Senior Fellowships 2016/2017

At the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI)

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) invites applications for its senior fellowships for the academic year 2016/2017.

The VWI is an academic institution dedicated to the study and documentation of antisemitism, racism and the Holocaust. Conceived and established during Simon Wiesenthal’s lifetime, the VWI receives funding from the Austrian Ministry of Science, Research and Economy as well as the City of Vienna. Research at the institute focuses on the Holocaust in its European context, including its antecedents and its aftermath.

Distinguished scholars who have completed their Ph.D.s, have produced works of scholarship and have long-standing experience working at universities or academic institutions are eligible to apply for a senior fellowship. Senior fellows will be able to conduct research on a topic of their choice in the field of Holocaust studies at the institute. Beyond the research work itself, the stay at the institute is intended to encourage communication and scientific exchange among the fellows at the institute. Senior fellows are expected to support the institutes’s academic work and provide research advice and support to Junior fellows. Senior fellows are further expected to contribute to the academic culture of Vienna, e.g., by giving guest lectures and seminars at academic institutions. Senior fellows must be regularly present at the VWI.

Research projects are to focus on a topic relevant to the research interests of the VWI. Within this parameter, applicants are free to choose their own topic, approach and methodology. Fellows will have access to the archives of the institute. It is expected that fellows will make use of relevant resources from the collection in their research projects. Research results will be the subject of formal fellows' discussions and will be presented to the wider public at regular intervals. At the end of their stay, fellows are required to submit a short research paper which will be peer-reviewed and published in VWI‘s e-journal S:I.M.O.N. – Shoah: Intervention. Methods. Documentation.

Senior fellowships are awarded for a duration of between six and eleven months. Fellows will have a work station with computer and internet access and will receive a monthly stipend of € 2,500. In addition, VWI will cover housing costs during the fellowship (up to € 800) as well as the costs of a round-trip to and from Vienna (coach class airfare or 2nd class train fare). There is an additional one-off payment of € 500 available for research conducted outside of Vienna or photocopying costs outside of the institute, where applicable.

Senior fellows will be selected by the International Academic Advisory Board of the VWI.

Applications may be submitted in English or German and must include the following documents:

• completed application form,
• a detailed description of the research project, including the research objectives, an overview of existing research on the topic and methodology (12,000 characters max.)
• a list of publications and a CV with a photo (optional).

Please send your application in electronic format (if possible in one integral *.pdf-file) with the subject header "VWI Research Fellowships 2016/2017" and submit it by 31 January 2016 to:

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

If you do not get confirmation that we have received your proposal, please contact us.

Future senior fellows are advised to endeavour to finance a part of their fellowship via a stipend from the Stipendienstiftung der Republik Österreich and to submit an application to this end after they have received notification of being awarded their fellowship.