Humboldt Foundation: donor analysis and fellowships 2026

The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation now receives so many applications for its research fellowships that, since 2024, it has had to cap every call: once 800 applications are in, the round closes. The current call is already full, and the next one opens on 15 November 2026. For a Ukrainian researcher, the takeaway is simple: your Humboldt Research Fellowship application needs to be ready on the day the portal opens.

Humboldt does not fund organisations. It funds people: postdocs, experienced researchers and established scientists who come to work in Germany with an academic host of their own choosing. Its network counts more than 30,000 fellows and award winners in over 140 countries, including 64 Nobel laureates. Below we look at how the Foundation works, which programmes Ukrainians can actually use in 2026, what changed after the budget cuts, and what is open as of 6 November 2026.

Who they are: a German federal foundation with roots in 1860

The Foundation’s history has three stages. The first Humboldt foundation was set up in Berlin in 1860, about eighteen months after the scientist’s death, to fund research expeditions by German naturalists. Its capital was wiped out in the 1923 inflation. A new foundation followed in 1925, now focused on foreign students and academics in Germany, but it ceased operating in 1945. Today’s Foundation was established by the Federal Republic of Germany on 10 December 1953, with Werner Heisenberg as its first president, and it has been based in Bonn-Bad Godesberg ever since.

Almost all of its money comes from the federal government. According to a Foundation presentation dated 23 July 2026, the 2026 budget is roughly 165 million euros, 98% of it federal. The largest share, 61.6%, comes from the Federal Ministry of Research, Technology and Space (BMFTR), 32% from the Federal Foreign Office and 3.8% from the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The EU share is a negligible 0.1%.

The same presentation gives a sense of scale: about 950 new fellowships and awards a year and around 2,300 research stays in Germany annually. The Foundation states its principle plainly: no quotas for countries or disciplines, only the applicant’s academic record counts. It supports people, not projects.

A budget under pressure

Depending on the federal budget cuts both ways. In July 2022 the Foundation announced cuts to its Foreign Office funding and closed several programmes. The number of research fellowships fell from 380 in 2021 to 264 in 2022. The latest blow came in 2026: on 13 April the Foundation said that because of reduced BMZ budgets, the Georg Forster programme cannot continue in its current form. More on that below.

How the Foundation works and how Ukrainians get in

Humboldt’s logic differs from most funders we cover. There are no project grants for NGOs or universities. Money goes to the researcher as a personal fellowship or award, while a German institution acts as host: it provides a workplace and an academic partner, and receives a separate allowance for research costs.

For Ukrainians in 2026, there are four realistic entry points:

• Humboldt Research Fellowship – the flagship. The researcher applies personally, with the host’s agreement. Ukrainians compete on equal terms with everyone else; there are no quotas.
• Philipp Schwartz Initiative – for researchers at risk. The applicant is not the researcher but the German institution that nominates them.
• Research awards (Humboldt Research Award, Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award) – for established scientists. Nominations come from colleagues in Germany; self-nomination is not allowed.
• The alumni network – after a fellowship, the Foundation stays in touch for life, with renewed research stays, events and alumni programmes.

Two channels that mattered a great deal for Ukraine in 2022–2025 are now closed: MSCA4Ukraine (no further calls foreseen) and Georg Forster (applications suspended).

Programmes for Ukrainian applicants: terms and amounts in 2026

Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdocs

The programme is for researchers who completed their doctorate no more than four years ago (or will complete it before the selection meeting). The fellowship is 3,000 euros a month plus additional benefits. It runs for 6 to 24 months and can be split into up to three stays within three years. The minimum stay is six months, which can be divided into two three-month blocks.

Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers

For those who completed their doctorate no more than 12 years ago, have a substantial publication record including papers as thematic lead, and hold an independent position such as assistant professor, lecturer or head of an independent research group. Where a doctorate is not customary, you can apply up to 16 years after a master’s degree. The fellowship is 3,600 euros a month for 6 to 18 months, again in up to three stays within three years.

Both tracks come with the same package of extras:

• a 2–4 month German language course before the fellowship, which does not count towards its duration;
• family allowances for a partner and children who accompany the fellow for more than three months;
• subsidies for health insurance and a travel lump sum if your home institution does not cover it;
• for the German host, 800 euros a month in research costs in the natural sciences and engineering, and 500 euros in the humanities and social sciences.

The time limit since the doctorate can be extended for career breaks: mothers get two years per child born after the PhD plus verifiable parenting periods, fathers get verifiable parenting periods only, up to six years in total. The Foundation expects to approve 20–25% of applications.

Philipp Schwartz Initiative for researchers at risk

The Philipp Schwartz Initiative lets researchers who face danger in their home country continue their work in Germany. Only a German research institution can apply: a university, a Max Planck, Helmholtz, Leibniz or Fraunhofer institute, or another research organisation. Researchers cannot apply themselves, and each can be nominated by one institution only.

