Bayreuth Academy International Fellowships 2027–2028 in Germany: 15 Funded Research Residencies for African Studies Scholars Worldwide

Applications are open for the Bayreuth Academy International Fellowships 2027–2028, a funded residential research opportunity offered by the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

For the 2027–2028 academic year, the Bayreuth Academy will award 15 Individual Fellowships to qualified scholars conducting research in African Studies. The programme brings together researchers from different regions, disciplines and academic career stages to undertake original research, collaborate with University of Bayreuth scholars and contribute to the research agenda of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence.

Successful applicants may spend between one and five months at the University of Bayreuth, depending on the selected fellowship term. Support includes a living allowance based on the fellow’s employment status, a monthly mobility allowance, reimbursement of eligible travel expenses, workspace, library access and membership in the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence during the fellowship.

The application deadline is 5 October 2026 at 23:59 Central European Summer Time, or CEST. Applicants are expected to receive the selection outcome by the end of December 2026. The official fellowship call provides the complete programme details.

Bayreuth Academy International Fellowships 2027–2028: Key Details

• Host institution: Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies
• University: University of Bayreuth
• Research organisation: Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence
• Location: Bayreuth, Germany
• Number of fellowships: 15 Individual Fellowships
• Academic year: 2027–2028
• Fellowship format: Mandatory residential research stay
• Minimum duration: One month
• Maximum duration: Five months during the winter term or four months during the summer term
• Minimum qualification: Completed PhD
• Primary academic field: African Studies
• Eligible disciplines: Humanities and social, technical and natural sciences
• Geographical eligibility: Scholars worldwide
• Application method: Online application
• Deadline: 5 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST
• Expected selection notification: By the end of December 2026
• Financial support: Living allowance or teaching buyout, travel reimbursement and monthly mobility allowance
• Special family support: Travel and additional mobility assistance for fellows accompanied by minor children

About the Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies

The Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies is part of the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence at the University of Bayreuth. It serves as an intellectual and institutional platform where international scholars can develop research, exchange ideas and build collaborations around African and African-diasporic societies, experiences and knowledge systems.

The Academy’s fellowship programme allows researchers to work within an interdisciplinary community spanning more than 15 academic disciplines. Rather than providing funding for a remote project, the programme is structured as a residential scholarly experience. Fellows are expected to live in Bayreuth during their approved fellowship period and participate actively in the Cluster’s academic community.

During the fellowship, successful candidates receive membership status in the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence. This gives them the opportunity to connect with researchers, attend scholarly activities and contribute directly to debates concerning the future and reconfiguration of African Studies.

About the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence

The Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence has been funded through the Excellence Strategy of Germany’s federal and state governments since 1 January 2019. Its central objective is to reconfigure African Studies at both conceptual and structural levels.

The Cluster was established as a transformative research environment for studying African and African-diasporic ways of life. It promotes new forms of interdisciplinary and transdisciplinary cooperation while challenging unequal structures in the production, circulation and recognition of knowledge about Africa.

The Cluster’s second funding phase, known as Africa Multiple 2.0, covers 2026–2032. Its research focuses on processes of world-making and world-unmaking from the vantage point of Africa. It examines Africa not as an isolated region but as an active participant in the formation of interconnected global worlds.

Its research agenda is built around three central concepts:

1. Multiplicity: Recognising that African and African-diasporic realities are heterogeneous, interconnected and continuously changing.
2. Relationality: Examining how institutions, identities, histories, economies, environments and forms of knowledge emerge through relationships.
3. Reflexivity: Encouraging researchers to examine their own positions, methods and the power relations influencing knowledge production.

Applicants should read the official Africa Multiple 2.0 research agenda before preparing their proposals.

Purpose of the Bayreuth Academy International Fellowship Programme

The 15 Individual Fellowships are intended to provide scholars with the time, resources, institutional environment and academic partnerships required to undertake meaningful African Studies research.

The programme seeks projects that can make a clear contribution to the Africa Multiple Cluster’s theoretical and thematic priorities. Fellows are expected to pursue academically significant work while engaging with researchers from the University of Bayreuth and the Cluster’s wider international network.

The programme is also closely connected to the Cluster’s publication strategy. Applicants should therefore identify credible publication outputs that can result from the proposed fellowship project. The planned research should be capable of producing at least one scholarly publication, preferably for a respected journal or one of the Cluster’s publication outlets.

Research Areas and Thematic Sections

Applicants may align their projects with one or more of the Cluster’s six Research Sections. These sections function as thematic umbrellas connecting related projects and researchers.

1. Accumulation

The Accumulation Research Section examines wealth, ownership, inequality and the processes through which economic and political power are accumulated.

