FAQ for women academics and families

If you completed your doctorate more than four years ago, you are not eligible to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship.  For mothers, this time limit will be extended by two years for each child born after obtaining their doctorate, plus any documented parental leave that extends beyond these two years. (In the case of fathers and other persons with custodial responsibility, only the documented periods of parental leave will be recognised following review.) The total extension will be limited to six years.

If you have a clearly defined profile of your own and have already gained experience at least at the level of an assistant professor or junior research group leader, or if you can prove that you have been working in research in an independent capacity for several years, we usually recommend you to apply to the programme for experienced researchers. Please send us your curriculum vitae and publication list so that we can advise you.

On the application form please state any periods during which you had to interrupt your research work, wholly or partially, for purposes of child rearing or family care so that these periods can be taken into account when assessing your academic achievements in relation to your career stage. As stated in the guidelines, the period of four or 12 years after completing your doctorate may, for example, be extended by a maximum of two years per child if you interrupted your research work after your doctorate for the periods stated and assert a claim for these periods.

The Humboldt Foundation explicitly encourages fellows to bring their marital partners and children with them to Germany and grants family allowances in addition to the fellowship, provided that the family members accompany the fellow for more than three months.

We are happy to advise you if you have any other questions. Please initially contact info[at]avh.de.

If your partner accompanies you to Germany for at least three months (without interruption) you will be eligible for a family allowance for partners of €276 per month during the sponsorship period.

The term "partner" here means spouses and civil partners, as well as unmarried and cohabiting partners, who live together with joint children in a shared household or jointly care for children in a shared household.

Please note: you may apply for parental allowance in Germany to care for infants under the age of 15 months. If you do so, it will not be possible to grant the family allowance for partners in addition. For further information please read the Information Sheet: Family allowance for partners (PDF).

If children under the age of 18 accompany you in Germany for a period of at least three months (without interruption) during your sponsorship period, you can apply for and be granted a substitutional payment of €255/month in lieu of child benefit.

Under German law, citizens of the European Union (EU) as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland are eligible to apply for child benefit. However, according to German law, research fellows from the EU or the EEA are entitled to child benefit only when they have resided together with their children for more than three months in Germany (without interruption). Research fellows from other countries may apply for child benefit when they have resided in Germany together with their children for more than six months (without interruption). In those cases where a research fellow receives child benefit under German law, the Alexander von Humboldt cannot grant any substitutional payment for child benefit.

For additional information please  read the  Information Sheet: National child benefit or substitutional payment by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (PDF).

Research fellows who are single parents may apply for a flat-rate child allowance, if they are accompanied by minors (under the age of 18) to Germany for a period of least 3 months (without interruption). For the first child a monthly child allowance of €400 and €100 per month for each additional child will be granted.

For additional information please read the Flat-rate monthly child allowance for single-parent fellows (PDF).

The Humboldt Foundation may grant an allowance towards health and third-party insurance during the sponsorship period for your partner and underage children (under the age of 18), provided that they accompany you to Germany for at least three months (without interruption). The allowance paid for a travel health insurance policy is €70 per month. The allowance for a comprehensive health insurance is €130 per month.

For additional information please read the Information sheet: Subsidy towards the cost of medical and liability insurance (PDF).

As the success of a research stay in Germany depends to a considerable extent on your knowledge of German, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation explicitly supports research fellows’ efforts to learn German.

You may attend an intensive language course in Germany (concurrently with your partner if needed) lasting up to four months immediately before embarking on the fellowship. As part of this language fellowship the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation bears the course fees, provides a monthly fellowship payment, and covers supplementary payments where applicable.  Language courses take place in Germany. Alternatively, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation can provide financial assistance for German language courses that you complete parallel to your research fellowship or for online language courses prior to your stay in Germany. The Foundation cannot assume the costs for language courses for children.

Under German law, citizens of the European Union (EU) as well as the European Economic Area (EEA) and Switzerland are eligible to apply for parental allowance during the first 14 months of their child’s life. The same applies to the partners of research fellows from others countries who spend more than six months (without interruption) in Germany together with their children. If you apply for parental allowance the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will not be able to grant an additional family allowance for partners - see above.

For further information please read the Information Sheet: Family allowance for partners. (PDF)

If you give birth during your sponsorship period it is generally possible to extend the approved sponsorship period by up to three months in line with the periods stipulated under the German Maternity Protection Act. You are also eligible for an extension of the sponsorship period if the fellowship is due to end during statutory maternity leave (usually six weeks prior to and eight weeks after birth).

For additional information please read the Information Sheet: Maternity protection and parenthood: Parenting support (PDF).