Under the funding rules as revised in June 2026, the basic fellowship is 3,000 euros a month, or 72,000 euros over 24 months. A co-financed extension of up to 12 more months is possible. The host institution receives a lump sum of 20,000 euros per person. The initiative is funded by the Federal Foreign Office together with private foundations including Robert Bosch Stiftung, Stiftung Mercator, Gerda Henkel Stiftung and Fritz Thyssen Stiftung.

Key requirements for the candidate: a demonstrable threat (EU asylum status or a risk assessment by one of the Foundation’s partner organisations), a doctorate, no more than five years of residence outside the country of origin, and no safe residence option through dual nationality or similar. Previous PSI fellows are not eligible again.

For Ukraine, this became one of the main instruments after 2022. According to the Foundation as of February 2023, 35 of the 49 researchers selected in the 12th round were from Ukraine, and within a year PSI had supported 96 Ukrainian researchers at 60 German institutions. A separate Philipp Schwartz Emergency Fund took in another 28 displaced Ukrainian researchers for up to nine months. For 2022–2023 the Foundation raised about 20.7 million euros in additional funding for these measures.

Research awards: 80,000 and 60,000 euros

The Humboldt Research Award is worth 80,000 euros for internationally recognised researchers in any discipline, plus the option to spend six months to a year in Germany. Up to 100 are granted each year. The Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Research Award is worth 60,000 euros for researchers whose doctorate is no more than 18 years old, with about 20 awards a year. Both accept nominations at any time, the committee meets twice a year in March and October, and about 35% of nominations have succeeded in recent years. Only researchers based in Germany can nominate.

Georg Forster: applications suspended

Since 1997 the Georg Forster programme funded researchers from developing and transition countries whose work matters for their region’s development, on the same terms as the Humboldt Research Fellowship: 3,000 euros for postdocs and 3,600 for experienced researchers. Applications are not being accepted: the Foundation is designing a new programme for this audience with the BMZ, but has given no dates. Fellowships awarded up to and including 2026 are unaffected.

MSCA4Ukraine: a completed programme

The Foundation ran this EU scheme with Scholars at Risk Europe and the European University Association. The first call, announced in February 2023, funded 124 Ukrainian researchers out of more than 400 applications. A second call added 49 more. The programme’s total endowment is 35 million euros. The programme page says plainly that no further call is foreseen.

What is open as of 6 November 2026

Humboldt Research Fellowship: window opens 15 November

The Foundation has moved to three calls a year, each opening eight months before its selection meeting. The call that opened on 15 July 2026 has already reached 800 applications and is closed. The next one opens on 15 November 2026, with selection in July 2027 and fellowships starting from September 2027 at the earliest. After that, the following call is expected on 15 March 2027, with selection in November 2027. Because a round closes as soon as the cap is reached, leaving it to the last week is not an option.

Philipp Schwartz Initiative: between calls

The 18th call closed in August 2026. The Foundation expects to announce results at the end of November, with funding starting on 1 January 2027 and up to 35 fellowships. The date of the next call has not yet been announced; you can sign up for notifications on the programme page. The 2026 calendar is a useful guide: the 17th call had a 13 February deadline, the 18th closed in August. Your German host institution will usually set its own internal deadline a few weeks earlier.

Awards: nominations accepted at any time

The Humboldt Research Award and the Bessel Research Award have no deadline. Nominations can be submitted at any time; the next committee meetings are in March and October 2027. Review takes about six months.

How to work with this funder

A few takeaways from the Foundation’s rules worth considering before you apply.

Host first, application second. No German host, no fellowship application. The host writes their own statement on the collaboration and agrees the research plan. Look for someone whose work genuinely overlaps with yours, not just a famous institute, and start the conversation a few months before the window opens.

Check the 90-day rule. You must not have spent more than 90 days in Germany in the 18 months before applying. For many Ukrainians who moved to Germany after 2022, this rules out the Humboldt Research Fellowship. In that case, look at other instruments, or at the Philipp Schwartz Initiative if there are grounds for a risk assessment.

Be ready by 15 November. With an 800-application cap, applying in the first days of a call is a practical necessity. Your research plan, publication list and host statement should all be ready in advance.

They assess the person. There are no quotas, and the Foundation looks first at your academic record relative to career stage: publications, independence and originality. Experienced researchers need papers where they are the thematic lead, not only a co-author.

A rejection is not final, but the wait is long. You can reapply, but the Foundation suggests waiting about two years, and at least 18 months after a unanimous rejection. You can request the reasons for rejection four to six weeks after the meeting, and you should.

For PSI, work through the institution. If you are at risk, contact the international office of a German university or institute where a potential academic partner works. The institution prepares the nomination and financial plan, and receives the 20,000-euro lump sum.