Appliations are currently being accepted for the ifa (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) Research Award on International Cultural Relations 2026. Interested applicants are encouraged to click here to learn more about this opportunity and apply for it.
About ifa - Research Award on International Cultural Relations
The ifa Research Award on International Cultural Relations supports young academics working on research related to soft power, international cultural relations, and Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy.The award is designed to encourage academic innovation and strengthen critical reflection on how culture, education, civil society, diplomacy, and international cooperation shape global relations. It also helps bring ifa’s international expertise into German and international debates on cultural policy and global engagement.
Benefits of ifa - Research Award on International Cultural Relations
The ifa Research Award on International Cultural Relations includes:
- publicity through presentation of the award winner and his or her research (e.g. in a public lecture, a podcast or a short video)
- printing costs for publication of the work in the ifa publication series "Kultur und Außenpolitik", accessible via open-access by Nomos Verlag, subject to review by the publisher.
ifa - Research Award on International Cultural Relations Requirements
Applications can be submitted for young academics by a recommending professor. Their doctoral or master’s thesis must meet the following requirements:
- it has been completed within the last two years (no earlier than 30 April 2024),
- it has received at least magna cum laude (in the case of a doctoral theses) or respectively the second-highest grade,
- it is a scholarly examination of soft power, international cultural relations and Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy and their significance and effectiveness.
- it advances the concepts of soft power, international cultural relations and Foreign Cultural and Educational Policy. It has practical relevance or offers applicability of the research findings to cultural policy, to institutions or intercultural practice. It must be the applicant's own independent and sound achievement. Recommendation by a professor is required.
Application Date and Process
Submissions are made by the recommending professor via e-mail and must include the following:
- Complete text of the submitted work in PDF format
- Abstract
- Letter of recommendation from the professor
- Copies of the complete assessment in German or English or documentation in line with local practice of the completed assessment or grading
- Declaration that the submitted work is your own independent work and the date of completion or publication
- Curriculum vitae
- List of publications, if relevant
- Applicant's contact information (e-mail address, institutional affiliation)
The work may be submitted in German or English.
Application Deadline
30 June, 2026
Opportunity Application
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ifa - Research Award on International Cultural Relations
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