Relevant projects may explore land, housing, financial assets, natural resources, labour, inheritance, extractive economic systems and unequal access to wealth and opportunities. The section is particularly concerned with how colonial and postcolonial structures of accumulation continue to shape African societies.

2. Digitalities

The Digitalities Research Section investigates digital technologies, artificial intelligence, online platforms, social media, biometrics and digital infrastructures.

Research may address data extraction, algorithmic systems, technology-related labour, electronic waste, digital political participation, online communities, cultural expression and the role of technology in social and economic transformation. The section also considers how digital systems may reproduce inequality or contribute to decolonisation and new forms of public participation.

3. Ecologies

The Ecologies Research Section focuses on environmental issues, human-environment relationships and the reconfiguration of Environmental Studies in Africa.

Relevant topics may include climate change, biodiversity, conservation, Indigenous environmental knowledge, natural-resource governance, environmental justice, colonial and postcolonial environmental structures and African ecological knowledge systems.

4. In/securities

The In/securities Research Section considers the interconnected production of security and insecurity.

Research may examine political authority, violence, conflict, surveillance, social movements, resource competition, religious organisations, multinational businesses, security agencies, vigilante groups and the ways individuals and communities experience vulnerability, uncertainty and protection.

5. Re

The Re Research Section explores memory, heritage and the contested interpretation of the past.

Potential areas include monuments, memorials, restitution of cultural objects, museums, colonial legacies, national histories, digital memory, public commemoration and the ways societies remember, challenge, reconstruct or deliberately forget historical events.

6. Translating

The Translating Research Section examines translation beyond the narrow transfer of words between languages.

It considers how concepts, policies, knowledge, religious ideas, cultural practices and political narratives circulate across multilingual and international settings. Research may also examine artificial intelligence-assisted translation, linguistic power, the dominance of particular languages and the consequences of translating complex ideas across different social contexts.

Applicants are not strictly required to place their projects within one of these six Research Sections. Proposals may instead contribute to the Cluster’s broader agenda, particularly its work on world-making, world-unmaking, relationality and the reconfiguration of African Studies.

Fellowship Periods and Duration

Applicants can propose a residential research stay during either the winter or summer term.

Winter Term

• Fellowship period: Between 1 October 2027 and 29 February 2028
• Minimum duration: One month
• Maximum duration: Five months

Summer Term

• Fellowship period: Between 1 April 2028 and 31 July 2028
• Minimum duration: One month
• Maximum duration: Four months

Applicants must indicate their preferred fellowship period in their motivation letter. However, the final start date and duration will depend on the successful applicant’s availability and agreement with the proposed academic host.

Physical residence at the University of Bayreuth is compulsory throughout the approved fellowship period. The programme is not offered as a fully remote fellowship.

Financial Support and Fellowship Benefits

The funding arrangement is divided into three components:

• Living allowance or teaching buyout
• Travel reimbursement
• Monthly mobility allowance

The actual living support depends on whether the fellow continues to receive remuneration from a home institution.

Case 1: Fellows Without Remuneration From a Home Institution

Fellows who do not receive any salary or other remuneration from their home institution may receive:

• EUR 2,500 per month as a living allowance
• EUR 750 per month as a mobility allowance
• Reimbursement of eligible travel expenses to and from Bayreuth

The applicant must provide confirmation from their home institution or most recent funding organisation showing that they will not receive remuneration during the fellowship.

For an individual fellow without accompanying children, the two listed monthly components amount to EUR 3,250. Travel reimbursement is handled separately.

Case 2: Fellows on Paid Leave Without a Replacement

Fellows who remain on their home institution’s payroll while taking leave or a sabbatical, but whose institution does not hire a replacement, may receive:

• EUR 1,000 per month as a living allowance
• EUR 750 per month as a mobility allowance
• Reimbursement of eligible travel expenses to and from Bayreuth

For an individual fellow in this category, the two listed monthly components amount to EUR 1,750.

Case 3: Teaching Buyout

Where a fellow continues to receive remuneration from their home institution and a substitute lecturer must be hired, the University of Bayreuth may reimburse the home institution for the replacement lecturer.

The teaching-buyout arrangement has an upper limit of:

• EUR 7,000 per month

The official call explains that the teaching-buyout approach may particularly apply to fellowships lasting more than three months. It is not automatically a personal stipend of EUR 7,000 paid directly to the fellow. Instead, the University of Bayreuth agrees with the home institution to reimburse eligible costs associated with employing a substitute lecturer.

A formal institutional agreement is not required, but the following evidence must be submitted:

1. A scanned copy of the contract or agreement concerning the substitute lecturer; and
2. Proof that the substitute lecturer’s salary has been paid.

The fellow may also receive the applicable mobility allowance and travel reimbursement.

Full financial conditions are set out in the official fellowship call and financial provisions.

