Yes, neither German citizenship nor residency in Germany is a requirement. PRIME is open to both Germans and foreigners, no matter whether they are currently living in Germany or abroad. You are eligible to apply if you already hold a PhD or if you will have completed your PhD before the prospective starting date of your PRIME fellowship.

There are no such restrictions within the PRIME programme. However, when assessing an application, the scientific accomplishments, and the publication record, reviewers may take the applicant’s “scientific age” into consideration, i.e. the time since the PhD was completed.

Your eligibility for PRIME will not be affected if you have received a DAAD scholarship in a different funding programme before. Of course, a former DAAD scholarship can be a proof of excellence and scientific competitiveness and should be mentioned in your application (e.g. in your CV). But the main decision criteria are the soundness of your research project, your scientific accomplishments, your publication record, and your long-term career perspectives.

Yes, you may apply again. Unsuccessful candidates receive an anonymized reviewer’s feedback from us, and you should take these remarks into consideration when revising your research project. In case of a renewed application, it is also advisable to obtain updated letters of reference, so that referees can comment on the latest version of your research project.

DAAD will conclude funding agreements with German universities only. Hence, the German host institution has to be a university and cannot be a non-university research institute. However, we will not object if you conduct your actual research at a non-university research institute (e.g. Max Planck Institutes, Helmholtz Centres, Fraunhofer Institutes, Leibniz Institutes) in coordination with a university. Please discuss any such arrangements directly with your German host.

You should choose the German host university that provides the best research environment for your project. If this is the situation with your current home university, this is a legitimate choice and there will certainly be no formal rejections on these grounds.
Please be aware, however, that reviewers will look for a certain degree of independence when assessing a postdoctoral application. Remaining within the same research area, with the same doctoral supervisor or the same team of researchers may potentially be considered as counterproductive on the path to an independent research career.

It is your responsibility as an applicant to identify your German host university. You can check the website as a directory for your specific subject-area in Germany. Furthermore, we provide a list of universities that nominated a contact person for the PRIME programme on our website www.daad.de/prime/contacts. Please keep in mind that all other German universities that did not specifically nominate a PRIME contact person are equally eligible as host institution.

No, the 18-month funding duration in PRIME consists of a 12-month research stay abroad and a 6-month (re)integration phase in Germany. Both phases are mandatory and not interchangeable.
The only exception is being made for reasons considering the specific employment status. If a candidate is not yet employed within the German social security system, it may be necessary to spend one month in Germany first – to formally enter the German social security system – before starting the 12-month research stay abroad. In this case the (re)integration phase afterwards will only consist of five months. Thus, the regular funding cycle of 12+6 months can be adapted to a funding cycle of 1+12+5 months, if required by the employing German university and the social security status.

In general, every foreign country is an eligible destination for the 12-month research stay abroad, as long as you have not stayed in the respective country for more than 12 months in total during the three years preceding the application deadline. Depending on your personal circumstances, this may rule out your home country or the country where you currently reside as potential destinations for a research stay under PRIME.
In addition to this, there is one requirement that must be taken into consideration when choosing the country of destination: If the research stay abroad is to be undertaken in a country other than an EU member state (MS) or an associated country (AC), you must either be a national/resident citizen of an EU MS or AC, or have been continuously active in research for five years’ full-time equivalent in a MS or AC, immediately prior to the time of recruitment.

No, the foreign host institution can either be a university, a non-university research institute, or an industrial research entity. The host should be chosen according to your scientific needs and preferences. Please be aware that DAAD cannot make funds available to the foreign host institution.

This is generally possible, but the decision shall be solely based on the scientific necessities. If a research stay at two different institutions and/or countries is beneficial to your project, you may choose to do so. Of course, you would then have to obtain letters of invitation from both foreign institutions.

All necessary documents are listed in the call for applications. It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a complete application and we reserve the right to exclude applications that are incomplete or were completed only after the deadline.

The deadline ends on Monday, 31 August 2020, and the application portal will close at 11:59 pm CEST (23:59 Uhr MESZ) on that day. It is highly advisable not to wait until the very last day (or even the last second) to submit your application, as we cannot guarantee an unrestricted portal access if too many users log in simultaneously to file an application.
By submitting your application in good time you will avoid technical problems in the very last minutes before the deadline ends. We will not be able to re-open the application portal after the deadline.

You are eligible to apply if you will have completed your PhD before the prospective starting date of your PRIME fellowship. If a PhD certificate has not yet been issued, your doctoral supervisor must confirm – either in the letter of recommendation or in a short separate statement – when completion of the PhD is expected.

Your language skills must be sufficient to successfully conduct your research project abroad and in Germany. In general, you will need a proof for all languages relevant to your research project unless the language in question is your mother tongue or one of the exceptions listed in the call for applications does apply.
Knowledge of German may not be necessary if English is the institute’s working language, and German is not otherwise required by the topic of your research project. The same holds for foreign host institutes in non-English speaking countries.
An additional certificate for English is not required on the postdoctoral level.

