Postgraduate/ECR Funding

Please see below the variety of funding opportunities the GHS offers for Postgraduates and ECRs including:

  • Postgraduate/ECR Bursaries
  • Small Grants
    • GHS Conference Attendance
    • Research Grants and External Conference Attendance
    • Conference/Workshop Organisation
  • Language Courses

Postgraduate/ECR Bursaries

The German History Society offers four Postgraduate/ECR Bursaries annually, each of £2500. These may be used to fund language courses, archive study trips, fees or general maintenance and are offered in addition to the small grants for travel and workshops / conferences that are also dispensed by the Society.

The bursaries are open to any student currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and to those who have completed a PhD within five years of the deadline for application.

Applicants must also be members of the German History Society.

Applicants should submit the application form to the Postgraduate Officer. On the form you will need to give the following:

  • Outline of your Postdoc/PhD/MA research project (max. 400 words). This should include an explanation of your research project as a whole. Please include discussion of why your project represents an important and original contribution to scholarship on German history.
  • Statement of the progress made thus far (max. 300 words).
  • Brief schedule of work for the coming 12 months (max. 200 words).
  • Statement of how you would use the scholarship and why this particular research activity is necessary to your project (max. 400 words).
  • Statement of other sources of funding applied for and/or received.
  • Budget (please include a detailed breakdown of proposed spending).

Applicants should also ask their supervisors to submit a reference directly to the Postgraduate Officer. The reference should confirm the details of the application and make the case for support in the usual manner.

Please note that all applications and accompanying references must be submitted in either Microsoft Word or PDF format.

The closing date for receipt of complete applications, including references, is 15 April 2025. Applications should be consolidated into a single document.

Applications will be considered by a panel drawn from the Committee of the Society; the Society expects to be able to notify applicants approximately six weeks after the closing date.

In making their decision the panel will consider applications in the round and will take into account the academic quality of the proposal; the progress that the applicant has made thus far; the availability to the applicant of alternative sources of funding; and the likelihood that the Society’s money will make a tangible difference to the likely success of the project concerned.

For ease, please fill out the application form below and submit it to our Postgraduate Officer Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek at this email address.

PGbursary2021-1Download Postgraduate Bursary Application Form

Small Grants

These grants of up to £1500 depending on the purpose are open to all postgraduate members of the German History Society currently registered for a higher degree at a university in the United Kingdom or the Republic of Ireland, and to those who have completed a PhD within five years of the deadline for application. Small grants are available for research or conference travel, or conference organisation. 

Please note that awards for funding are made in a formal competition held three times each year. The deadlines for submission are 1 January, 15 April, and 15 August. Each application should include an application form fully completed and a reference; incomplete applications will not be considered. (Please note that all applications and accompanying references must be submitted in either Microsoft Word or pdf format).

Please send all applications to our Postgraduate Officer Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek at this email address.

All decisions on funding will be by a panel within approximately six weeks of the deadline.

All requests for reimbursement must be made within six months after the expense was incurred. Whenever possible, payments from the Society should be made by electronic transfer into a UK bank account. Alternative arrangements can be made for recipients who are residents of the Republic of Ireland.

Funding requests can be for any of the following purposes:

Bursaries for attendance at the German History Society’s own regional conferences and Annual Conference.

Applications should detail whether alternative sources of financial support have been sought, and whether these previous applications have been successful. The Society will consider contributing up to £150 towards travel and accommodation expenses.

Please fill out the form below and submit it to Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek if you require financial support for travel expenses.

Small-Grant-Travel-formDownload GHS Conference Travel Grant Form

Research Grants and Conference Attendance

Applicants may apply for a sum of up to £1500 to assist with travel and accommodation expenses on research trips to archives / libraries with relevant resources for historians of the German lands OR for up to £500 for travel, accommodation and registration expenses associated with conference attendance beyond the UK and the Republic of Ireland (priority will be given to those presenting papers). Other applications for financial support and their success or otherwise should be detailed in your application. Each application must include a detailed budget for the trip and a statement of the aims and objectives. Applications should be consolidated into a single document.

In addition, a reference from the relevant supervisor should indicate whether sources of funding are available from the home institution.

Small-Grant-Travel-form-1Download Research/External Conference Travel Grant Form

Organising Conferences or Workshops

Applicants may apply for a sum of up to £1500 to assist with the costs of organising a conference or workshop. Both the applicant(s)/organiser(s) of the conference and the main beneficiaries of the funding should be postgraduate students and/or early career scholars (within five years of the award of the PhD). Each application must include a detailed budget for the conference and a statement of its aims and objectives. Applications should be consolidated into a single document. In addition, a separate reference from the relevant supervisor should indicate whether funding is available from the home institution and whether the applicant has sought alternative sources of funding.

All materials should be sent by email to the Society’s Postgraduate Officer, Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek, marked ‘GHS’ in the subject box. Applications received after a given deadline will be considered after the next deadline, unless the period in question for the proposal has already passed.

Payments from this fund can be made in sterling only and are entirely at the discretion of the committee of the Society. No correspondence will be entered into where applications are refused.

Please submit your completed application to this email address.

Small-Grant-conference-organisationDownload Conference Organisation Application Form

GHS-DAAD grants for German language courses in Germany

The German History Society and the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) are pleased to offer grants for students registered in the UK and Ireland for a postgraduate degree, or who have a confirmed offer of a place on a postgraduate degree programme. These grants will enable students to attend summer language courses in Germany and are jointly funded by the GHS and DAAD. They offer students the opportunity to enhance their German language skills according to their academic profile and research needs.

Successful applicants are able to choose an appropriate German language course and level of tuition from the broad range of summer courses offered by German universities.

Please note that successful applicants have to apply for the summer courses separately, and places are subject to availability.

Up to four awards valued at €850 are available each year. The awards are intended to contribute to travel expenses, accommodation, and course fees for a three-to-four-week German language course at a German university.

Please check the individual course outline for tuition details and extra-curricular activities.

If, following the awarding of a grant, the applicant is unable to pursue the language course applied for, the GHS requires that the grant be reimbursed to the Society in full.

Eligibility

The grant is open to postgraduate students of History who are currently enrolled at a UK or Irish university or prospective postgraduate students already accepted at a UK or Irish university. All applicants must also be members of the GHS.

To Apply

Application materials, as indicated on the form below, must be submitted by the 15 April 2025. All materials should be sent by email to the Society’s Postgraduate Officer, Dr Edmund Wareham Wanitzek, marked ‘GHS Language Courses’ in the subject box. APPLICATIONS ARE NOW OPEN

2024-DAAD-GHS-Language-Course-Application-FormApplication Form