What if you could spend up to 9 months in Hamburg, pursue your own research project, and work alongside internationally renowned scholars at both the Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) and the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS)?
The IFSH–HIAS Joint Fellowship 2027 is inviting outstanding researchers for an interdisciplinary research stay in Hamburg. The program is particularly interested in work connecting peace and security studies with broader social, technological and environmental questions.
Quick Facts
- Program: IFSH–HIAS Joint Fellowship 2027
- Host: Institute for Peace Research and Security Policy (IFSH) & Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS)
- Location: Hamburg, Germany
- Mode: On-site / In-person
- Duration: 3–9 months
- Academic Year: October 2027 – June 2028
- Funding: Fellowship stipend or reimbursement of the applicant’s home institution’s teaching-replacement costs
- Workspace: Fully equipped workspace in central Hamburg
- Nationality: Open internationally
- Degree Required: Doctorate (PhD)
- Eligible Fields: Humanities, social sciences, natural/life sciences; relevant artists, policymakers and professionals may also be considered
- Age Limit: None
- Work Experience: None
- English: Very good command of English required
- Application Fee: None
- Deadline: November 16, 2026
- Tandem Partner: Fellows are expected to collaborate with an IFSH-based academic tandem partner.
What Can You Research?
The fellowship particularly welcomes projects addressing:
- Peace and security
- Political violence, fascism, polarisation and radicalisation
- Counterterrorism
- Great-power conflict and arms dynamics
- Deterrence and strategic stability
- Emerging technologies and cybersecurity
- European security architecture
- Future of European security
- Climate change and security
- Polycrisis and disaster preparedness
- Crisis resilience and civil protection
Interdisciplinary projects connecting these areas are particularly encouraged.
What Does the Fellowship Offer?
Selected fellows get:
- Financial support through a stipend or teaching-replacement reimbursement
- A dedicated workspace in central Hamburg
- An IFSH academic tandem partner
- Access to HIAS’s interdisciplinary research community
- Connections with researchers from HIAS’s member institutions
- Participation in HIAS’s academic lunches, colloquia and dinners
- Support with local research networks and infrastructure
- Potential assistance with accommodation and family-related arrangements.
Who Should Apply?
This isn’t a conventional postdoctoral fellowship restricted to a particular age or career stage. HIAS and IFSH specifically state that they welcome early-career researchers, women and non-binary scholars, and applicants from regions traditionally underrepresented in academia.
Your application should demonstrate:
- A doctorate or equivalent qualification
- Strong academic achievements and publications
- An interdisciplinary and international research profile
- Relevant expertise connected to the fellowship’s research themes
- A feasible research project suitable for the Hamburg research environment
- Strong English-language ability.
Application Documents
You’ll need to submit a single PDF in English containing:
- Cover letter
- Preferred fellowship period
- Potential IFSH tandem partner(s)
- Information about possible sabbatical/paid-leave financing
- Explanation of how your profile would contribute to HIAS, IFSH and Hamburg
- Publication list — maximum 2 pages
- CV including prizes and awards
- Research project description — maximum 3 pages
- One-page project description for a non-specialist audience
- Optional link to a talk, lecture or video.
You do not need to already know your tandem partner. Naming a potential partner is sufficient; prior contact is not mandatory.
A fellowship where your research doesn’t have to stay inside one discipline.
Peace, security, technology, climate, geopolitics — your project could connect the dots.
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