POST-DOC-TRACK-Statutes

Funding Aims

The OeAW awards up to eight fellowships per year to holders of a doctorate or PhD in the humanities and social and cultural sciences in order to assist in the transition to the post-doc phase. In particular, the aim is to support:

• the completion of publications resulting from a doctoral thesis
• the development of a candidate’s own research project for applying to national or international funding bodies
• the development of (international) networks and cooperation

Duration of Fellowship

The fellowships are awarded for a duration of 3 to a maximum of 12 months.

The fellowship must be commenced within three months after announcement of the award.

Goal Attainment

One month after the funding period has ended at the latest, a final report is to be sent by email to the Department of Fellowships and Awards (eva.gutknecht(at)oeaw.ac.at). Publications produced within the framework of the fellowship and, where applicable, proof of submission of a proposal to national or international funding bodies must also be submitted.

All publications arising from the fellowship must state that they have been “gefördert im Rahmen des Post-DocTrack-Programms der ÖAW” or “funded by the OeAW Post-DocTrack Program”.

Selection and Awards

The fellowships are awarded by a selection committee. Half of the committee members are nominated by the OeAW and half from Universities Austria (uniko).

The selection committee creates a shortlist of applications to be sent for international review. Two reviews are obtained for each application; the commission decides whom to award the fellowships on the basis of these reviews.

It is not possible to reapply after a proposal has been rejected.

The committee’s decision is final.

Selection Criteria

1. Applicant’s academic qualifications and development prospects

• successful studies, e.g. Diplom/Master’s and doctoral/PhD degree
• special successes, distinctions, prizes
• publications
• (international) mobility
• letter of recommendation
   

2. Scholarly quality of research to date

• originality and relevance to the field, esp. of the research questions and results of the doctoral thesis
• quality of specialist journals or publishing houses published in
• collaboration with other scholars or working groups (including in other disciplines)
• international cooperation within the framework of research projects to date
   

3. Scholarly quality of the proposed project

• Application for funding for developing an application for third-party funding:
  originality and relevance to the field, clarity of research questions and methodology; assessment of prospects of obtaining funding in the selected funding line on the basis of the CV and list of publications
• Application to complete publications:
  relevance of the planned publication to the field and the applicant’s further career development; quality of the intended specialist journal or the publishing house
• Application for funding networks:
  assessment of the planned international cooperation/networks (esp. quality of the proposed research institution and scholarly potential of the planned stay abroad) with regard to the applicant’s further career development