FMSH/UNIMED Postdoctoral Fellowship for Young Researchers 2024

The Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme (FMSH) and the Mediterranean Universities Union  (UNIMED)  offer short-term fellowships of 2 or 3 months in France for young researchers native from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Syria and affiliated to one of the 164 Universities member of UNIMED.

This research stay is designed to enable researchers to conduct research studies in France: field enquiries, library and archives work. 

This call is part of the Atlas short-term postdoctoral mobility programme offered by the FMSH and its partners.

• Table of Content
• About Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme
• Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Aim and Benefits of Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Requirements for Postdoctoral Fellowship Qualification
• Interview date, Process and Venue for Postdoctoral Fellowship
• Documents Required for Application
• Application Deadline
• How to Apply

About Fondation Maison des sciences de l'homme

Created in 1975 upon the initiative of Fernand Braudel, in collaboration with the French Secretary of State for Universities, Department for Higher Education and Research, the DEA Programme is the oldest international mobility programme at Fondation Maison des sciences de l’homme. It provides funding to invite international scientific experts from across the globe for one or two months and enables them to carry out work in France (field enquiries, library work and archives).... continue reading

Postdoctoral Fellowship

Aim and Benefits of Postdoctoral Fellowship

Laureates will receive a financial support of 1 700€ per month. This financial contribution is intended to cover expenditure such as transport and accommodation costs. Besides, FMSH provides scientific and logistical assistance (working space, help for finding accommodation, letters to libraries…).

Requirements for Postdoctoral Fellowship Qualification

Nationality: this program is open to researchers originating from Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Marocco, Palestine, Tunisia and Syria and affiliated to one of the 164 Universities member of UNIMED.

Educational Degree: applicants must have obtained their PhD doctorate and presented their thesis from 2018. There is no age limit.

Theme: applicants must be involved in research in social sciences and humanities (SSH) or at the frontier between SSH and other sciences.

Language : French or English depending on the project.

French host institution: before submitting their application, applicants will have to find a French research institution to host them for the time of their stay. Applicants will have to provide a letter from the hosting institution addressed to the FMSH and the UNIMED expressing the institution’s willingness to host the applicant during the time of fellowship and explaining the work conditions offered. 

Interview date, Process and Venue for Postdoctoral Fellowship

Researcher’s obligations

At the end of their stay, laureates will have to provide the FMSH and the UNIMED with a report from 10 000 to 20 000 characters (spaces and notes included) presenting the work done during their stay and the benefits for their research project.

Application procedure

Applicants will be required to submit an online application form and a scientific dossier (research project + appendices). The online application form will be available on the FMSH website as of January 15, 2024. Completed proposals can be uploaded to the application portal at any time before the application deadline of March 18, 2024, 17:00 (Paris time).

Online application and scientific dossier must be submitted in French or in English.

Content of scientific dossier

The research proposal: the research proposal should consist in a short presentation from 10 000 characters to 20 000 characters (spaces and references included) composed with:

1. State of art, problematic, objective and specific aim of the research project, methodology.
2. A bibliography
3. The detailed programme of the research stay (places and institutions to be visited, contacts, work plan).

Evaluation process and criteria

A selection committee composed with members of FMSH, UNIMED (Marta Craveri, Fmsh, Sara Guindani, Fmsh, Anne-Laurence Pastorini,  Unimed, Marcello Scalisi, Unimed) and independent experts will analyse and proceed to final selection of applications regarding the following criteria:

• The quality of the scientific dossier and the methodology developed
• The relevance of a research stay in France regarding the scientific project and the candidate curricula
• The ability to identify scientific contacts in France

Candidates that have never benefited from the programme will be prioritized.

Documents Required for Application

• A Curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum)
• A list of publications
• A copy of the PhD diploma
• A letter from the director of the research institution in the country of origin
• A letter of invitation from the director of the host research institution in France expressing the institution’s willingness to host the applicant during the time of fellowship and explaining the work conditions they can offer

Application Deadline

How to Apply

1. Reach the online application form and enter «Researcher Workspace»
2. You have to be registered on the online platform in order to use it. If you haven’t created an account yet, you will be asked to
3. Create your profile by filling all your personal information and then enter “create a new application”
4. Select “Programme Atlas incoming 2024” and then the specific call « FMSH-UNIMED: South Mediterranean > France».
5. Fill all the information tabs
6. In the “Documents” final tab, you will need to upload your research proposal and the appendices into one single PDF document:
   • Research proposal
   • Curriculum vitae (2 pages maximum)
   • List of publications
   • Copy of the PhD diploma
   • Letter from the director of the research institution
   • Letter of invitation from the director of the host research institution in France
7. You can save your application and complete it later several times if you wish, until the closure of the call for applications. Once you have submitted your application, you will no longer have the possibility to amend it. Once submitted, you will receive an automatic email confirming the submission. Applications not submitted, incomplete application forms or applications that do not match the above description will not be taken into account.

For any information on the platform or in case of you meet difficulties to use it, please contact [email protected]

For more details, visit FMSH website.