Junior Fellowships at the Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies

The Vienna Wiesenthal Institute for Holocaust Studies (VWI) invites applications for its junior fellowships for the academic year 2026/27.

The VWI is an academic institution dedicated to the research and documentation of antisemitism, racism, nationalism and the Holocaust. Conceived and established during Simon Wiesenthal’s lifetime, the VWI receives funding from the Austrian Federal Ministry of Women Science and Research, the Federal Chancellery 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.

PhD candidates from anywhere in the world are eligible to apply for a junior fellowship. Junior fellows will be able to work on a research project 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. Junior fellows will receive support and advice from the VWI as well as its senior and research fellows. Junior fellows are expected to attend the VWI regularly and take on an active role in the Institute’s research activities.

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 research paper, which will be peer-reviewed and published in the VWI’s e-journal S:I.M.O.N. – Shoah: Intervention. Methods. Documentation.

Junior fellowships are awarded for a duration of ten months. Junior fellows will have a working space with internet access at the VWI and will receive a monthly stipend of € 1,400.-. In addition, junior fellows who are not Vienna residents will receive accommodation funding of € 600.- per month. The VWI will also cover the costs of a round-trip to and from Vienna (coach class airfare or 2nd class train fare). If you are based in Vienna (Vienna resident), we cannot reimburse you for the housing costs.

Junior 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 objectives, an overview of existing research on the topic, and methodology (12,000-character max.),
• two letters of recommendation (please indicate if sent separately),
• list of publications (if applicable),
• a CV (optional: with picture).

Please send your application in electronic format (in one integral *.pdf-file) with the subject header “VWI Junior Fellowships 2026/27” by 16 January 2026 to: fellowship@vwi.ac.at

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