FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme for Researchers from Africa 2026/2027

Applications are now open for the2026/2027 FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme. Click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.

About FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme

Opportunity Details

Date Published: July 26, 2025
Application Deadline: September 12, 2025
Category: Fellowship
Oppotunity Locations: Germany
Eligible Locations: Africa

The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) invites researchers based in an African country with a completed doctoral degree and a minimum of eight years of post-doctoral experience to apply for the FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme 2026/27. The fellowships are available to researchers from any nationality based in an African institution. The programme offers access to the resources, networks, and academic community of the University of Freiburg, enhancing your research through new perspectives and collaborative opportunities.

The University of Freiburg was founded in 1457 and is one of the oldest and most renowned universities in Germany. With eleven faculties, around 240 degree programmes, and 440 full professorships as well as 32 junior professorships, it covers a broad interdisciplinary spectrum with high-quality research and teaching. The University of Freiburg regularly takes top positions in prestigious rankings.

The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is the international research college of the University of Freiburg. It brings together scholars from Freiburg and around the world, offering temporary fellowships that allow researchers to focus entirely on their projects within a vibrant community of diverse cultural and academic backgrounds. FRIAS provides exceptional support to help fellows succeed.

For the academic year 2026/27, FRIAS is offering individual Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowships for Researchers from Africa.

School: Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS)

Benefits of FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme

Successful applicants will become FRIAS Fellows with all the corresponding rights and obligations for the requested funding period.
Fellows with an employment contract at their home institution will receive a mobility allowance if applicable to compensate them for the extra costs of their stay in Freiburg. A reimbursement of teaching replacement costs throughout the fellowship up to the level of a W2 professorship is possible. Fellows without an employment contract at their home institution will obtain an attractive salary (W2, 100%). Each Fellow will additionally receive a research cost contribution and will be reimbursed for the travel costs of the inbound and the outbound journey (if applicable).

FRIAS Sustainable Governance Senior Fellowship Programme Requirements

Fellowships are available to researchers from any nationality based in an African institution.
Fellowships can last for 6 months between 1 September 2026 and 31 August 2027.
Depending on their situation, selected applicants will either receive a fellowship contract with the University of Freiburg or other compensation (for details see “Financial Aspects” in the application manual).
Fellows receive a research cost contribution, a mobility allowance and travel costs of the inbound and the outbound journey.
Fellowships will allow researchers to conduct their own research projects. Since one of the aims of FRIAS is to foster cross-disciplinary communication, full-time presence at FRIAS is mandatory.

Selection Criteria

Applicants must hold a completed doctoral degree plus a minimum of eight years of post-doctoral experience.
Applicants must have 5 peer-reviewed publications since 1 January 2016, including at least one with or as a co-author.
Applicants must be based in an African country.
Applicants must have at least six months’ research or study experience at academic institution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree by the time of application AND have received a Master/PhD in an African country.
Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process (expected success rate: ~10% of eligible applications).
Only applications from disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences with a thematic focus on sustainable governance will be considered. A letter of cooperation by an academic partner at the University of Freiburg is required.

Application Date and Process

Information on the candidate and project (abstract, layman’s abstract to communicate the research project to a general public, motivation statement, ethical issue table) must be filled into the online application form (see below).

Additionally, the following attachments are required to be uploaded to the application portal:

Project proposal (max. 3000 words including footnotes, headers, footers, and bibliographical references, 4 graphs) (PDF)
CV in tabular form (PDF, mandatory template available in the application portal)
Publication list (PDF): Applicants must provide a list of publications that may not exceed 8 publications in total. 5 of those publications must be published after 1 January 2016 and must be peer-reviewed, including at least one with or as a co-author (see Basic Academic Quality Criteria).
Copy of the PhD diploma (PDF)
Letter of Cooperation by an academic partner at the University of Freiburg who will support the project during the stay in Freiburg. The academic partner must hold the title of a professor.

For further information about the programme and the application requirements, please consult the application manual.

Application Manual

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