Overview

The Max Weber Programme is Europe’s largest postdoctoral programme in the social sciences and humanities. It is funded by the European Commission (DG Education and Culture) and hosted by the European University Institute in Florence where the research community of professors, researchers and fellows provides an excellent environment for the Programme.

The Programme, open to all nationalities, is designed for junior post-docs who have received a doctorate in economics, law, history, social and political sciences, or a related field, within the last 5 years and who want to advance in their research and academic training, in an active multidisciplinary environment before entering the international job market, or in the early stages of their academic careers. Fellows are selected on the basis of their research accomplishments and potential, their academic career interests, and the availability of the EUI faculty to provide mentorship.

Fellows are supported and encouraged to pursue their research agendas and participate in the research activities of the EUI, and in particular, the research activities of the Max Weber Programme and of the EUI Departments with which they are affiliated.

The Max Weber Programme offers 1- and 2-year fellowships. Two year fellowship involve additional academic activities in the EUI departments, such as limited graduate teaching.

Eligibility

Candidates who have received their Ph.D. or officially been accepted for defense by the time of the start of the programme (1 September).
Candidates are eligible during the five-year period following the successful completion of their Ph.D. For example, to apply for 2012/2013 you should have received or submitted your Ph.D. betweeen 1/9/2007 and 1/9/2012.
Extensions to the five-year rule are allowed for applicants whose academic career has been interrupted for maternity leave or illness. Cite circumstances in the application in the field 'Additional Notes'. Successful candidates will be asked to provide supporting documents.
EUI graduates can only apply for Max Weber Fellowships after having been away from the EUI and in a full-time occupation or with another fellowship for at least one year after defending their Ph.D.
Candidates of all nationalities are eligible for the Max Weber Fellowships.

Duration

The Fellowships are awarded for 12 or 24 months. Candidates should indicate the preferred period in their application.

The EUI reserves the right to award 12 months due to the high demand for MWP Fellowships.

The period will be indicated in the award letter.

Extensions or renewals are not allowed.

In case a fellow leaves before the fellowship ends (before late July), the stipend will be accordingly interrupted and no grant will be paid for the month of August.

Residence

Fellows are required to live in Florence for the duration of their Fellowship in order that they may take an active part in the programme and in the academic activities of their department.

Stipend

The basic stipend is € 2,000 per month.

Successful applicants who receive other grants or salaries must disclose this to the EUI. The amount of the fellowship will be fixed at a lower rate (minimum €1,250 per month) depending on the amount of the additional income.

If applicable, family allowances will be added to the basic stipend (see below).

Family Allowance

A household allowance of € 300 per month is paid to fellows with a partner if the partner lives with them in Florence and on condition that the partner's income is not over € 2,000 per month.

There is a dependants allowance of € 200 per month for each dependent child living with the Fellow in Florence.

Fellows are entitled to these allowances if they are not receiving any similar allowance from another source, and on presentation of relevant certificates (mariage certificate or equivalent, birh certificates).

A school or university certificate is required for dependent children in full-time education and over the age of 18.

Taxation

The fellowship is not taxed by the Institute. Fellows are, however, required to comply with any other tax provisions which may be applicable to them.

Medical Insurance

Fellows must have adequate medical insurance cover during their stay at the Institute.

Fellows can either provide proof of their own insurance scheme or subscribe to the EUI's Van Breda Insurance Scheme at their own expense.

Travel Expenses

Fellows (but not their families) receive 1 return trip from their home town to Florence as follows:

1st-class rail for distances under 500 km (car travel also reimbursed on this basis)
economy class Y air fare over 500 km

Reimbursement cannot be more than a Florence-Helsinki air fare.

This may mean that travel expenses are only partly reimboursed for Fellows coming from outside Europe.

How to Apply for a Max Weber Fellowship

The annual deadline is 25 October, but applications for self-funded fellowships will be considered until 25 March.

Read this before opening the MWP application form

See the Eligibility, Conditions of Award and Selection Criteria related to the MWP
Prepare your CV with a list of publications in PDF
Prepare a ‘Research and academic career statement’ briefly explaining your career ambitions and research plans (1-3 pages) in PDF.
The statement should include a summary of research contributions and interests, academic career plans, fields of specialization, and teaching experience. A detailed research and academic plan is not required but, if possible, a reference should be made to how a Max Weber Fellowship can contribute to achieve your career goals.
Use standard international fonts and avoid macros, special characters and password-protected attachments.
Frequently Asked Questions

Filling in the MWP application form

If you enter text exceeding a maximum field length you will have to shorten it
Enter your family name (surname) and first name (name) in the correct fields
Do not use capital letters for all fields
Recheck all field entries and documents before pressing the Submit button
You will receive confirmation of receipt by email; if not, contact us at applyfellow@eui.eu.

Letters of reference

Two confidential letters of reference must be sent using the on-line form by the 25 October deadline
References from current full-time/part-time EUI professors will not be accepted

Application form

The next deadline for applications is 25 October 2011 for the academic year 2012/2013. The application form will be activated by early July.

Candidates with own funding

Candidates with their own funding are also welcome to apply and will be selected following the same criteria and procedures. They can do so either by applying for a self-funded fellowship only by the 25 March 2012 deadline, or by indicating in the application form when applying for a funded Fellowship, that they wish to be considered (also) for a self-funded fellowship. (Use the field “Additional remarks” in the application from to state that funding is either not requested or that you are applying to other sources of funding to participate in the Max Weber Programme).

The applications (CV, Career Statement, proof of funding and, separately, Letters of Reference; all in PDF format) should be sent directly to externally-funded-mwf@eui.eu

Applications for self-funded fellowships are considered on a first-come basis for as long as there is capacity in the Max Weber Programme.