Who can apply?
The following criteria apply to the 2027/28 application cycle:
- Applicants must have a completed PhD plus a minimum of eight years of post-doctoral experience
- Applicants must be based in an African country
- 5 peer-reviewed publications since 1 January 2017, including at least one with or as a co-author
- Applicants must have six months’ research experience at academic institution(s) in a country different from the country of their first academic degree by the time of application AND have received a Master/PhD in an African country
- Fellowships will be awarded to individuals with challenging and innovative research projects of top academic quality through a highly competitive, strictly merit-based selection process (expected success rate: ~10% of eligible applications)
- Only applications from disciplines in the Humanities and Social Sciences with a thematic focus on sustainable governance will be considered. A letter of cooperation by an academic partner at the University of Freiburg is required.
Duration and Commitment
Fellowships are available for 6 months. Since one of the aims of FRIAS is to foster cross-disciplinary communication, full-time presence at FRIAS is mandatory.
Selection Process
The selection procedure for the FRIAS Early Career Fellowship is highly competitive and merit-based, with an expected success rate of approximately 10%. It consists of three steps:
- Eligibility Check: The FRIAS Board of Directors conducts an initial screening to confirm candidates meet all formal and academic quality criteria. Only those passing this stage proceed to the international peer review.
- International Peer Review: Qualified applications are evaluated by external experts who assess the candidate’s academic record and the quality and innovativeness of the research proposal. The review focuses on the applicant’s academic excellence, project quality, and suitability, with each factor weighted accordingly.
- Final Selection: Based on the original proposals and the expert reviews, a board of Africa Centre for Transregional Research (ACT) members will rank the list of applicants preliminarily. The external FRIAS Scientific Advisory Board (SAB) makes the final decision, ranking top applicants based on expert reviews and choosing fellows for funding. Selected candidates are informed directly, and others are notified of their status, with a waiting list used as needed.
