TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship
This attractive two-year fellowship program offers excellent researchers who have recently completed their PhD the chance to continue their academic career at TUM.
About the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship
The TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship is a funding opportunity for external postdoctoral scientists who are currently residing abroad and would like to start their research at TUM. For 24 months, we will support fellows to diversify their research profile at a TUM department and to initiate new research projects together with TUM scientists.
The call is open to researchers who have completed their doctorate a maximum of three years ago or who will complete their doctorate within the next 12 months. Researchers must reside outside of Germany at the time of submission.
In each call, there are two phases. In Phase I, you do not require to submit a letter of support from a TUM host. However, you must identify a TUM host, who will support your application, during Phase II of the submission process. See below for further information on these two phases.
The TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship is open to all topics. Researchers are invited to apply with a project that matches the research of the chair/institute/lab of the respective host who supports the application.
If you want to be informed about future calls, please register for our Newsletter.
The TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship offers successful candidates a fellowship for 24 months. Fellows receive a monthly stipend of 2.670€ and one additional kick-off payment of 430€. Researchers residing in the Munich metropolitan area receive an additional monthly allowance of 350€. It is also possible to apply for family benefits. Please note that additional payments for consumables and conferences are not included and may be covered by the host subject to their agreement.
The TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship is a co-financed fellowship. This means that the TUM host needs to co-finance 20% of the fellowship costs. One TUM host can support up to two applicants per call.
- Call 5.1. (March 2025): Upon positive evaluation, you can commence the fellowship within a year from October 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026.
- Call 5.2. (September 2025): Upon positive evaluation, you can commence the fellowship within a year from April 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027.
Please keep the above in mind, when planning your fellowship. During the fellowship, you will have the support of central TUM services, e.g. TUM Talent Factory.
Candidates fulfilling the following criteria are eligible to apply for the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship:
Mobility Rule
Early-career postdocs and doctoral researchers in their final year, residing outside of Germany at the time of submission, are eligible to apply for the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship. Researchers who are already working at TUM or have received their doctorate at TUM are not eligible to apply.
Completion of PhD or letter of confirmation from PhD supervisor
You are eligible to apply for the fellowship if you have finished your PhD within the last three years at an institution other than TUM.
- Call 5.1.: Cut-off date is March 1, 2025, which means you can apply if you have completed your PhD on March 1, 2022 or later. The date on the doctoral certificate is binding.
- Call 5.2.: Cut-off date is September 1, 2025, which means you can apply if you have completed your PhD on September 1, 2022 or later. The date on the doctoral certificate is binding.
You are also eligible, if you have recently handed in your doctorate thesis or if you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months. In each case, you must submit an official letter of confirmation from your supervisor stating that you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months. A PhD certificate is mandatory to be able to start the fellowship.
Support of a TUM Host
For a successful application, you need the support of a TUM host.
In Phase I of the application, you name up to three potential TUM hosts you want to work with. On successful completion of Phase I, you will conduct a matchmaking session moderated by TUM with the potential TUM hosts you have named.
In Phase II of the application, your identified TUM host must support your application by providing a Letter of Support. The Letter of Support by the TUM host is mandatory, as it contains the confirmation of the 20% co-financing by the host.
Please note that you can only apply for the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship once within a year.
If you have further questions concerning the application requirements, please check our FAQ document (PDF).
To apply for the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship, you need the following documents in English:
Phase I
- Letter of Motivation (approx. 1 page)
Please tell us about your motivation to join TUM for your postdoctoral research. A well-crafted letter of motivation is crucial for the assessment of your application. Therefore, it is essential that you describe your professional goals with precision and explain your motivation thoroughly for pursuing a postdoc at TUM. Also, explain in detail how the TUM professor(s) you are interested to work with match your research interests and scope. Bear in mind that members of the selection committee might not be experts in your specific field of expertise, therefore, your letter of motivation should be clear and accessible to a broader audience. - CV, including list of publications (max. 5 pages)
- Copy of your best paper (max. 1 publication)
- PhD certificate or a confirmation of your PhD submission or a statement from your PhD supervisor that you have completed your PhD or that you will complete your PhD within the next 12 months.
- Reference Letter from your supervisor
There are two options to upload the Reference Letter: The applicant can directly upload the letter in the application portal and submit their application. Alternatively, if the referee wishes to upload the letter himself/herself, the applicant can send the referee an automated email from the application portal. The referee will receive an email with a link that allows them to upload the letter themselves. - Names of potential TUM hosts that are of interest to you
Please name up to three TUM Hosts who you want to work with. Please note that only active TUM Professors/Head of Institutes/Chairs/Junior Fellows can be hosts. It is not possible to name other scientists, including Honorary Professors, Distinguished Affiliated Professors, and retired professors including the TUM Emeriti of Excellence and TUM President Prof. Dr. Thomas F. Hofmann.
The following websites will enable you to find professors who fits your research profile: TUM Schools and Departments, TUM Clusters of Excellence or TUM Research Centers. You can also go through the list of TUM Professors or TUM Junior Fellows.
