The American Academy in Berlin invites applications for 2025-26 Berlin Prize fellowships.
The American Academy in Berlin is a nonprofit, residential institute for advanced study in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and public policy. Its mission is to enhance the cultural and intellectual ties between the United States and Germany. To do so, we award approximately two dozen semester-long Berlin Prize fellowships each year. Benefits include round-trip airfare, partial board, library services, a $5,000 monthly stipend, and accommodation at or near the Academy’s Hans Arnhold Center, a historic lakeside villa located in the Wannsee district of Berlin. Berlin Prize Fellows present their work to audiences in and around Berlin and also engage with relevant German institutions and the media.
The Academy welcomes applications for projects from a broad range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences, fiction and non-fiction writing, law and public policy. We maintain dedicated fellowships in American political economy, Jewish studies, and public health and biotechnology, and also encourage projects that concern the future of democracy, technology and society (especially AI), contemporary China, and climate change and sustainability. While proposals need not focus on German topics, we ask that candidates explain the relevance of a stay in Berlin to the development of their work. Please note that Berlin Prizes for visual artists, composers, and poets are determined through invitation-only competitions.
The Academy seeks to support both established and emerging scholars with strong records of peer-reviewed work beyond the dissertation, as well as writers and professionals who wish to engage in independent study. Writers must have published at least one book with an established press at the time of application. Candidates working in fields such as journalism, film, law, or public policy must have equivalent professional experience and a strong body of work. Candidates in academic disciplines must hold a PhD at the time of application; graduate students are not eligible to apply. The Berlin Prize is restricted to candidates based in the United States.
Candidates are chosen by an independent selection committee following a rigorous, peer-reviewed evaluation process. All applicants will receive notification via email in late March 2025. The Academy will publicize the 2025-26 Berlin Prize recipients in May 2025.
The deadline to apply is Monday, September 30, 2024.
For full eligibility requirements, FAQs, and to apply online, please visit: https://www.americanacademy.de/apply/apply-for-a-fellowship/.
For inquiries, please contact Thomas Castañeda ([email protected]).