation provides a sample publication list and a sample list of key publications. Follow them exactly. Key rules from the FAQ:

Cite at least one and at most three key publications. Extras are removed without notice.
For each key publication, explain its academic relevance and your own contribution where there are several authors. Experienced researchers should show they were thematic lead.
List only papers that are published, accepted, or at least submitted. Submitted papers are listed without naming the journal, with the publisher’s acknowledgement of receipt attached. Accepted papers need the acceptance letter.
Key publications also appear in the complete list, without explanations. An unpublished dissertation can be a key publication (upload the manuscript) but not part of the complete list.
Once selection begins you cannot change either list. Wrong details can be treated as a breach of good scientific practice.

If a submitted paper is accepted while you wait, email the acceptance letter straight away; that information can still be fed in before the meeting.

The two-page CV

Two pages is tight for an experienced researcher. Prioritise positions, mobility (stays abroad), grants, supervision and leadership roles, and any career breaks with dates. Your publications are already in separate lists, so do not repeat them here.

Things the form asks that people forget

Career breaks — child-rearing, illness, care, service. Declaring them can extend eligibility and is considered in the assessment.
Parallel applications to other funders — allowed, but they must be declared and any decisions reported.
Days in Germany in the last 18 months — entry and exit days count in full.
Consent for collaborative programmes — tick it if you are open to a privately co-funded fellowship (Bayer Foundation, Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation).
Language course wishes and the length of your stay.

Getting help

The foundation asks you to email info@avh.de with doubts before submitting. For borderline eligibility (doctorate date, career breaks, German nationality, no doctorate customary in your field), send your CV and publication list first and ask. It costs nothing and avoids a formal rejection.