Max Weber Fellowships

Candidates are reviewed by the Director and the faculty of the relevant academic unit (the departments, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies or School of Transnational Governance) and selected by the Max Weber Programme Steering Committee based on the following criteria:

1. Academic accomplishments and potential: the candidate’s contributions (publications, PhD thesis, etc.), commitment to an academic career (outlined in the ‘academic career statement’) and other supporting evidence (including two letters of reference). Preference is given to applicants entering straight after their doctorate or who are in the early stages of their post-doctoral career.
2. Research proposal: Clear and well-structured proposal with achievable goals during the Fellowship.
3. Mentorship: Capacity and availability of the EUI faculty for mentoring the candidate are considered. Common research interests can be helpful but are not a requirement.

Additional consideration is given to country of origin and of doctoral studies, gender and the candidate’s background. Members of underrepresented and disadvantaged groups are strongly encouraged to apply.

Note: To ensure fairness in the selection process, EUI faculty do not offer individual guidance on proposals. Applicants should consult the webpages of the EUIs academic units on the profiles of potential mentors.

Selection Procedure

Applications are reviewed by the academic units (the four departments, Robert Schuman Centre for Advanced Studies or School of Transnational Governance) and the prospective mentors named by the candidate. We take mentoring very seriously and a fit between the candidate and mentor is among the selection criteria. Only one Fellow is typically assigned to each mentor. Please consult closely the faculty pages of the academic unit that you want to be affiliated with. Note that EUI faculty change regularly meaning that candidates who are not selected in one year may very well be successful the following year.

Academic units may choose to interview some candidates online.

Once the academic units have produced their ranking of the candidates, these rankings are discussed with the Director and finally the MWP Steering Committee, which agrees upon the selected candidates and the reserve list. Diversity in terms of gender and background as well as synergies between the academic units are considered in the selection process.

Approximately 4-5% of the applicants are offered a Fellowship and another 5-10% are typically placed on the reserve list.

Decisions will be made by mid-December and the recruitment process is typically concluded by the end of January.