DFG-Individual Grants
DFG-Individual Grants
You are planning to submit an application to the German Research Foundation?
We at the SSC are very happy to support you with all questions regarding DFG individual Grants proposals.
Our service offers cover the period from your concrete research idea to the submission of the proposal to the DFG:
We…
- ...work with you to find the right DFG funding format for you and your project.
- ...advise you on the specific requirements of your chosen DFG funding format.
- ...inform you about the UDE-internal start-up and support measures for your DFG grant (see also: UDE-internal DFG Initial Grant Backing).
- ... subject your new or continuation proposal to a formal review and strategic editing before (re)submission.
- ...refer you to experienced colleagues from your discipline if necessary.
- ...support you in the revision of rejected proposals.
- …offer information sessions on the numerous DFG individual funding formats (see also: Brown Bag Session DFG Funding at a Glance).
DFG funding formats
Do you have questions about the following DFG funding formats?
Individual Research Grants in general
All scientists with a doctorate can apply at any time for Individual Research Grants, which is limited in terms of topic and time, by means of a non-topic-specific grant. The funding period is flexible, but is up to 36 months with the option of extension/continuation.
The application for a grant in kind is modular, i.e., you can put together your own grant in kind individually with the help of the modules provided.
The following modules are available (please note that modules 5–8 can only be applied for together with one of the modules 1–4):
- Basic Module for the acquisition of project-specific material and personnel costs and investments.
- Module Temporary Position for Principle Investigators to raise funds for your position as project leader.
- Module Replacements to raise funds for your release from teaching and administrative duties, should this be indispensable in the project applied for.
- Module Temporary Substitutes for Clinicians to raise funds to provide medical care for physicians for the duration of the project.
- Module Mercator Fellows to raise funds for a long-term and intensive exchange with scientists inside or outside Germany within the framework of the project.
- Module Project-Specific Workshops to raise funds for workshops and colloquia within the framework of the project.
- Module Public Relations to raise funds to present the work and results of your project to the non-public.
- Module Standard Allowance for Gender Equality Measures for equal opportunity measures to raise funds for targeted gender equality and family-friendly measures.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
Your contact person at the SSC:
Emmy Noether Programme
The Emmy Noether Programme (ENP) enables outstanding scientists to establish their own junior research group for a period of six years (after three years there is an interim evaluation), usually no later than four years after receiving their doctorate, in order to meet the requirements for an appointment. In addition, the ENP offers the possibility to (re)recruit excellent scientists from abroad for the German science system.
Prerequisites are at least two years of experience as a postdoc and substantial international research experience. Applicants who have already attained tenure or are about to attain tenure, as well as junior professors who have been positively evaluated in the interim, are not eligible to apply.
In the ENP application, several locations may (but do not have to) be named in which the Emmy Noether Group is to be located in the case of a grant. However, each location must be well justified and, in addition, for each one, a statement of the host institution in the form of a sample contract must be attached to the application and signed by the university administration. To obtain this, please contact us.
Applications can be submitted at any time and are modular; however, the final decision on a location must be made no later than two months after approval.
The DFG has compiled some of the most important FAQs on its website, which you can find here.
The UDE-Emmy Noether Junior Research Groups currently funded can be found here.
Please make sure to contact the SSC before submitting any proposal!
Your contact person at the SSC:
Heisenberg Programme
If you meet all the requirements for an appointment to a permanent professorship, the Heisenberg Programme may be a funding format for you.
This format is aimed at outstanding scientists who have previously obtained their appointments in the Emmy Noether Program, as junior research group leaders, in the context of DFG project positions, research activities in industry, or in positions in the academic mid-level faculty. Also eligible to apply are positively evaluated junior professors, post-doctoral researchers and German returnees from abroad or scientists with the relevant qualifications from abroad who would like to work in Germany.
The first step is to apply for admission to the Heisenberg Programme; in the event of approval, the following four options are then available, some of which can be switched between in the course of the five-year funding period (an interim evaluation takes place after three years):
- Heisenberg position
- Heisenberg temporary substitute position
- Heisenberg professorship
- Heisenberg fellowship
The DFG has compiled some of the most important FAQs on its website, which you can find here.
The UDE Heisenbergers currently funded can be found here.
Please be sure to contact the SSC before submitting any application!
Your contact person at the SSC:
Temporary Positions for PIs ("Eigene Stelle")
The application for the module Temporary Position for Principle Investigators is possible at any time within the framework of the grant for scientists from Germany and abroad and can be applied for regardless of age.
The module enables the acquisition of personnel and material funds for the position as project leader for an initial period of up to 36 months and can be combined with other modules of the grant. Six months before the grant expires, you can apply for a continuation of the grant. Although the own position is applied for as a full-time position, it can be flexibly reduced in case of approval.
