In 2007, the University of California, Berkeley and LMU Munich established a joint program to pursue innovative, collaborative research in the Humanities. The program facilitates academic exchange of faculty members, graduate students and postdocs in the areas of the Humanities.
LMU faculties eligible for application are:
Fundable activities for LMU researchers are: research mobility for doctoral candidates and postdocs, conferences/workshops and short-term research workshops. Moreover, LMU professors can act as a host for an UCB visiting professors at LMU.
The first joint "LMU-UC Berkeley Research in the Humanities" conference on the “Future of Humanities” took place at LMU Munich from 17 to 19 October 2024.
The event brought together researchers from both partner institutions and various disciplines.
Further information can be found in the LMU Newsroom article "Cooperation between LMU and UC Berkeley strengthens humanities research" and the conference program (PDF, 116 KB).
The application process takes place once a year. Details of the application process for the 2026 funding period will be published in early 2025.
The professorships are open to tenure and tenure-track UCB faculty in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences.
UCB departments and graduate programs eligible for application for LMU Visiting Professorships at LMU Munich
Arts & Humanities
Departments:
Visiting professors will be given the opportunity to dedicate their time largely to their own research projects and to collaborative projects with LMU faculty. They will be asked to present their current research projects at LMU in the form of a public lecture. Depending on the length of their stay, visiting professors are encouraged to contribute to teaching through one of the following options:
During their stay at LMU, visiting professors from UC Berkeley also give a lecture on their research project in the Center for Advanced Studies at LMU.
The duration of each professorship is flexible; it may vary from three to nine months depending on individual needs and interests.
For the duration of the visit, LMU offers funding for accommodation and living expenses at Munich. LMU will also provide assistance with accommodation. In addition, funding for research expenses and research assistance (student workers only) may be available. Travel costs for transatlantic travel (max. 1,500 USD) will be reimbursed by the sending institution, thus UCB.
The selection committee will assess applications based on the following:
Preference will be given to Berkeley faculty who can demonstrate that Munich is a relevant location for their research and who have research partners at LMU.
For further information, please refer to the Q&A of UCB Professor Ian Duncan and Professor Sophie Volpp who participated in the program as Visiting professors at LMU.
The professorships are open to tenure and tenure-track LMU faculty in the Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences. LMU faculties eligible for application for visiting professorships are the same as mentioned above.
UCB departments and graduate programs eligible for application for visiting professorships at UC Berkeley
Arts & Humanities
Departments:
Visiting professors will be given the opportunity to dedicate their time largely to their own research projects and to collaborative projects with Berkeley faculty. They will be asked to present their current research projects in Berkeley in the form of a public lecture. Depending on the length of their stay, visiting professors are also encouraged to contribute to teaching through one of the following options:
The Visiting Professor will receive a stipend of up to 6,500 USD per month, depending on the rank of the professor and length of stay. UC Berkeley will provide assistance with accommodation. Travel costs for transatlantic travel at a flat rate of 1,500 euros will be covered by the sending institution, thus LMU.
The selection committee will assess applications based on the following:
Preference will be given to LMU faculty who can demonstrate that Berkeley is a relevant location for their research and/or who have research partners at UC Berkeley.
As part of the research cooperation with the University of California, Berkeley, doctoral candidates and postdocs from LMU can apply for funding of a research stay at the partner university. A fundamental funding criterion is that the applicant is either an LMU employee or, for doctoral candidates, that the applicant has an LMU professor as first supervisor. Postdocs must be employed at LMU.
Further requirements:
The researchers will have the opportunity to present their projects to the relevant reading groups/colloquia at UCB.
Research visits at UC Berkeley can be funded for up to three months for doctoral candidates and six months for postdocs.
The costs of the research visits will be reimbursed by LMU in accordance with the Bavarian Travel Expenses Act (Bayerisches Reisekostengesetz).
Academic Party responsible for the program
Prof. Dr. Martin Schulze Wessel
Professor of Eastern European History
Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München
Application
As part of the Academic Cooperation Program with UC Berkeley, LMU Munich can support conferences and workshops conducted jointly by researchers from LMU and UCB with funding of up to 20,000 euros.
In order to promote new and innovative research areas within the Humanities, LMU and UCB researchers are invited to submit joint proposals for one or a series of workshops and/or conferences. Applications for a series of workshops can be envisaged for up to two years.
Please note that with regard to travel expenses and accommodation, in general, the sending institution pays for the travel costs and accommodation of its employees and the hosting institution takes over costs for catering etc. Therefore, please consider that travel expenses and accommodation for UCB researchers travelling to LMU need to be claimed at UCB.
Target group: Postdocs and professors employed at LMU on a fixed-hours basis in collaboration with their research partners from UCB. Existing contacts with UCB researchers are a prerequisite. Applications from doctoral students are welcome. In this case, letters of recommendation from LMU supervisors are required in addition to the regular documents.
Documents
Application
As part of the research cooperation with LMU Munich, the University of California, Berkeley, can support conferences and workshops in Berkeley conducted jointly by researchers from LMU and UCB with grants of up to 8,000 USD.
Please note that with regard to travel expenses and accommodation, in general, the sending institution pays for the travel costs and accommodation of its employees and the hosting institution takes over costs for catering etc. Therefore, please consider that travel expenses and accommodation for LMU researchers travelling to UCB need to be claimed at LMU.
Eligibility
Faculty members in the Arts and Humanities and Humanistic Social Sciences together with their research partners at UC Berkeley are eligible to apply. Existing contacts with LMU researchers are a prerequisite. The application must indicate at least one faculty member from Berkeley and one from LMU.
Contact
Debarati Sanyal
Director, Center for Interdisciplinary Critical Inquiry
c/o Victoria Jaschob
Application deadline for the 2025 funding period is May 17, 2024
Target group: Academic staff who want to expand existing research contacts and/or investigate the potential for future cooperation with UCB. Applications by doctoral candidates need to be accompanied by letters of recommendation from faculty supervisors.
Within the framework of the Academic Cooperation Program with the University of California, Berkeley, funding is available for so-called “Short-term research workshops” (small-scale, bilateral research workshops) conducted by researchers from LMU and UC Berkeley (UCB). It is meant to serve as kick-off funding for joint research projects. One proposal can provide funding for up to two short-term research workshops with up to three researchers per workshop.
Funding
Funding of up to 3,000 euros per person includes reimbursement for a stay of up to one month by LMU researchers at UCB (minimum length of 7-14 days).
Documents
If you have any questions, please contact the team International Networks by email via network.international@lmu.de.
