Berkeley-Cologne Research Fellowships (Graduate Students)

Logo of University of Cologne

The Berkeley-Cologne Exchange Agreement was established in 2013 by the University of California and University of Cologne in Germany to support scholarly collaboration and original research of the highest quality. Financial support is provided by the University of Cologne for three UC Berkeley graduate students seeking to do research in Cologne.

Since its establishment in 1388, the University of Cologne has been a center of science and scholarship in Europe. Today, it is one of the leading German research universities. It offers students an exceptionally broad and diverse subject base and encourage them to follow their own academic interests. This allows them to develop both intellectually and personally. The University of Cologne is firmly committed to the advancement of human knowledge through basic research, but with an eye to transfer and application in the real word.

The scholarships have a duration of up to two months. 

This grant can be combined with other IES grants.

PLEASE NOTE: Grant recipients are expected to complete their research stay in residence at the designated partner university during the calendar year they applied for (not the end of the school year).

Award amount: The fellowship offered by the University of Cologne is EUR 1,000/month and will be paid to the student upon arrival in Cologne.

Eligibility: UC Berkeley graduate students from all fields can apply. Preference will be given to candidates who demonstrate in their application that they already have a faculty supervisor/contact at the University of Cologne. 

Application Instructions

Applicants must submit the following materials:

  1. A one-page application letter, including a 100-word (maximum) abstract of your research and indication of the duration of your stay
  2. A research statement of approximately 1,500 words
  3. One letter of recommendation from a UC Berkeley faculty member; this letter should be sent to ies@berkeley.edu
  4. One short confirmation letter (or e-mail) from a research supervisor at the University of Cologne, indicating the duration of your stay
  5. A short CV

Deadline: March 1

For more information about the University of Cologne, please contact Ms. C. Biehl at C.Biehl@verw.uni-koeln.de. For additional information on this fellowship opportunity, please contact Ms. Gia White at gia@berkeley.edu.

Apply
The Berkeley-Cologne exchange gave me the unique opportunity to conduct research at the Universität zu Köln for a summer. The contacts I made there became some of my close friends, colleagues, and mentors who continue to inform my work still today. The research I collected in Germany during the exchange eventually became published in a well-acclaimed journal. I cannot recommend this program enough!
Sara Ann Knutson (Anthropology), 2019 grantee

Topics

Germany topic page, Grants & Fellowships - Graduate Students topic page