With its unique collections, the Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin (State Library at Berlin) is a research library of international ranking, which offers excellent working conditions to scholars especially in the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences, in Law and in the History of Science.
The holdings of printed items alone comprise more than ten million volumes of historical and modern literature, with an additional substantial offer of electronic resources. Furthermore, the researchers’ interest is particularly attracted to the library’s important special collections such as rare prints, outstanding occidental and oriental manuscripts, autographs and literary estates, music autographs, maps, historical and current newspapers. The Library also possesses a substantial collection of international children’s and young people’s literature as well as regionally defined collections on Eastern Europe, the Orient, and East Asia.
The Grant Program of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz is primarily intended to enable scholars living abroad to come to Berlin in order to make use of the rich collections of the Library and the other institutions of the Prussian Cultural Heritage Foundation for their research work, and to make professional contacts in Germany.
Application Documents
The complete application documents should be submitted in one single PDF-file as e-mail attachment to
stipendien@sbb.spk-berlin.de
or sent in paper upon the address:
Staatsbibliothek zu Berlin
- Die Generaldirektion -
Unter den Linden 8
D-10117 Berlin
Please attach a detailed presentation of the project to your application with statements justifying the overall aim, procedure and method, concerning the preparatory work already achieved and cooperation with other scholars, as well as a bibliography of the most important works related to the project. In addition, the following documents should be submitted:
- a completed application form;
- a tabular curriculum vitae;
- two letters of recommendation from university teachers concerning your academic qualification (required for graduates / doctoral candidates);
- a list of publications;
- copies of university diplomas and of certificates indicating the conferral of academic degrees
Prerequisites and Deadline
The applicants should hold at least a first university degree at the time of application. The monthly grant amounts to
- 1300 Euros for graduates with a first university degree, without doctorate (Category A)
- 1600 Euros for persons with a doctorate or comparable qualification (Category B)
In addition, a one-off allowance for travelling expenses of up to 500 Euros may be granted.
The selection is made on an application by application basis. The application for a grant must be submitted by 30th September of the previous year. The Grant Program of the Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz supports research residencies ranging from one to three months. The length of the residency depends on the extent of the project and is established when the grant is given.
