The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), part of UK Research and Innovation (UKRI), and the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) are launching their seventh call for proposals for outstanding joint UK-German research projects in the humanities. 

Both funding agencies want to strengthen international cooperation in the fields of arts and humanities to fund academic research of the highest quality within their own countries, and are aware that some of the best research can only be achieved by working with the best researchers internationally. The scheme will provide funding for integrated UK-German projects. The partner agencies will organise a coordinated peer review and a single joint selection process. Funding will be distributed among the research partners according to scholars’ place of work and, more generally, according to the funding rules of each individual agency.

Proposals may be submitted in any area of the humanities, as defined in the research funding guidelines of both agencies. Only proposals whose primary aim is to make fundamental advances in human knowledge in the relevant fields may be submitted in response to the call for proposals. Applicants who are uncertain whether their proposal would be eligible should contact the relevant agencies for clarification. 

Projects must have well-defined joint working programmes that are clearly demonstrating the added value of UK-German collaboration. We expect that each partner substantially contributes to the common project; this also includes taking on organisational responsibilities. 

Immediate resubmission of unsuccessful proposals from one call to the next is not permitted, but is acceptable for future calls. Applicants who were not successful under the last call may submit different proposals for this call. 

The duration of the projects will normally be – and must not exceed – three years (minimum duration: 24 months). Successful projects will be expected to start in early 2026. 

The UK component may seek up to £420,000 Full Economic Costs (FEC) to which the AHRC will normally contribute 80% FEC. Projects should be integrated but do not have to be symmetrical in the sense that neither the sums nor the items requested have to be identical on the UK and German sides. However, we would expect the work packages to be delivered in reasonably equal shares. 

The closing date for this call is Wednesday, 19 February 2025. Proposals under this call will need to be submitted through the DFG’s elan portal (by 11:59 p.m. German time). German applicants should note that if they are using the elan system for the first time, they need to set up an elan account by 12 February 2025 at the latest. 

Equity and Diversity

The DFG strongly welcomes proposals from researchers of all genders and sexual identities, from different ethnic, cultural, religious, ideological or social backgrounds, from different career stages, types of universities and research institutions, and with disabilities or chronic illness.

Application Documents

• DFG/AHRC VII Call Text(Download)
• Information for Applicants(Download)
• Project Description Template(Download)
• CV Template(interner Link)
• AHRC Finance Form(Download)

Outcomes of Previous Calls

• Outcome of the first call (2018/2019)(interner Link)
• Outcome of the second call (2019/2020)(interner Link)
• Outcome of the third call (2020/2021)(interner Link)
• Outcome of the fourth call (2021/2022)(interner Link)
• Outcome of the fifth call (2022/2023)(interner Link)
• Outcome of the sixth call (2023/2024)(interner Link)

Contact Information

Lead responsibility for the administration of calls rotates between the AHRC and the DFG. The DFG is leading the administration of this seventh call and should therefore be the first point of contact for general enquiries relating to the call.

Germany, DFG:

• Sigrid Claßen, Humanities and Cultural Studies, AHRC-Ausschreibung@dfg.de,(externer Link) phone +49 (0)228 885-2209
• Dr. Nora Böttcher, Humanities and Cultural Studies, AHRC-Ausschreibung@dfg.de,(externer Link) phone +49 (0)228 885-2693

United Kingdom, AHRC:

• Frazer Singlehurst, International Partnerships and Engagement Manager, international@ahrc.ukri.org(externer Link) (Programme enquiries). Please put DFG in the subject heading. We aim to respond within five working days.