General Research Grants: Projects

The General Research Grants: Projects offered by the Gerda Henkel Foundation support research projects in historical humanities, targeting a broad range of academic fields including Archaeology, History of Art, Historical Islamic Studies, History, History of Science, History of Law, Prehistory, and Early History. The Foundation has also broadened its focus in recent years to include contemporary societal issues, with dedicated funding initiatives like "Forced Migration", “Democracy as Utopia, Experience, and Threat”, and “Lost Cities”, as well as initiatives supporting African humanities scholars and preservation of cultural heritage under the “Patrimonies” program. These thematic extensions include disciplines such as Political Science, Jurisprudence, Social Sciences, and Conservation Studies. The Foundation has a strong academic orientation and supports research with scholarly significance, placing emphasis on the academic value, clarity of project planning, and feasibility. Funding through this program covers personnel, travel, materials, and other necessary expenses. Applicants can request funding for project-specific research and PhD scholarships, including monthly family allowances or endowments for research abroad, as needed. Additionally, support may be granted for student assistants and travel or material costs. Only full-time scholarships are permitted—recipients may not simultaneously receive a salary or pension, and any work beyond the project must not exceed five hours weekly. Project personnel must conduct their own original research, published under their name. Scholarships can be granted for a minimum of one month and up to a maximum of 24 months. The Foundation will not fund salaries for project participants, mandatory social insurance-covered positions, college or tuition fees, or institutional overheads. Applications are submitted exclusively in digital form via the Foundation’s electronic portal. Required documentation includes a research proposal (up to eight pages), a detailed cost breakdown in euros (specifying amounts and monthly fixed rates for scholarships), travel itineraries if applicable, and CVs with publication lists for applicants and project staff. Academic certificates, excluding Bachelor-level credentials, must be provided. If the applicant is also requesting a personal scholarship, at least one signed letter of recommendation is required, submitted via the online portal. The application must be in German or English, and all documents must be in PDF format, under 6MB each. The next deadline for the Foundation’s committee review for full project applications is 28 May 2026. Decisions will be made during the November 2026 committee meeting, with earliest possible funding beginning in December 2026. However, smaller funding requests (up to €30,000) are processed continuously, following the same application process and typically reviewed within three to four months. This dual-track system allows for both time-sensitive smaller projects and larger-scale, committee-reviewed research to receive appropriate support. The application process involves completing an electronic form, which can be revised within ten days of submission using a personalized link. Confirmation of receipt is sent via email. Applications are only considered complete once all required documents are uploaded. Personal data is stored securely and not shared with third parties. For those undertaking projects individually, the Foundation advises using its separate “General Research Grants: Scholarships” form. Notably, resubmissions of rejected proposals, even in modified form or under different initiatives, are not allowed. Contact for this program is Anna Kuschmann, M.A., Project Manager for General Research and PhD Grants. Her email is [email protected]. The Foundation emphasizes academic excellence, precise planning, and project relevance as key evaluation criteria. Scholars globally are eligible, including those based in the U.S., provided the research aligns with the historical humanities focus and adheres to program requirements.

Ensure all PDFs follow format rules (size, font, spacing); scholarships require full-time research and no concurrent salary or pension.