Phase II:
- Research Proposal (max. 4 pages). Please present the research project you plan to conduct at TUM in a comprehensible way so that reviewers who are not experts in your specific field can follow your argument. In your research proposal, you should also address synergies with the TUM host and your career plans: Why is TUM the best possible place to do your research project? Why is your TUM host the person with whom you want to conduct your research project? What are your future career plans? For which subsequent funding would you apply during the fellowship? Your proposal should not exceed four pages (including references and footnotes).
- Letter of Support from your TUM host (with signature and logo; for details on what the letter of support should entail, see Information for Hosts).
Please note that it is not possible to receive the fellowship without the support of a TUM host (i.e., a TUM professor or TUM Junior Fellow). As a host cannot support more than two applications per Call, we strongly recommend that you obtain the confirmation of TUM Host supporting your application before you prepare the documents. Since this is a relatively new program, note that potential hosts may not be aware of all the details of the TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship.
For questions, you may also refer to our FAQ document (PDF).
The Call is structured into two phases.
In Phase I, the Scientific Board will evaluate each application by the following criteria:
- Scientific excellence of the applicant
- Career perspectives of the applicant
- Quality of the motivation letter
- Synergies with the TUM host
The best applicants will be selected and a matchmaking process with the TUM Host/s (identified by the applicant in Phase I) will be initiated. Once a match is found, the selected applicants will proceed to Phase II. In this phase, the applicant has to submit a support letter from the TUM Host along with the research proposal. The Scientific Board will evaluate each application by the following criteria:
- Scientific excellence of the applicant
- Career perspectives of the applicant
- Relevance and originality of the proposed research project
- Synergies with the TUM host
The TUM Global Postdoc Fellowship is an important initiative of the TUM Agenda 2030. It offers talented, recently graduated postdocs an opportunity to continue their career at TUM. To attract global researchers, we therefore award a two-year fellowship . Postdocs with family are entitled to receive additional benefits for their partner and children should they reside in Munich. This fellowship may be considered as a startup fund, allowing postdocs a smooth start in research at TUM. The TUM Talent Factory will support the fellows with their applications for third party funding and offer advice on career planning.
For you as a host, the following information is particularly relevant:
- TUM Professors and TUM Junior Fellows can be hosts. Other researchers at TUM cannot become hosts (see also our FAQs).
- Successful applicants receive a fellowship for 24 months during which they conduct their own research project at a chair/institute/lab.
- Call 5.1. (March 2025): Upon positive evaluation, fellowship can be commenced within a year from October 1, 2025 to October 1, 2026.
- Call 5.2. (September 2025): Upon positive evaluation, fellowship can be commenced the fellowship within a year from April 1, 2026 to April 1, 2027.
Please keep this in mind when planning your support of an applicant.
- You can support no more than two applicants per call. If you support two applicants, at least one applicant must be female. Please bear this is mind when deciding on potential applicants.
- The fellowship requires the host to co-fund 20% of the fellowship. The exact amount of the fellowship depends on the fellow’s family situation and – in the case of a successful application – will be calculated based on the fellow’s current family situation. This implies, for a two year period, a host may have to cover total costs of approx. 14.500€ for a single fellow (~ 600€/month) and approx. 18.800€ for a fellow with a partner and two children (~780€/month).
Important note: You cannot use Haushaltsmittel or Planstellen for fellowship payment. Payment can come from e.g. overhead and free third-party funding.
- The fellowship only covers the researcher’s living costs. You will need to cover any additional payments for consumables, conferences and so forth.
- Letter of Support from TUM host must be in English language to aid reviewers who are not fluent in the German language. The applicant can upload the letter of support in the application portal. Alternatively, you can upload the letter of support yourself; the applicant can send you a link via the application portal. It is important to submit the letter before the application deadline. Otherwise, the application may not be considered.
- The letter of support must be on an official TUM letterhead with your signature. In addition to evaluating the candidate’s qualification and the project, you need to confirm the following:
- If the application is successful, you provide the fellow with sufficient working and laboratory place to conduct the project.
- If the application is successful, you agree to cover 20% of the costs of the fellowship.
- The Senior Vice President of Research and Innovation will sign the fellowship contract on behalf of TUM. From an administrative point of view, the fellows will receive a scholarship and will have the status of a “guest researcher” instead of an employee status.
For questions, you may also refer to our FAQ Document here (TUM ID required, PDF).
TUM Talent Factory will support the TUM Global Postdoc Fellows to apply for third party funding during the time of their fellowship. The support includes individual advice on funding possibilities or upskilling events to invited fellows.
During the first 12 months of the fellowship, the fellows should submit at least one application for third party funding at one of the main funding bodies for postdoc fellowships (e.g. AvH, MSCA, DFG). Due to mobility rules, many of these programs are only open to researchers during their first year in Germany.
At the onset of the fellowship, the host and fellow chart out a training plan to define the fellow’s steps and goal. Upon completion of first year, the fellow must submit an interim report detailing the progress and accomplishments.
Besides the TUM Talent Factory , there are other central services at TUM supporting postdocs during their time at TUM, such as TUM Welcome Services, TUM Gender and Diversity, TUM Family Service, or the TUM Institute for LongLife Learning.