DOC-team Information

Applications for a DOC-team Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences are invited from young scholars from all fields of the humanities and the social and cultural sciences who

• have spent a maximum of four years studying for their Diplom or Masters’ degree OR are under the age of 30 (up to the day of submission),
• are writing their doctoral or PhD thesis in Austria and
• can demonstrate that they fulfil the entry requirements for a doctorate or PhD at the university in question.

Applications can only be submitted by groups of three or four doctoral candidates from at least two disciplines in the humanities and the social and cultural sciences that examine a problem requiring an interdisciplinary solution. Additional involvement of one or more doctoral candidates from the fields of the natural sciences, medicine or technology is desirable.

The doctoral supervisors should be from different disciplines. Cooperation partners from non-university research institutes, cultural institutes or other research-oriented institutions are desired.

Applicants must have above-average qualifications and submit a group exposé along with a joint declaration by the doctoral supervisors on the group’s research aims and a declaration of agreement by the cooperation partners abroad.

Duration of funding

DOC-team fellowships are awarded for a maximum of 36 months.

If it can be demonstrated that an applicant has childcare duties for one or more children under the age of seven (e.g. as a single parent), the fellowship can be taken up on a part-time basis. In this case, the fellowship can be extended for a maximum of half the allotted time.

Amount of funding

The fellowship amounts to 46,759 euros (gross) per person per year. Funding is only available for the doctoral candidates in the group.

In addition, travel expenses of max. 5,000 euros per person for necessary stays abroad can be applied for.

An annual remuneration package for childcare of a maximum of 1,900 euros (gross) is also available.

Printing subsidies of max. 2,000 euros for joint publication of the entire project’s results can be applied for within 18 months of the programme’s completion. This is conditional on acceptance for publication by a publisher.

Exceptions

Time spent in childcare (up to three years per child) is recognised; other exceptions will be made if candidates can demonstrate military or civilian service or a disability. Exceptions must be discussed with the Department of Fellowships and Awards before application.

Research abroad

A requirement of the fellowship is that at least six months should be spent abroad. Depending on the aims of the thesis, this can be at a university or research institute or involve field and archival research abroad.

The foreign institutions must provide the doctoral candidate/s with comprehensive supervision and the infrastructure and working conditions necessary for the project (to be agreed in writing).

Terms

Additional activities (e.g. teaching, tutorials) are permitted if they further the aims of the programme – successful completion of the thesis – and do not amount to more than ten hours per week.

The applicants are entitled to apply for other (funded) positions. The Department of Fellowships and Awards of the OeAW must be informed of such applications and their outcome however.

It is possible to reapply for this funding programme, but no more than once.

Halfway and after the programme, each group must submit a joint report. Conferences with the teams from each year’s intake will also be held, with presentations on preliminary results at the interim stage. The awarding committee must also be updated on the work’s progress.

In the event that the terms of the fellowship are wilfully broken, the funding must be returned.

Payment

The DOC-team fellowships are paid in annual tranches either directly to the fellow (if self-employed (“Neue Selbstständige”)) or to the university or non-university research institute in Austria at which the fellow is employed. A precondition for employment within the framework of the funding programme is agreement by the head of the institute that a workspace can be provided in the event of funding being awarded.

Funding will not be paid out prior to the project’s commencement.