CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship Program (Brazil)

The Brazilian research funding organisation CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior) and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation launched the CAPES-Humboldt Research Fellowship Programme. As a fellow, you will benefit from individual support from the Humboldt Foundation and their diverse sponsorship portfolio.

Categories

• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers
  • The research outline is carried out in cooperation with academic hosts at research institutions in Germany. Applicants choose their own topic of research and their host in Germany. Details of the research outline including information on the intended duration of the fellowship must be agreed with the intended host before applying. The duration of the research fellowship is 6-24 months. Short-term visits for study and training purposes or for attending conferences are not eligible for sponsorship
• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers
  • The research outline is carried out in cooperation with academic hosts at research institutions in Germany. Candidates choose their own topic of research and their host in Germany. Details of the research outline including information on the intended duration of the fellowship must be agreed upon with the intended host before applying. The duration of the research fellowship (6-18 months) may be divided up into a maximum of three visits lasting a minimum of three months each. No more than 36 months may elapse between the beginning of the first stay and the end of the last stay. Short-term visits for study and training purposes or for attending conferences are not eligible for sponsorship

Funding Information

• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers
  • The fellowship is worth 2,500 EUR per month. Capes will pay 2,100 EUR of the monthly fellowship rate for postdoctoral researchers, as well as a subsidy towards the cost of medical insurance, an initial lump sum and a travel allowance. The Humboldt Foundation will pay the remaining difference to the fellowship amount of 2,500 EUR.
• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers
  • The fellowship is worth 3,000 EUR per month. Capes will pay 2,300 EUR of the monthly fellowship rate for experienced researchers, as well as the subsidy towards the cost of medical insurance, an initial lump sum and a travel allowance. The Humboldt Foundation will pay the remaining difference to the fellowship amount of 3,000 EUR. If a research fellowship has been approved for a stay divided up into as many as three blocks, the travel lump sum for the second and third block will be granted by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.

What you will get?

• Benefits for research fellows:
  • mobility lump sum as a subsidy for expenses in connection with necessary conference and research trips, archive and library stays, etc. in Germany and abroad
  • language fellowship for an intensive language course lasting two to four months at selected language institutes in Germany immediately prior to the actual period of research; language fellowships may also be granted to accompanying marital partners;
  • family allowances for accompanying family members staying at least three months;
  • for single parents: flat-rate allowance for accompanying children (under the age of 18) for stays of at least three months;
  • additional extension of the fellowship up to 12 months for research fellows accompanied by children under the age of 12;
  • a subsidy towards research costs to be paid to the hosts in Germany amounting to 800 EUR per month (for research in the natural sciences and engineering) and 500 EUR (for research in the humanities and social sciences);
  • Europe allowance for a research stay at a research institute in another European country; for a designated period in the course of the fellowship if necessary to ensure the success of the research;
  • extensive alumni sponsorship once a successful research stay has come to an end, especially for maintaining contacts with collaborative partners in Germany during the Humboldtian’s entire academic career.

Eligibility Criteria

• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for postdoctoral researchers
  • Doctorate in Brazil or abroad with an official revalidation in Brazil completed less than four (4) years prior to the date of application. PhD diplomas and, for diplomas obtained abroad, also the revalidation in Brazil, must be submitted with the application to both organizations.
  • Academic publications reviewed according to international standards and printed in journals and/or by publishing houses.
  • Confirmation that research facilities are available and mentoring agreement and a detailed expert’s statement by an academic host at a research institution in Germany.
  • Necessary language skills: Humanities or social sciences and medicine: good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the research successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English; natural sciences and engineering: good knowledge of German or English.
  • Brazilian nationality or permanent residence visa in Brazil. Potential applicants of German nationality are eligible to apply provided that their habitual place of work and residence has been located in Brazil on the assumption of permanence for at least five years. Potential applicants who have completed their school education and one university degree or one university degree and their doctorate in Germany are subject to the regulations governing German citizens.
  • Applicants must reside in Brazil at the time of application.
  • Eligible applicants must have lived outside Germany for a minimum of 12 months in total in the 18-month period prior to submission of the application. Any person who, regardless of their country of residence, has supported themselves for more than six out of the last 18 months with financing from a German institution or who has worked on a doctoral project at an institution in Germany in the last 18 months also is not eligible to apply.
  • Identical applications have to be submitted to the Humboldt Foundation’s and Capes online systems in time (whereas the host’s documents have to be submitted only to the Humboldt Foundation); Capes may request additional documents from the applicants. If the application is only submitted to one of the two organizations, it will be formally rejected.
• Capes-Humboldt Research Fellowship for experienced researchers
  • Doctorate in Brazil or abroad with an official revalidation in Brazil completed less than twelve (12) years prior to the date of application. PhD diplomas and, for diplomas obtained abroad, also the revalidation in Brazil, must be submitted with the application to both organizations.
  • The candidate’s own research profile documented by a comprehensive list of academic publications reviewed according to international standards and printed in journals and/or by publishing houses.
  • Confirmation that research facilities are available and mentoring agreement and a detailed expert’s statement by an academic host at a research institution in Germany.
  • Necessary language skills: Humanities or social sciences and medicine: good knowledge of German if it is necessary to carry out the research successfully; otherwise a good knowledge of English; natural sciences and engineering: good knowledge of German or English.
  • Brazilian nationality or permanent residence visa in Brazil. Potential applicants of German nationality are eligible to apply provided that their habitual place of work and residence has been located in Brazil on the assumption of permanence for at least five years. Potential as of May 2023 applicants who have completed their school education and one university degree or one university degree and their doctorate in Germany are subject to the regulations governing German citizens.
  • Applicants must reside in Brazil at the time of application.
  • Eligible applicants must have lived outside Germany for a minimum of 12 months in total in the 18-month period prior to submission of the application. Any person who, regardless of their country of residence, has supported themselves for more than six out of the last 18 months with financing from a German institution or who has worked on a doctoral project at an institution in Germany in the last 18 months also is not eligible to apply.
  • Identical applications have to be submitted to the Humboldt Foundation’s and Capes online systems in time (whereas the host’s documents have to be submitted only to the Humboldt Foundation); Capes may request additional documents from the applicants. If the application is only submitted to one of the two organizations, it will be formally rejected.

Selection Criteria

• Candidates are selected solely on the basis of the evaluation of their academic qualification. There are no quotas for individual disciplines. A candidate’s academic qualification is assessed on the basis of the following criteria:
  • academic record and academic performance to date (mobility, determination, breadth of research activities, academic productivity)
  • quality of key publications specified in the application (originality, degree of innovation, applicant’s contribution in cases of multiple authorship)
  • originality and innovation potential of the suggested research outline (significance for the advancement of the discipline, convincing choice of academic methods, prospects for academic development of the applicant, clear focus and feasibility of realization within the requested funding period and at the chosen host institution)
  • the applicant’s future potential (academic potential, further academic development, career prospects)
• Applications are assessed on the basis of independent peer reviews requested by Capes and the Humboldt Foundation. The final decision is taken by a committee composed of academics from all disciplines in the framework of the funding available.

For more information, visit Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.