DFG Links
DFG funding programmes for research careers:
www.dfg.de/research_careers

The DFG is science-driven: researchers choose the topicsof their research projects, and peer reviewers issue
funding recommendations based on the quality of theseprojects. Funding decisions are made by committees
made up of researchers and government representatives.
Germany’s federal and state governments finance themajority of the DFG‘s budget.

► Researchers who have completed theirdoctorate and either live and work in Germany or
would like to live and work here in the future cansubmit proposals to the DFG.

Information on DFG-funded projects:
www.dfg.de/en/funded_projects

DFG Programm Staff
For contact information please visit the DFG website.
Research careers – scientific queris:
Department II: Scientific Affairs
Research careers – procedural questions:
Quality and Programme Management
Research careers – strategy:
Research Careers Division

Photos: D. Ausserhofer/DFG, E. Lichtenscheidt/DFG, U. Grabowsky/photothek.net, Privatarchiv Prof. P. Roquette,AIP Emilio Segre Visual; August 2019

Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft
German Research Foundation
Kennedyallee 40 · 53175 BonnPhone: + 49 228 885-1
Fax:+ 49 228 885-27 77
info-nachwuchs@dfg.de
www.dfg.de

The Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German
Research Foundation) funds top-level research in all areasof science and the humanities. We support individuals
and projects that have been judged outstanding in acompetitive peer-review process. We foster international
scientific cooperation and are committed to promoting
research careers.

EnglishContact

Design: Michaela Dreike/DFG

About Us

Supporting
Academic Careers
DFG Programmes for
Postdoctoral Researchers

Focus on
Academic Careers

Project-based Postdoctoral
Qualification

Creative and intelligent minds are the key to flourishingscience and research. That is why the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) puts aspecial focus on promoting talented early-career researchers. We are committed to helping talents pursue their cutting-edge ideas in top-level settings and become independent early in their careers.

Working in a DFG-funded Project or Group
After your doctorate, you can join a project or groupfunded by the DFG to work on a postdoctoral position.
The options include individual grant projects and large
groups such as Research Units and Collaborative ResearchCentres.
As a postdoc in a Research Training Group, you can also
contribute to the research and qualification programme
and gain experience in supervising doctoral researchers.
You will be embedded in a quality-checked environment:
all DFG-funded projects and groups have been successful
in a competitive review process. Working in such a setting
gives you the chance to train for your career and expand
your professional network. You can find out which specificprojects and groups the DFG funds in the GEPRIS database.

Flexible funding for individuals or for projects and tailored
excellence programmes give early-career researchers theopportunity to advance their academic careers.

Starting YourResearch Career
Walter Benjamin Programme
In the early postdoctoral phase, the Walter Benjamin
Programme supports you in developing your research
career with your own independent research project.
Mobility is particularly important in this career phase, so as
a rule you move on to another research environment. You
have the freedom to select the place where you would liketo work. In Germany, the DFG supports you with a position,
and abroad with a fellowship. There is also the option of
combining stays abroad and in Germany.

Leading Your Individual Project
If you have an innovative idea for a research project witha clearly defined topic and duration, the DFG’s Individual
Research Grant programme gives you the opportunity
to realise this project in Germany. As required, you can
include a temporary position for yourself as the project’s
principal investigator.

Excellence Programmes

Emmy Noether ProgrammeThis programme is aimed at outstanding researcherswith two to four years of postdoctoral researchexperience (or up to six years for licensed medicaldoctors). It allows you to head your own independent
junior research group for six years. It offers you a fasttrack opportunity to qualify for a leading position inresearch.
Heisenberg Programme
If you already meet all the requirements for appointment
to a professorship, the Heisenberg Programme may
be an option for you. As you prepare for a leading
academic position, the DFG provides you with fundingfor up to five years to work on an advanced research
topic. The programme offers four different types offunding you can choose once you are accepted to theprogramme: a fellowship, a position, a rotation position
or a professorship.