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Fellowships & Grants
The Center for German & European Studies maintains a broad range of programs of support for the diverse constituencies that ground German studies in the United States and make them thrive. CGES has identified three core groups—academics, graduate and undergraduate students, and K-12 teachers of German. Each group builds specific strengths; together they assure continued excellence and help us grow new talent in the Midwest.
To see how CGES can help you advance toward your goals, please scroll to the opportunities listed for your career stage.
Faculty Support Programs
- Research Collaboratives are limited-term, interdisciplinary projects for joint research on Germany in its European context. They bring together U of M faculty and graduate students with faculty and students at another institution. Eligible institutions include American as well as German universities. If you have an idea you would like to explore across disciplines and with colleagues at another university, CGES can help you with a generous funding package.
Student Support Programs
- The Hella Mears Graduate Fellowship for German and European Studies fosters graduate student research on a wide variety of German and European topics. The Hella Mears Graduate Fellowship provides summer support in the amount of up to $4,000 ($3,000 stipend; up to $1,000 travel grant) to full-time graduate students in the College of Liberal Arts.
- The Trans-Atlantic Summer Institutes (TASI) provide a unique forum for graduate-level students in Germany, other E.U. countries, and North America to collaborate in the exploration of advanced topics relating to Germany and its role in Europe. Each summer, twelve European and twelve North American graduate-level students work intensively for two weeks and explore in depth questions that will enrich their dissertations in German and European Studies. Topics change annually. Institute site alternates between the University of Minnesota and major European universities. The Summer Institutes aim to make a major contribution to training the next generation of experts on Germany and Europe.
- In 2011, CGES piloted the WorkART Kunstverein Fellowship Program. WorkART is a unique partnership between the University of Minnesota and Germany’s ADKV, a national association of community-based nonprofit art galleries dedicated to exploring and presenting contemporary art. Additional local partners are Macalester College and Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). Ten fellowships available for students enrolled at the University of Minnesota, Macalester College, and Minneapolis College of Art and Design.
- International internships enhance the qualifications and competitiveness of undergraduate and graduate students. CGES works with K-12 schools in Berlin (Minnesota Goes to Berlin program), the Steuben-Schurz Gesellschaft (a society that promotes U.S.-German relations), and the U.S. Consulate in Frankfurt to provide meaningful internships to outstanding students.
- CGES also maintains a select list of Other Student Grant Opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students.
K-12 Teacher Support Programs
- To enhance opportunities for direct contact between American and German teachers and their students, CGES in partnership with K-12 schools and nonprofits in Berlin, the U of M's Principals Academy, and Twin Cities area schools each fall hosts 10 teachers of English who work at elementary schools in Berlin. Participants in the B plus M (Berliner Lehrer in Minnesota / Minnesota Studierende in Berlin) program live with US host families, spend extensive time at Twin Cities area elementary schools, and interact with local experts in special seminars. Participation in B plus M is open to Berlin elementary school teachers who participate in the Minnesota Goes to Berlin program and host a UofM student at their schools. An earlier incarnation of the program was offered in partnership with the Berlin-based Checkpoint Charlie Foundation under the name School Teachers Enrichment Program (STEP). CGES thanks the Checkpoint Charlie Foundation for that successful five-year cooperation.
- One of the very few "study abroad" fellowship programs for active teachers of German, the Akademie DeutschlandStudien Wittenberg each summer sends 10 American teachers (five from the upper mid-west region, up to five from other states in the continental U.S.) to a three-week, intensive professional development course in Germany. Fellows enhance their cultural understanding of present-day Germany, develop new teaching materials, and ensure highest-quality German language instruction at all levels of school.
