Germany’s CALAS-HIAS Fellowships 2026 Opens Six-Month Residency for Latin American Scholars
HAMBURG / KASSEL — The Maria Sibylla Merian Center for Advanced Latin American Studies (CALAS) and the Hamburg Institute for Advanced Study (HIAS) have opened applications for a six-month research fellowship beginning February 2027, targeting scholars and cultural professionals from Latin America and the Caribbean. The deadline is 17 May 2026, with results expected by mid-July.
Why This Money Exists — And What It Signals About Germany’s Latin America Strategy
This fellowship is not a generic academic mobility programme. It sits at the intersection of two deliberate institutional strategies: Germany’s sustained investment in area studies through its Merian Centres — a network of advanced research hubs funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research — and Hamburg’s effort to position itself as a global hub for interdisciplinary advanced study through HIAS. The thematic focus on authoritarianism, feminism, extractivism, and cultural regression in Latin America reflects a growing urgency in European academic funding to engage critically with democratic backsliding worldwide, not merely as a subject of observation but as a research priority with policy implications.
The 2027 cycle narrows its lens to three interlinked dimensions: the weaponization of anti-feminist rhetoric as a tool of authoritarian consolidation; the entanglement of extractives economies with nationalist governance; and the regression of cultural and artistic spaces under populist pressure. Proposals that connect at least two of these dimensions are explicitly preferred. This is a clear signal from the selection committee: they want scholars who think structurally about how these crises interact, not researchers who treat feminism, environmentalism, and culture as siloed fields. The call’s intellectual architecture rewards interdisciplinary range and critical ambition.
Inside the Package: What a CALAS-HIAS Fellow Actually Receives
The fellowship covers six months in Germany: four at HIAS in Hamburg (February to May 2027) and two at the University of Kassel (June and July 2027). The financial package includes a monthly stipend, visa costs, accommodation, health insurance, work materials, and return airfare. The programme does not publish a fixed stipend figure, but comparable HIAS fellowships and other Merian Centre awards in the German system typically range from €2,500 to €3,500 per month for postdoctoral-level scholars. For fellows holding permanent positions at home institutions, the grant can be redirected to finance a temporary teaching replacement — a rare and significant provision that removes the single biggest practical barrier to senior scholars taking research leave.
In context, this is a strong package for a humanities and social sciences fellowship. It compares favorably to DAAD short-term research grants and sits roughly in line with the Alexander von Humboldt Fellowship in terms of monthly support, though the Humboldt carries more prestige and offers longer durations. The accommodation and logistics support — including help navigating German bureaucracy and finding housing — is a meaningful practical advantage. Hamburg and Kassel are both significantly cheaper to live in than Berlin or Munich, so the stipend stretches further than it would at some other German research institutions. Fellows also receive a dedicated workspace with internet and full university library access at both institutions.
The Fine Print: Who Qualifies, What’s Required, and How Competitive This Really Is
Eligibility is restricted to nationals of Latin American and Caribbean countries. This is non-negotiable — scholars from other regions, regardless of their research focus on Latin America, are not eligible. Candidates must hold a doctoral degree (the call specifies “postdoctoral level onward”), though an exception exists for outstanding artists and cultural professionals who may not hold PhDs but bring equivalent professional standing. The disciplinary scope is broad, spanning political economy, social sciences, humanities, languages, and the arts.
The bar, however, is high. Applicants are expected to have “international visibility” in their fields, demonstrated by relevant publications on the call’s thematic focus. This is not a fellowship for early-career researchers still building a publication record. The requirement for strong written and spoken English and Spanish further narrows the pool, effectively excluding monolingual Portuguese-speaking Brazilian scholars unless they have working fluency in both languages. This is worth flagging: Brazil represents the single largest contingent of Latin American researchers, and the language requirement creates a real barrier.
In terms of competitiveness, Merian Centre fellowships typically attract 60 to 120 applications per cycle for a small number of positions (often two to four fellows). Applicants who already have a named collaboration partner at one of HIAS’s nine member institutions in Hamburg will have a structural advantage, though the call states that lacking one will not count against you. Read that diplomatically: it will not formally penalize you, but having a named partner demonstrates initiative and institutional fit. The selection committee will priorities proposals that cross at least two of the three thematic dimensions and show genuine interdisciplinary ambition.
How to Apply for the 2027 CALAS-HIAS Fellowship — And How to Win
Applications are submitted online fellowship portal of CALAS-HIAS and must include all supporting documents as PDFs in English. The required materials are: a cover letter addressing how the project fits the fellowship’s thematic call, the applicant’s expectations for the residency, how the project aligns with research at a specific HIAS member institution, a named collaboration partner in Hamburg (if available), and a statement on how the project benefits from interdisciplinary exchange. Alongside the cover letter, applicants must submit a two-page CV with a maximum of 15 relevant publications and courses taught in English or German; a research project summary with timeline and work plan (maximum 2,000 words); a one-page course description for an interdisciplinary course to be taught at the University of Kassel; and a copy of the doctoral degree certificate.
The application deadline of CALAS-HIAS fellowship is 17 May 2026, with selection results announced by 15 July 2026. The fellowship begins 1 February 2027.
What distinguishes funded applicants from rejected ones in programmes like this? Three things. First, a research proposal that does not merely describe a topic but advances a clear analytical argument connecting at least two of the call’s three dimensions. Committees can immediately identify proposals that list themes versus those that theorise connections between them. Second, a credible work plan with a realistic timeline for producing publishable output during the fellowship. Vague promises to “explore” a topic will not survive scrutiny against applicants who specify article drafts, conference presentations, and collaborative outputs. Third, the course proposal for Kassel matters more than many applicants assume. A well-designed interdisciplinary course signals pedagogical seriousness and the ability to translate research into graduate-level teaching — this is a working fellowship, not a sabbatical.