Travel Support

The Cluster reimburses eligible travel expenses associated with arrival in and departure from Bayreuth. Reimbursement is made against the submission of receipts.

Where a fellow is accompanied by minor children, eligible travel costs may also be reimbursed for the accompanying children.

Applicants should retain all relevant tickets, invoices, receipts and proof of payment because the travel support is described as reimbursement rather than a fixed travel grant.

Monthly Mobility Allowance

All individual fellows are eligible for a monthly mobility allowance of:

• EUR 750 per month

Fellows accompanied by minor children may receive additional monthly mobility support as follows:

• An additional EUR 250 per month for one accompanying minor child
• A further EUR 250 per month for a second accompanying minor child
• A further EUR 250 per month where a third or more minor child or children accompany the fellow

The increased mobility allowance is designed to help address the additional costs experienced by scholars travelling with children.

Fellows will receive a certificate of payment that must be submitted to the relevant tax authorities. Applicants should therefore check any tax consequences that may apply in Germany or their country of tax residence.

Academic and Institutional Benefits

In addition to financial assistance, selected fellows receive:

• Workspace in the new African Studies research building at the University of Bayreuth
• Access to the University of Bayreuth’s African Studies library holdings
• Membership in the Africa Multiple Cluster of Excellence during the fellowship
• Interaction with an international community representing more than 15 academic disciplines
• Opportunities to collaborate with University of Bayreuth researchers
• Access to lectures, seminars, discussions and scholarly events
• Opportunities to present and publish research
• Participation in academic and social activities
• Potential engagement with postdoctoral working groups

These resources are intended to help fellows complete focused research while becoming active members of the Cluster’s academic environment.

Responsibilities of Selected Fellows

The Bayreuth Academy fellowship is participatory. Successful applicants are expected to contribute to the academic life of the Academy rather than work in isolation.

Fellows are expected to:

1. Participate in Cluster activities: This includes regular Thursday afternoon lectures, seminars and discussion groups held while the fellow is in residence.
2. Deliver a research presentation: Each fellow must give a 45-minute presentation based on their research at the Bayreuth Academy.
3. Engage in scholarly exchange: Fellows should interact informally and formally with Cluster members and other visiting researchers.
4. Collaborate with Bayreuth-based scholars: The proposed fellowship should identify meaningful areas of cooperation with one or more scholars based in Bayreuth.
5. Produce a publication: During or after the fellowship, the fellow is expected to submit at least one publication based on the fellowship project. A high-ranking academic journal or a publication outlet associated with the Cluster is preferred.
6. Record a podcast with the academic host: The podcast discussion should connect the fellow’s project with the Cluster’s themes, concepts, objectives and, where applicable, the selected Research Section.
7. Offer discussion sessions for doctoral students: Fellows should contribute to the intellectual development of doctoral researchers through relevant discussion sessions.
8. Attend social activities: Fellows may be invited to occasional social events organised for the fellowship community.
9. Consider postdoctoral working groups: Participation in one of the Bayreuth Academy’s postdoctoral working groups is optional.

Application Requirements

Applications must be submitted through the official online form. In addition to general information about the applicant’s academic background, the following materials are required.

1. Complete List of Academic Publications

Applicants must upload their full publication list as one PDF file. The list should present the applicant’s research track record clearly and consistently.

Because the programme places strong emphasis on publication outcomes, applicants should ensure that publications relevant to African Studies and the proposed project are easy to identify.

2. Curriculum Vitae

A complete academic CV must be uploaded as one PDF file. It should include relevant qualifications, appointments, research projects, publications, teaching, grants, awards, conference participation and academic service.

3. Motivation Letter

Applicants must provide a motivation letter explaining why they are applying for a Bayreuth Academy fellowship.

The letter must:

• Explain the applicant’s motivation
• Show how the fellowship supports their research development
• Demonstrate interest in the Bayreuth Academy and Africa Multiple Cluster
• State the proposed fellowship period
• Remain within the maximum limit of 3,500 characters

The official instructions indicate that 3,500 characters are approximately equivalent to 500–600 words.

4. Research Project Outline

Applicants must submit an outline of the research project they intend to undertake during the fellowship.

The project outline must:

• Explain the research topic and problem
• Present the project’s objectives and research questions
• Describe its theoretical or conceptual approach
• Explain the methodology
• Show its contribution to African Studies
• Present a feasible plan for the requested fellowship period
• Identify the expected outputs, particularly publications

The maximum length is 6,500 characters, approximately 1,000–1,100 words.

5. Contribution to the Cluster’s Research Agenda

Applicants must provide a separate statement explaining their proposed contribution to the Africa Multiple Cluster’s research agenda or one or more Research Sections.

