Open Call of the Academy | Senior Research Fellowship 2025

With this initial funding model the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna is providing an important impetus for active research at the institution and contributing to the career development of outstanding researchers.

Target group:

• All researchers who have already carried out one or more third-party funded research projects at the Academy as principal investigators are eligible to apply. In addition, researchers who have made a substantial and independent contribution as postdocs within the framework of a third-party funded research project carried out at the Academy are also eligible to apply.
• During the period of the fellowship, recipients may only hold a position of up to 37.5% (= 15 hours per week) at an Austrian or international research institution.

Eligibility for application:

• The applicant must have completed a doctoral/PhD programme.
• The applicant must have already carried out one or more third-party funded research projects at the Academy as a principal investigator, with at least one of the projects having a funding volume of at least EUR 150,000.
• Alternatively, the applicant may have made a substantial and independent contribution as a postdoctoral researcher in one or more third-party funded research projects at the Academy, whereby at least one of the projects must have had a funding volume of at least EUR 150,000. In any case, this requires continuous postdoctoral employment in a project of at least 50% for at least two years (excluding periods of parental leave).
• Funding is provided for the development of a research project proposal (minimum funding volume of EUR 300,000), including submission to the funding institution, which conducts a qualified selection process in the corresponding funding programme.
• An application can be submitted to the Academy 4 months before the end of an expiring third-party funded project.
• Current employment at the Academy is not a requirement for applying.
• The fellowship can only be claimed once per person.

Amount of the fellowship:

The fellowship amount is EUR 4.000 per month. The fellowship can be received for a maximum of 6 months. The fellowship recipient is responsible for all tax and social security matters.

Submission modalities:

• Submissions can only be made online via the Academy's submission platform: https://calls.akbild.ac.at/calls/SRF25
• The application language is English without exception. All documents must be written in English.
• The following files must be uploaded as separate PDFs:
  • a detailed work plan and timeline, including the duration of the scholarship applied for
  • an abstract of the project (max. 3,000 characters, including spaces)
  • a current academic CV, including a link to the ORCID profile (max. 3 pages; please also list your project positions in detail)
  • a draft of the project proposal (max. 3 pages)
  • a career plan for the next 12 months
  • doctorate/PhD certificate
  • In the case of former postdoctoral project staff who did not lead the project: description of the substantial and independent contribution to the research project (max. 1 page)
• In addition, the application form must specify the funding institution and the funding programme to which the research proposal is intended for submission.

Deadline:

The first submission deadline is Wednesday, 3rd December 2025, 11:00 a.m.

Decision-making process:

• The application will be formally reviewed.
• Based on the submitted application documents, a joint interview will take place between the applicant, the Rector and Art | Research | Support.
• The funding decision will be made by the Rector together with Art | Research | Support.
• There is no legal entitlement to the award of the fellowship. The programme is designed as an experiment in initial funding and career support.

For further information please contact Paul Reiter (p.reiter@akbild.ac.at, +43 1 588 16-1117).