Early-career Writing Scholarships for Doctoral and Postdoctoral Scholars

The MWF Delhi awards 12-month writing scholarships to Germany-based doctoral students as well as postdoctoral scholars in the humanities and social sciences to pursue scholarly projects that draw upon primary sources with an emphasis on the South Asian region. We are particularly interested in research projects that fit into the following fields:

South Asian history
Entangled/connected histories, global history, and art history including a focus on the South Asian region
Anthropology and sociology of the South Asian region, or multi-sited anthropology and sociology with a focus on South Asia
South Asian Studies and Transnational South Asian Studies
Thematic fit with one or more areas of expertise at MWF Delhi is an added advantage, but not a requirement

Eligibility to apply

We especially invite applications from doctoral students and postdoctoral scholars who currently have no funding from their home institutions. The scholarships are granted for the period of 12 months starting 1 July 2026. In exceptional cases, scholarships can be started later but cannot be extended beyond 30 June 2027. Please indicate the later start date in your application.

The scholarship is residential. In exceptional cases, permission for stays outside Delhi for longer than one month out of the total scholarship period can be granted by the Director, MWF Delhi. While in Delhi, scholars are expected to participate in scholarly events organised by MWF Delhi.

Applicants should be based at (or recent graduates of) a university or research institute in Germany. Doctoral scholars need to be enrolled in a doctoral students’ program at, or affiliated with a German university or research institution. Postdoctoral scholars need to have submitted their Ph.D. thesis by the deadline for submissions, and need to be enrolled in, employed by, or affiliated with a German university or research institution in a non-tenured or non-tenure track position. For affiliates with German universities or research institutions, the majority of the applicant’s academic qualifications must have been attained from German universities or research institutions (“Bildungsinländer/Bildungsinländerinnen”).
For doctoral students applying, ABD status is required before starting the scholarship.
For postdoctoral scholars applying, the preference is for projects that are designed for the "second book" (Habilitation or pre-tenure equivalent).
Applicants are expected to possess fluency in English as well as other languages that are relevant to their research proposal.

Application

The application documents include:

Online Application Form (to be filled under the )
Attachments: Please upload the following application documents to the application form as a single PDF comprising

A brief cover letter (max. 1 page)
Curriculum vitae with full publication list
A copy of your most recent diploma or transcripts
Project description (no more than 2,000 words). Include a word count at the end.
List of two referees who have agreed to provide further information on the applicant’s work on request

All materials should be uploaded in the application form by 15 February 2026. Recipients will be notified by 13 March 2026.

Incomplete applications or applications sent via email will not be considered.

Funding

MWF Delhi will not provide funding for preliminary research. Preference will be given to those postdoc projects that are designed for the "second book."

The funding for the Fellowship is as follows:

A monthly stipend of 1800€ for doctoral students and € 2,200 for postdoctoral scholars
A reimbursement of round-trip airfare to Delhi up to € 1,200
Recipients with dependent children will receive an additional € 200 per month for each accompanying child

No other costs are reimbursable.

MWF Delhi will provide support letters for visa applications where applicable.

Valid health/travel health insurance for the period of stay in India is mandatory (for the scholars and all accompanying children) and needs to be arranged by the fellow before departure to Delhi.

Questions about the fellowship programme in general should be directed to Dr Debarati Bagchi ()

For further information on MWF Delhi: