Bayreuth Academy Fellowships in African Studies, Germany 2026/2027

The Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies hosts individual fellowships for researchers working on Africa across the humanities, the social sciences and the natural sciences. Fellows come to Bayreuth for a residency and work inside the Cluster's research community rather than remotely.

Who can apply

The fellowships are open to applicants of all nationalities at doctoral and postdoctoral level. Fifteen awards are on offer in this round. The disciplinary range is deliberately broad, and what unites successful applications is that the project genuinely belongs in African studies, not that it comes from a particular department.

What the award covers

The stipend is structured in three cases according to what a fellow already earns. Fellows who receive no remuneration from their home institution get 2,500 EUR per month, and a confirmation from the home institution or the last funding organisation is required. Fellows on sabbatical leave with salary but without replacement receive 1,000 EUR per month. For fellows who continue to be paid by their home institution, Bayreuth agrees a buy-out with that university to reimburse the cost of a substitute lecturer, up to an upper limit of 7,000 EUR per month. On top of the stipend the Cluster covers arrival and departure costs and pays a mobility allowance to every fellow.

Deadline and how to apply

The application form together with instructions is published on the Academy's site, and the closing date is 5 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST. Because the stipend case depends on your employment situation, the supporting confirmation from your home institution belongs in the file from the start; requesting it after the deadline is not an option.

Before you apply

Work out which of the three stipend cases applies to you before writing anything else, since it determines both the paperwork and what the fellowship is actually worth to you. Then shape the proposal around what the Bayreuth research community can add to it, because a residency is judged on the exchange it produces, not only on the project itself.