Application in writing may be made to extend a research fellowship by up to 12 months if at least one child under the age of 12 when the fellowship begins (for research stays that are divided up into blocks: when the block begins) accompanies the research fellow to Germany during the sponsorship period. This also applies if the first child is born during the sponsorship period. The extension period may not exceed the granted sponsorship period. As a rule, the total duration of the sponsorship period approved by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation may not exceed 36 months. Extensions of the research fellowship that are based on statutory maternity leave will not be taken into account in this connection.

The duration of the extension will be determined on the basis of the actual duration of stay of the accompanying child in Germany. As a prerequisite for claiming an extension, the child must live in the research fellow’s household in Germany for the entire duration of the extension. The extension ends when the child leaves Germany.

The academic host’s confirmation of research facilities and mentoring agreement must be submitted for an extension of the research fellowship to be granted.

For further information please read the Information Sheet: Maternity protection and parenthood (PDF)

If you give birth or are planning to care for a child under the age of 12 during the sponsorship period you can apply to interrupt your fellowship for up to 18 months. You will require confirmation from your academic host that this will not endanger the purpose of the fellowship.

No, this is not possible. The allowance for research costs is a form of support for the collaboration between academic host and fellow. It ranges from €500 to €800 per month.

To make it easier to balance your research career with the demands of family life, you have the option of splitting your fellowship into up to three parts lasting a minimum of three months each. As a rule, once commenced, a research fellowship must be completed within 36 months; if the fellowship is extended it must be completed within 48 months.

You also have the option of completing part of your fellowship in a country other than Germany for research, personal or organisational reasons which also include family-related duties in your home country. During a research stay outside of Germany, you are required to fully dedicate yourself to the objective of the fellowship. A further requirement for conducting research stays outside of Germany is that the research project must be conducted for at least six months at the host institute in Germany and that the total duration of any research stays outside of Germany does not, as a rule, exceed 25% of the anticipated total sponsorship period. Conducting research stays outside of Germany immediately at the start or end of the research stay is allowed only in justified exceptional cases in order not to jeopardise the integration and successful conclusion of the research project at the host institution. In general, supplementary payments cannot be granted. In the case of research stays outside of Germany, any supplementary income generated in the respective country will be taken into account.

These two options may be already planned at the time the application is made or may be applied for during the research stay if needed.

The Humboldt Foundation may grant support for families on application. Please refer to the following questions for further information.

The monthly fellowship amount takes account of your individual family circumstances. In addition to the basic amount you will receive a foreign allowance which is increased depending on the number of family members accompanying you. Furthermore, family allowances for partners and children may be granted:

1. Family allowance for partners
   If your partner does not earn an income, or only an income below the lower earnings level for "marginal” part-time earners (currently €556 per month) you may apply in writing for a monthly family allowance of €205 for partners. The allowance will be granted irrespective of whether your partner accompanies you abroad. Please note: if you draw parental allowance under the Federal Parental Allowances and Parental Leave Act (Bundeselterngeld- und Elternzeitgesetz, BEEG), a family allowance for partners cannot be granted.
2. Family allowance for children
   The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation can grant you a family allowance for children. This comprises a child allowance plus an additional sum to equal the amount of child allowance stipulated in German income tax legislation (EStG). If you draw child allowance under EStG you will only receive the family allowance for children from the Humboldt Foundation. It will be paid in the form of a monthly lump sum for children up to the age of 18 on written application. The amount for the first child is €400 per month;  €100 per month will be paid for every additional child. The allowance may apply to children of non-marital couples when it can be proven that they were living in the fellow’s household prior to the fellowship (e.g. confirmation from the Residents’ Registration Office in Germany).
   
   You can use our fellowship calculator to calculate your fellowship amount, including the foreign allowance and family allowances.

If you are accompanied abroad by at least one child under the age of 12 at the beginning of the fellowship or part of a multi-part stay you can apply in writing for childcare support. This support can either be granted in the form of an extension of the research fellowship by up to 12 months or as reimbursement of costs incurred for childcare. A combination of the two forms is also possible.

If you give birth or are planning to care for a child under the age of 12 during the sponsorship period you can apply to interrupt your fellowship for up to 18 months. You will be required to submit confirmation from your academic host that this will not endanger the purpose of the fellowship.

If you give birth during the sponsorship period it is generally possible to extend the approved sponsorship period by up to three months along the lines of the periods stipulated under German maternity protection legislation. You are also eligible for an extension of the sponsorship period if your fellowship is due to end during the statutory period of maternity leave (usually six weeks prior to and eight weeks after birth).