The curriculum vitae should be prepared in a tabular form. Please specify the relevant months and the duration (e.g. MM/YY-MM/YY). Please ensure that your CV does not contain any chronological gaps.
Providing a photo along with an application is very common in some countries but inadmissible in others. We do not need a photo but will not exclude an application that comes with one.

The binding declaration from the German host university should be signed by a competent authrity within the university administration. It is the manifestiation of the university's commitment to implement the fellowship according to the programme regulations in case your application will be successful.
The invitation letters may be signed by the prospective mentors/scientific hosts. Generally, the host researcher should be the perfect match to your particular project and be willing not only to provide access to the research infrastructure but also the necessary level of mentoring and scientific support. In addition to this, your mentor at the German host institution should be in constant contact with you during your stay abroad to ensure a successful reintegration at the end of the period abroad.

The DAAD online application portal is the only way to submit your application. All documents have to be uploaded there, with the letters of recommendation being the only exception.
Following registration in the portal you must generate and download the letter of recommendation form in the section "Personal Funding" → "Gutachten anfordern". This form must be sent to your referee. The letter of recommendation consist of the generated form and a freely-worded letter of reference. They must be sent by post in a sealed envelope to DAAD (Section ST43/PRIME), either by the referee or the applicant.

1 May 2021 will be the earliest possible starting date. We can offer a time frame of up to four months (1 May 2021 - 1 September 2021) in which to start the PRIME fellowship. Any further postponement of the starting date will only be possible under exceptional circumstances, and will be decided on a case-by-case basis after the selection process.

Each proposal will be sent to two external reviewers whose expertise corresponds to the proposed research topic. External reviewers will be recruited among scientists from all over the world.
An interdisciplinary selection committee which adequately reflects the disciplines of the applicants will then be responsible for the final rating. This will result in a ranking list, according to which successful candidates and reserve candidates will be identified, taking into account the available funding.

The criteria for evaluation are (1) the achievements of the applicant to date (scientific and other qualifications) and (2) the quality of the proposed project and the consistency with long-term career planning.

Our evaluation forms include a checklist and a self-declaration in which reviewers have to indicate if a potential conflict of interest exists. If so, a scientist will not be able to serve as reviewer.

The selection committee meeting will be in February 2021, and we will inform applicants about the outcome that same month (probably in the week 22-26 February 2021). Successful candidates will then be invited to an information seminar in Bonn on 15/16 March 2021. Please save this date but do not make any travel arrangements before receiving a letter of acceptance.

No, PRIME is strictly oriented on DAAD’s principle to provide funding for the best candidates.

The funding ratio will depend on the total number of applications and the available funds. We expect a success rate of 10-20%.

The position of a PRIME fellow will be remunerated according to the level set by the German pay scale “TV-L E13”. The exact amount depends on the personal circumstances. Expect a salary range of € 4,000 - € 5,000 per month pre-tax, plus approximately € 1,200 - € 2,000 per month expatriate allowance during the 12 months of your research stay abroad. DAAD will provide the employing German university with a grant agreement to cover these costs.
Furthermore, as a PRIME fellow you will receive a lump sum travel allowance depending on the country of destination. This is the only payment that fellows will receive directly through DAAD.

There is no extra family support for PRIME fellows available through DAAD, but since funding is provided via a work contract there are usually deductions from your income tax that take into account your family situation.
The decision on the entitlement to state-funded child benefits (“Kindergeld”) rests with the respective German authorities.

No, PRIME funding covers the costs for an 18-month temporary position, but the German and foreign host institutions are expected to provide the necessary research infrastructure.
As a PRIME fellow you will be eligible to apply for extra support within DAAD’s programme for . However, this programme is entirely separate from PRIME and requires a completely new application.

It is certainly not admissible to receive additional personal funding like a further salary or scholarship from a different funding provider. However, PRIME does not cover additional costs for research infrastructure/equipment or travel expenses for conferences and visits to cooperation partners. Thus, it would be legitimate to receive such funds that will further improve your research environment and that will be beneficial to your project.
In case your research project specifically depends on such additional support, you should make very clear in your application that such additional sources are secured. If reviewers have doubts with regard to the feasibility of your project due to the dependence on uncertain third party sources, they might call the likelihood of a successful research stay into question.

No, we will issue a letter of award to successful applicants but cannot provide additional support in the process of obtaining the relevant visas for either Germany or the foreign host country. The payment of the lump sum travel allowance is meant not only to cover travel expenses but also those costs for obtaining the necessary documents.
It is a fellow’s obligation to obtain a correct legal immigration status in the country of destination. Do not enter a country on a visa that does not provide the legal basis for your research stay (e.g. tourist visa or other short-term visitor visas), as this may lead to detention, deportation, or even a ban to re-enter a country.