Fellowship Calls

LIAS in Culture and Society is aimed primarily at international researchers in the early phase of their career who would like to contribute their research to the institute’s programme.
For their research projects, the fellows are provided with the time and space resources needed as well as a stimulating research environment. In addition to the regular fellowships, LIAS also offers Senior, Artist, Public, and Faculty fellowships (for further information, please, scroll down).
The fellowships are announced annually. The fellows are selected by an international advisory board in collaboration with the directorate. The advisory board consists of renowned international scholars whose research exemplifies the work at LIAS in Culture and Society. The selection criteria for the fellowship are the originality of the research approach, the academic quality of the research proposal, the correspondence to the programmatic approach of LIAS, and the potential for co-creation and collaboration with other fellows and members of the university community.
Weekly colloquia, numerous other formats (lectures, conferences, workshops, film screenings, excursions), exchange with researchers at Leuphana University of Lüneburg and in Lower Saxony, as well as dialogue with cultural producers and social and political actors foster the individual research projects at LIAS. Fellows are also invited to participate in the universities’ activities. Last but not least, the fellows have the possibility to initiate intra- and extra-academic exchange formats so as to communicate their research to the professional or broader public. LIAS fellows thus benefit from the many opportunities for inter- and transdisciplinary as well as international exchange. The working language of LIAS is English.

A communications manager assists the fellows with their publishing needs and communicates the research as well as the institute to a broader audience within the communication-related research landscape in the form of video portraits, social media, a media library, audio files, follow-up reports on conferences, and the annual LIAS Magazine, among other things.
A manager for fellow support coordinates scholarly exchange and organizes life at the university and in Lüneburg by means of a diverse programme. Fellows are also supported by student assistants.
The fellows’ workplace is located in the university’s Libeskind Central Building. In addition to office equipment, LIAS provides fellows, senior fellows, and artist fellows with accommodation in Lüneburg for the duration of their stay. LIAS supports fellows who wish to complete their fellowship in Lüneburg accompanied by their partners and/or families.

The fellowships give young researchers who have already completed a successful post-doctoral phase up to early assistant professors/W2 the freedom to further their research, as well as a suitable framework for interdisciplinary co-creation in a career phase that is crucial for their long-term research performance. The fellowships are announced publicly and generally run for one year (from April to March).

In order to intensify the exchange between the fellows at LIAS and the academic community of Leuphana University, a member of the university is given the opportunity to contribute their own research to LIAS for a period of six months.

Senior fellowships are aimed at renowned researchers whose research has already provided important impulses within and beyond the boundaries of academic discourse. They are selected by the international advisory board. The duration of the fellowship is between three and twelve months.

Artists are often the first to identify social problems, engaging with them in both material and intellectual terms. LIAS supports projects in the fields of visual arts, literature, film, and sound that correspond artistically to the LIAS programme.
Through a connection to the Leuphana University of Lüneburg’s Kunstraum, a space for artistic projects, the work of the artistic fellows also has an impact on the university and a broader public. Depending on the project, the fellowship has a duration of three to twelve months.

LIAS also engages in intensive dialogue with voices from the spheres of art, culture, and politics. Public fellows act as an interface to the wider public. Public fellowships are awarded for a period of six to twelve months. Public fellows accompany research at LIAS and provide their own impetuses through their work.

LIAS awards research fellowships to talented scholars (“Fellows”) as well as to artists or writers (“Artist Fellows”) or established scholars (“Senior Fellows”).
The stipend rate for fellows is €2,100 per month. Accommodation in Lüneburg is provided for the funding period. Fellows additionally receive up to €6,000 per year as a family/separation allowance, €3,600 per year for open access, and €400 per year for supplies.
Senior fellows and artist fellows are invited as stipend holders. Accommodation in Lüneburg is provided for the funding period.

The fellows are provided with an office with internet access (without a PC) in the rooms of LIAS in the Libeskind Central Building, and artist fellows with a studio on campus.
All fellows pursue their intended research projects or art projects autonomously. An employment relationship is neither established nor sought within the framework of the fellowship. The fellowship does not constitute remuneration pursuant to German § 14 SGB IV.
LIAS strives to offer its fellows a supportive and inspiring research environment. It is therefore expected that fellows spend time at LIAS on a regular basis and participate in the colloquia.