DOC Application

To apply for a DOC Fellowship of the Austrian Academy of Sciences, the following steps must be taken.

I    Consideration of the general guidelines
II   Entering the online form
III  Preparing documents
IV  Submitting documents

I General Guidelines

Next deadline für applications: 10.8. - 15.9.2021

All PhD students who have finished their Diplom / Master degree in the period after 1 January 2019 are eligible to apply.

Application language

Applications from the natural sciences, the technical sciences, and medicine are to be written in English. Applications from the humanities, the social sciences and cultural studies may also be written in German.

Completion of Diplom/Master's degree and Admission to doctoral/PhD studies

A requirement for applying for a DOC Fellowship is formal entitlement to undertake doctoral/PhD studies at a university in Austria.

This means that applicants must have completed their Diplom/Master’s degrees when applying (i.e. certificate must be submitted) and must have been admitted to doctoral/PhD studies at a university in Austria.

Exceptions are made in case proof is enclosed that all courses were completed and the master’s thesis graded. The final exam for the master’s degree must take place mid-October at the latest (that is, four weeks after the application deadline); the date for the exam should be communicated when applying.

Applicants who wish to receive a doctorate from a university that has introduced an approval procedure for admission to doctoral/PhD studies must enclose proof of a positive conclusion to this procedure with the application or enclose the schedule for this procedure.

Subsequent amendments

It is not possible to make amendments or submit missing documents once an application has been submitted

Only applications fulfilling the formal criteria will be considered for assessment.

Exclusion of reviewers

Applicants may request that up to three potential reviewers who have negative conflicts of interest be excluded from the review process.

Resubmission

In the event of an unsuccessful application, it is possible to resubmit a reworked proposal, as long as the conditions of application are fulfilled.

It is possible to re-apply to this Fellowship programme, but only once.

Applications submitted a second time must be clearly indicated as such. A cover letter to a repeat submission must outline the progress that has been made with the project since the first submission. If the reviews of the first submission expressed criticism or suggestions for reworking, a statement must be made on this and it must be shown whether and how these suggestions have been taken into consideration.In the event of an unsuccessful application, it is possible to resubmit a reworked proposal, as long as the conditions of application are fulfilled.

The re-application is a new procedure. Please update all application documents and revise your proposal based on the suggestions in the reviews!

II Online Form

Upon receipt of the completed form, the applicant's data will be entered into the database of the Department of Fellowships and Awards

Online Form (accessible at the next submission date)

III Preparing Documents

To complete the application, it is necessary to prepare application documents and project documents.

Application documents

• A tabular CV

• A list of publications (if existent)
  A clear structure, i.e. a complete list of academic publications in reverse chronological order stating all authors, title, medium of publication (no abbreviations!), year, number of first and last page.
  Please state which of the publications listed resulted from your Diplom/Master’s thesis.

• Letter of motivation (two pages max.)
  Description of previous academic activities and a career plan describing your mid-term career goals, what the Fellowship you are applying for would mean for your future academic career and your motivation for your chosen field of research.Letter of recommendation by your doctoral supervisor and proof of your supervisor’s relevant research achievements in the field of your proposed project (i.e. a list of selected publications, 1 page max.).

• Proof of previous university qualifications (Diplom or Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees),
  i.e. a list of all examinations passed during your studies, including grades and enclosure of the certificates from all stages of your studies (as copies)

• Letter of recommendation by your doctoral supervisor and proof of your supervisor’s relevant research achievements in the field of your proposed project (i.e. a list of selected publications, 1 page max.).

• Brief description of the institute at which you are writing your thesis.

• Confirmation of a workspace, i.e. confirmation of the possibility to use rooms and resources at the institute if this is necessary for undertaking the doctoral research project.

• Enclosure of the permits required for the research project (e.g. clearance certificate from the Ethics Commission or the Commission for Animal Testing).

• Enclosure of the (informal) invitation of the host institute if a stay abroad is planned as part of the Fellowship.

Project documents

• Abstract (brief projet exposé, 1-2 pages)

• Project exposé (min 10 to max 20 pages, excluding select bibliography)

The project exposé must consider:

• General aims (defining the problems, state of research

• Detailed discussion of the problem

• Methodological considerations

• Work steps and timetable (including reasons for the requested duration of the Fellowship; minimum duration from start of the Felloswhip: 24 months)

• Select bibliography

IV Submitting Documents

The completed documents are to be uploaded via the online form.
Afterwards, you will receive a document that you will have to print and sign. Return a scan of the signed form in PDF format (single file) as an attachment to a reply to the received email (click reply button). IMPORTANT: The default subject and recipient must not be changed.

Upload via online form

Fill in the online form and upload the documents as a total of 4 PDF files.

State your name and title of your thesis in both the abstract and the project exposé.
Protected files will not be accepted.

The individual files may not exceed 3 MB. The files are to be given the following names:

• Application_Surname.pdf  (i.e. application documents except certificates/transcriptsof records)
• Certificates_Surname.pdf
• Abstract_Surname.pdf       
• Project expose_Surname.pdf    

Processing

Upon receipt of your application, we will check that it is complete and meets the formal criteria and it will then be entered into the database of the Department of Fellowships and Awards with a project number (A-number).

Once the project has been checked for completeness, the applicant will receive confirmation by email