The American Academy in Berlin is a nonprofit institute for advanced study in the arts, humanities, social sciences, and public policy. Its primary mission is to enhance the cultural and intellectual ties between the United States and Germany. Each year, following a rigorous selection process, the Academy awards roughly two dozen semester-long fellowships to outstanding US-based scholars, writers, visual artists, composers, and policy experts.
The Academy welcomes applications from a broad range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, law, journalism, and various areas of public policy. We also generally encourage projects that concern the future of democracy, technology and society (especially Artificial Intelligence), contemporary China, as well as climate change and sustainability. The Academy maintains dedicated fellowships for projects in American political economy, Jewish studies, and public health and biotechnology. Finally, while project proposals need not focus on topics related to Germany, candidates should explain how their projects would benefit from a residency in Berlin.
Please note that we do not accept project proposals in mathematics or the natural sciences, and that we select artists, composers, and poets through invitation-only competitions.
Deadline: Sep. 30, 2024
The Academy welcomes applications from a broad range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, law, journalism, and various areas of public policy. Berlin Prize recipients include both established and emerging scholars, writers, artists, journalists, and policy experts who wish to engage in independent study in an interdisciplinary residential community. Emerging scholars should hold a PhD and a strong record of peer-reviewed work beyond the dissertation. The Academy will not consider projects that have not advanced significantly beyond the candidate’s dissertation project. Independent scholars who satisfy the general eligibility requirements are welcome to apply.
Applicants working in most other fields—such as journalism, filmmaking, or public policy—must have a significant record of publication or production. Writers of fiction and nonfiction must have published at least one book with a reputable press at the time of application.
Fellowships are restricted to citizens and permanent residents of the United States. Candidates must explain any limited periods spent outside the United States, such as sabbaticals or foreign assignments. American expatriates are not eligible to apply.
While project proposals need not focus on topics related to Germany, candidates should explain how their projects would benefit from a residency in Berlin.
Fellowship benefits include round-trip airfare, housing at the Hans Arnhold Center, partial board, and a stipend of $5,000 per month. Fellows are expected to be in residence at the Academy during the entire term of the award, generally one academic semester.
- David Horowitz, Law (Spring 2013)
- Claudia Koontz, History (Spring 2005-6, Haniel Berlin Prize)
- Ralf Michaels, Law (Fall 2005-6, Lloyd Cutler Berlin Prize)
- Paul Carrington, Law (Fall 2003-4, Bosch Berlin Prize in Public Policy)
- Katherine Pratt Ewing, Cultural Anthropology (Fall 1999-2000, Berlin Prize Fellowship)