For the own position an institutional connection is necessary, which is documented by means of the so-called Arbeitgebererklärung and must be signed by the university administration. To obtain this, please contact us.
The DFG has compiled some of the most important FAQs on its website, which you can find here.
Please be sure to contact the SSC before submitting any proposal!
Your contact person at the SSC:
Walter Benjamin Programme (WBP)
The WBP enables qualified scientists in an early phase after their doctorate to carry out a research project independently at a location of their choice in Germany and/or abroad, usually for 24 months. The WBP is intended to support the mobility and thematic development relevant in this phase.
There are two (three) modules to choose from, which can also be combined:
- You apply for the Module Walter Benjamin Fellowship if you would like to carry out your research project abroad. The amount of the fellowship depends on the location and your living situation (see the Award calculator).
- The Module Walter Benjamin Position allows you to carry out your research project in Germany or at a German institution abroad (a postdoctoral salary is provided here).
- The Module Temporary Substitutes for Clinicians is available to doctoral students of medicine and psychology to enable them to work on a DFG-funded project.)
Support from the host institution is required for funding both within and outside Germany.
Applications to the WBP can be submitted at any time.
The DFG's FAQs on the WBP can be found here.
Your contact person at the SSC:
Scientific Networks
The DFG funding format Scientific Networks is aimed at all postdoctoral researchers and offers extended opportunities for an intensive cross-location and multi-year scientific exchange with a specific goal.
A Scientific Network consists of 10–20 persons, which may also include scientists working abroad.
The funding period is up to three years and the DFG covers the travel and accommodation costs for the meetings of the network members as well as other guests important for the network, publication costs and the costs for the coordination of the network.
Applications can be submitted at any time.
The Scientific Networks currently funded at the UDE can be found here.
Your contact person at the SSC:
UDE Internal DFG Initial Grant Backing (Erstantragsvorschuss)
Do you have questions concerning the UDE internal DFG initial grant backing?
Eligibility and conditions
Eligible for the UDE-internal DFG-Initial Grant Backing are all researchers with a doctorate (except members of the Faculty of Medicine) of the UDE, who
- who have not yet submitted a proposal to the DFG,
- whose employment contract has a term of at least 18 months at the time of utilization, and
- who are not receiving funding from the UDE internal Postdoc Seed Funding at the time of claim and until the submission of the initial application.
The financial support is granted on the basis of a short proposal ad personam as a lump sum of € 10,000 and is further subject to the condition that the funds are used exclusively for the preparation of a DFG-proposal for an Individual Research Grant with a funding volume of at least € 50,000, and the grantees submit the submission confirmation of the DFG as "proof of performance" after a maximum of 18 months. If this is not done, the funds must be reimbursed.
Do you meet the conditions listed and would you like advice on the "DFG Initial Grant Advance"? Then please contact us!
We…
- …accept your application,
- …check whether you are eligible to apply for funding and
- …then forward it to the Department of Economics & Finance. There you will find further information about the UDE-internal DFG-incentive system.
Please fill out the application form (German) for the DFG Initial Grant Advance completely and send it afterwards electronically as well as in original via in-house mail to Dr. Bastian Walter-Bogedain.
Additional and Useful Links
- Entire DFG funding portfolio
- DFG-fact sheets and templates for proposals
- DFG's elan portal
- You can find out what happens to your proposal after the upload here
- GEPRIS-database on DFG-funded projects
- DFG Personnel Rates
- DFG page Individual Grants Programmes – A How To Guide
- Current DFG-Calls for proposals
- Information and examples from the DFG on the Standard Allowance for Gender Equality Measures
- Statement of the DFG on the Sustainability Guide for Research Processes
- Statement of the DFG on the dealing with Risks in International Research Cooperations
- DFG -webpage on Handling security-relevant research
- Statement of the DFG Executive Committee on AI and ChatGPT in Science and the Humanities – DFG Formulates Guidelines for Dealing with Generative Models for Text and Image Creation
- Tool of the UDE administration for calculating SHKs and WHKs
- The FIT-Newsletter is an offer to inform you very individually about current calls for proposals conveniently via newsletter
Information on the UDE internal incentive systems
- Initial Grant Backing (DFG-Erstantragsvorschuss)
- Postdoc Seed Funding
Then get in touch with us!
Your contact person at the SSC:
Finally, a note:
The DFG liaison officer at the UDE, Prof. Dr. Michael Horn-von Hoegen, must be informed informally by you of any submission, approval or rejection of your DFG proposal and will be happy to answer any questions you may have in confidence.
