$5,000/Month Berlin Prize Fellowship

The American Academy in Berlin awards roughly two dozen Berlin Prize fellowships each year to scholars, writers, journalists, and public policy professionals based in the United States. Fellows spend an academic semester in residence at the Hans Arnhold Center on Lake Wannsee, pursuing independent work and engaging German audiences through lectures, readings, and public discussions.

What you get:

• Monthly stipend of $5,000 for the semester in residence
• Round-trip airfare between the United States and Berlin
• Furnished private accommodation at or near the Hans Arnhold Center
• Partial board and access to in-house library services
• Access to the Academy's transatlantic professional network and public programme

What you'll do:

• Pursue an independent research, writing, artistic, or policy project across a full semester
• Live in an interdisciplinary residential community of about a dozen fellows
• Present your work through lectures, readings, public discussions, performances, or film screenings
• Engage with German institutions, organisations, and media as part of the Academy's transatlantic mission

• US citizens and permanent residents only
• Emerging scholars: hold a PhD with a strong record of peer-reviewed work beyond the dissertation
• Writers of fiction or nonfiction: at least one book published with a reputable press at time of application
• Journalists, filmmakers, and public policy professionals: significant record of publication or production
• Independent scholars meeting the general eligibility criteria are welcome to apply
• No project proposals in mathematics or the natural sciences
• Visual artists and composers apply only via separate, invitation-only competitions
• Prior Berlin Prize recipients are not eligible to apply again, except in exceptional circumstances
• Application materials: online form, 1500 to 1750 word project proposal with one-page bibliography, CV (max 10 pages), two writing samples (max 60 pages combined), three letters of recommendation