The joint research award of the Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation is granted to outstanding scientists and scholars outside Germany in recognition of their academic achievements and their outstanding Research and Collaboration Proposal with a German research institution.
The award is intended to attract researchers who, on the basis of their highly successful, unconventional, innovative and risk-taking research to date, are expected to achieve scientific breakthroughs in the future. The awardees will enjoy exceptional freedom and flexibility in organising their scientific activities and research stays at academic institutions in Germany for a period of five years.
Detailed information on the selection criteria can be found under "Selection Criteria".
In addition to the award, up to two Max Planck Humboldt Medals may be awarded to nominees whose entire academic career to date is deemed worthy of recognition, but whose Research and Collaboration Proposals were less successful in the competition. For further information, see "Max Planck Humboldt Medal".
The awardees will have access to a sum of 1.5 million euros over a period of five years for the purpose of establishing and running a working group in Germany as well as for other innovative research formats for collaborating with specialist colleagues in Germany.
In addition, the German host institution will receive a lump sum of 20% of the funding amount to compensate for material and personnel costs.
The award is endowed with a personal prize of 80,000 euros. In Germany, research awards are generally exempt from income tax under German tax law.
In addition to the Award, up to two Max Planck-Humboldt Medals may be awarded if the Selection Committee confirms the overall merit of the other two nominees as worthy of an award. Each medal carries a personal award of 60,000 euros and is awarded in accordance with the General Regulations and Information for Research Awards of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation (German version).
The Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award is funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research. The funds are administered by the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation.
The Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award is presented annually in alternating years in the natural and engineering sciences, the life sciences and the humanities and social sciences.
The Max Planck Society appoints an international Nomination Committee for each field of research. The Nomination Committee is solely responsible for nominating candidates and for identifying and proposing deserving candidates for the Research Award to the Selection Committee.
The Nomination Committee may be assisted by German universities in nominating deserving candidates. In general, a call for nominations is issued in February each year. Interested institutions then have approximately eight weeks to submit a nomination.
- The nominee must not have previously received an award from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation in recognition of her/his academic achievements.
- The nominee must have lived and worked outside Germany for more than five years at the time of nomination.
- The nominee must not have taken up permanent employment in Germany at the time of selection, nor must he/she have agreed to do so.
- The nominated candidate must at all times comply with the Rules of Good Scientific Practice (German version) and the principles of scientific ethics.
- Nominees must have received their doctorate no more than 15 years ago.
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We cannot consider a nomination if the candidate received her/his doctorate more than 15 years ago. Exception may be made, after consideration, if the candidate has interrupted her/his scientific work after completing their doctorate due to childcare, prolonged illness, caring for close relatives, military or civilian service, or closure of the institute due to an epidemic-related lockdown. Proportional credit for such periods of absence is also possible.
Mothers are credited with a lump sum of two additional years for each child born after the doctorate, plus any other verifiable paternal periods. Fathers and other persons responsible for the upbringing of children are only credited with verifiable paternal periods.
Extensions are limited to 6 years.
In case of questions, please contact the Award Manager so we can advise you (mphf[at]gv.mpg.de).
- Scientific career (previous scientific achievements, professional depth, international visibility, scientific profile)
- Quality of research (originality, degree of innovation, key publications, importance for the further advancement of the field)
- Potential for further scientific breakthroughs
- Research project (original, creative, relevant, promising)
- Potential and perspectives of the planned cooperation with German cooperation partners, also beyond the funding period
Following the call for nominations, the Nomination Committee of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award identifies and shortlists five to six candidates from the pool of nominations. After the shortlist has been drawn up, the committee contacts the shortlisted candidates and asks them whether they are interested in actively participating in the further selection process.
Once the shortlisted candidates have agreed to participate in the further selection process, they will be asked to submit personal information such as their CV, list of publications, key publications and the contact details of their chosen German host institution(s) via Open Campus.
Once the candidates have submitted their host’s contact details, we will contact the selected institution(s) and ask them to provide a Host Statement in support of the candidate.
Shortlisted candidates will then be asked to submit a Research and Collaboration Proposal describing their proposed research project in collaboration with one or more German host institution(s). This includes a five-year budget outline and a full budget table. For further information, please refer to the List of Questions for the Research and Collaboration Proposal and the Regulations on the Use of Funds for the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award (German version).
Host institutions will be requested to submit their Host Statement by the deadline for the Research and Collaboration Proposal. For further information please refer to the List of Questions for the Host Statement.
If shortlisted candidates intend to collaborate with more than one host institution, each host institution needs to submit a separate Host Statement.
If candidates wish to submit the contact details of their second or third host via the online nomination platform Open Campus, they must to click on “Add a German host institution(s)” and a new form will open.
Candidates are free to choose their German host institution or host network. In general, candidates choose one or two host institutions.
The main host institution must assume fiduciary responsibility for the managing of the funds on behalf of the awardee. The host institution will receive a lump sum of 20% of the grant to compensate for material and personnel costs incurred (administrative flat-rate).
A change of host institution is only possible in well-founded exceptional cases and with the agreement of the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation. Further details can be found in the Regulations on the Use of Funds for the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award (German version).
All complete Research and Collaboration Proposals will be subject to independent expert reviews. For this purpose, the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation will obtain three to four international expert reviews per candidate. The expert assessments will be forward to the members of the Nomination Committee and the Selection Committee of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award.
All shortlisted candidates and the representative(s) of the candidates’ German host institution(s) will be invited to a Selection Symposium to present their scientific work to date and their Research and Collaboration Proposals to the Nomination Committee of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award.
The Selection Symposium usually takes place in February/March and begins with a Welcome Dinner on the evening before the Symposium. This is an opportunity for the shortlisted candidates to meet and get to know each other. The German host institutions and the member of the Nomination Committee are also invited to the dinner.
On the following day, the shortlisted candidates will present their scientific work to date and their Research and Collaboration Proposal to the Nomination Committee. Typically, the candidates have approximately 25 minutes to present their research project and 25 minutes to answer questions from the Nomination Committee. It is up to the shortlisted candidates and their host(s) to decide whether the host(s) should actively participate in the presentation and the Q&A session.
After all candidates have presented their research project and answered questions, the Nomination Committee will select up to three candidates to be nominated to the Selection Committee of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award. Candidates will not be informed of their nomination to the Selection Committee.
A joint, independent Selection Committee of the Max Planck Society and the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation, chaired by the President of the Humboldt Foundation, finally decides on the selection of the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award winner and the Max Planck-Humboldt Medal recipient(s). The meeting usually takes place in June or July of each year.
The Alexander von Humboldt Foundation informs the award and medal winners of their selection immediately after the meeting. The other shortlisted candidates will be informed shortly afterwards by the Max Planck Society that they have not been selected for the award or a medal.
Every year in September, the Max Planck Society publishes a press release about the award and medal winners. Award and medal winners are asked to coordinate their official announcement of the receipt of the award or medal with Max Planck Society's press release.
The award ceremony is usually held in Berlin in November or December each year.
Award and medal winners are invited to bring one person of their choice to the event. The Max Planck Society will take care of their accommodation for two to three nights.
Please refer to the Regulations on the Use of Funds for the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award (German version).
By the end of April of each year, the awardee must submit a short report on the work carried out and the results achieved during the previous calendar year, as well as a numerical (interim) report on the use of funds. A detailed final report on the work carried out and the results achieved, as well as a numerical report on the use of the (total) funds for the entire funding period, must be submitted no later than four months after the end of the funding period. Please refer to the Regulations on the Use of Funds for the Max Planck-Humboldt Research Award (German version).