The statement may explain the applicant’s theoretical, methodological or thematic contribution. It must also name the Bayreuth-based scholar or scholars with whom the applicant intends to collaborate.

The maximum length is 3,500 characters, approximately 500–600 words.

6. Gender and Diversity Statement

Applicants must explain how gender and diversity considerations feature in their proposed research.

This should not be treated as a generic equality statement. It should show how gender, social difference, representation, inclusion, research ethics or relevant inequalities are considered within the project’s questions, methods, data, partnerships or anticipated outcomes.

The maximum length is 2,000 characters, approximately 300–350 words.

7. Referees

Applicants must provide the names and contact details of two referees who can comment on their academic qualifications, research experience and suitability for the programme.

How to Apply for the Bayreuth Academy International Fellowships

Applicants should follow these steps:

1. Read the fellowship announcement and financial regulations carefully.
2. Study the Africa Multiple 2.0 research agenda and six Research Sections.
3. Confirm that the proposed project has a clear and substantial connection with African Studies.
4. Identify the Research Section or broader Cluster objective that best matches the project.
5. Identify one or more Bayreuth-based scholars with whom meaningful collaboration would be possible.
6. Select a realistic fellowship period within the winter or summer residency window.
7. Prepare the publication list and CV as separate PDF files.
8. Draft the motivation letter, research outline, Cluster-contribution statement and gender-and-diversity statement within their respective character limits.
9. Obtain accurate contact details for two academic referees.
10. Complete the official online application form.
11. Upload all required documents and submit the complete application before the deadline.

Applicants should retain a copy of the submitted application and any confirmation generated by the application portal.

Important Deadline Clarification

The main fellowship announcement and the opening section of the official PDF state that applications close on 5 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST. However, a later applicant-instructions section uses “CET.”

Germany will still be observing Central European Summer Time on 5 October 2026 because summer time does not end until the final Sunday of October. Therefore, applicants should treat 23:59 CEST as the safe deadline and submit earlier rather than relying on the one-hour-later CET interpretation. Germany’s official national metrology institute confirms that CEST remains in effect until the last Sunday in October. See the German time-standard guidance.

For applicants in Pakistan, 23:59 CEST on 5 October 2026 corresponds to approximately 2:59 a.m. Pakistan Standard Time on 6 October 2026. Applicants should not wait until this converted local deadline to submit.

Expected Selection Timeline

Complete applications submitted before the deadline will be considered for the 15 available fellowships.

The official instructions state that applicants should be informed of the selection decision by the end of December 2026. Successful applicants will then coordinate the precise fellowship dates and duration with their respective academic hosts.

How to Prepare a Competitive Application

Based on the published requirements, a strong application should demonstrate the following:

• A completed PhD and a credible academic publication record
• A substantial and clearly documented track record in African Studies
• A focused project that can be advanced meaningfully during a one-to-five-month stay
• Direct alignment with the Africa Multiple research agenda or one or more Research Sections
• A clear theoretical, methodological or thematic contribution
• A realistic and valuable collaboration with named Bayreuth-based scholars
• A credible publication plan
• Meaningful integration of gender and diversity considerations
• A justified choice of fellowship duration and term
• Evidence that the project can contribute to wider debates on African and African-diasporic worlds

Applicants should avoid submitting a generic research proposal that merely mentions Africa. The proposal must demonstrate an informed connection to the Cluster’s goals, concepts and scholarly priorities.

Contact for Further Information

Questions concerning the fellowship may be directed to:

Robert Debusmann
Coordinator, Bayreuth Academy of Advanced African Studies
Email: robert.debusmann@uni-bayreuth.de

Applicants seeking clarification about eligibility, funding status, teaching-buyout arrangements or the deadline terminology should contact the coordinator before submitting.

Official Application Links

• Read the official fellowship announcement
• Download the official call and financial provisions
• Read the Africa Multiple research agenda
• Access the official application form

Conclusion

The Bayreuth Academy International Fellowships 2027–2028 offer an important opportunity for established African Studies researchers to undertake funded, residential research at the University of Bayreuth in Germany.

With 15 fellowships available, the programme supports research across the humanities and social, technical and natural sciences. Its interdisciplinary structure makes it particularly suitable for scholars examining Africa and its diasporas through questions of inequality, digital transformation, ecology, security, memory, language, knowledge and world-making.

Beyond financial support, fellows receive access to an international research community, specialist library resources, workspace, academic events and opportunities for collaboration and publication. The programme nevertheless requires serious intellectual engagement: applicants must demonstrate a proven African Studies record, a clearly defined project, alignment with the Cluster’s agenda and a credible plan for collaboration and publication.

Qualified applicants should begin preparing their documents early, identify suitable Bayreuth-based collaborators and submit the complete application well before 5 October 2026 at 23:59 CEST.

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