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.