Institute Scholarship Program 2027 at Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg

The Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Hamburg, carries out foundational comparative legal research in the areas of foreign, European and international private law. The Institute describes its task as critically studying the social, economic and legal challenges of globalisation, with comparative analysis of law at the heart of its scholarship: researchers determine the differences and similarities among the world's legal systems and distill findings on the development, classification and function of domestic and foreign law, which then form the basis of proposals furthering the development, harmonisation and unification of law at European and global level.

The Institute clusters its research into five areas of focus: Comparative Law; Person, family and private life; International Private and Procedural Law; Commercial, Company and Capital Market Law; and Foundations: Legal Theory, Economics and Social Sciences. It also runs Centres of Expertise on Africa, China and Korea, Japan, Latin America, Turkey, the Law of Arab and Islamic Countries, and a Centre for the Application of Foreign Law, alongside the Minerva Fast Track Research Group "Artificial Justice". The Academic Body comprises Directors Holger Fleischer, Ralf Michaels and Anne Röthel. The Institute is located at Mittelweg 187, 20148 Hamburg, Germany.

The Max Planck Institute offers a limited number of scholarships for legal scholars whose primary place of residence is outside of Germany. The scholarships are financed by the Max Planck Society. The scholarship duration is between 1 and a maximum of 3 months, and the minimum scholarship period is one month.

The Institute is now accepting new scholarship applications for 2027. The application deadline is 15 August 2026. The Institute states that there are no plans for a second application round for 2027.

Applicants must indicate the desired time frame for the scholarship stay in the online application. The number of months requested does not have any impact on the chances of approval, though a scholarship may be offered for a period shorter than the one applied for. The Institute asks for applicants' understanding that even where a scholarship is granted, a workstation cannot be guaranteed for the period requested in the application.

The scholarship program is aimed at:

• Foreign doctoral candidates
• Postdocs
• Scientists with their own research profile whose doctorate was completed less than 12 years ago and who hold a position as assistant professor or Junior Research Group Leader, or who can demonstrate several years of independent scientific work
• W3 professors and full professors, Directors or Institute Managers

As regards large-scale research projects, particularly dissertations, scholarships will generally be granted only when the project is at an advanced as opposed to a preliminary stage. The common requirement across all groups is that the applicant's primary place of residence is outside Germany, so scholars based in India are within scope.

The research project in question must correspond to the academic interests of the Institute, as only then can it be ensured that scholarship recipients will be able to engage in meaningful academic exchange with other researchers and find relevant literature in the library. A general interest in the Institute and its library is not sufficient grounds for approval, and applicants are asked to name the researchers at the Institute with whom they would like to discuss their work. The Institute notes that this does not imply any supervision.

The research areas Intellectual Property, Procedural Law, Social Law and Public International Law are investigated primarily at other Max Planck Institutes. If a research topic entails references to one of these areas, a separate explanatory statement is required setting out why this Institute is the appropriate institution for the research.

Applicants need not be proficient in German. The Institute does assume a level of proficiency in German, English or French sufficient to integrate into the Institute community, and at a minimum a strong command of either German or English for communication with staff and other guests. Applicants must also be proficient in the language required for their research, or clarify how they intend to obtain information from foreign-language sources on their target jurisdictions. Where the research includes an inquiry into German law, the research proposal should indicate how the desired information will be obtained from foreign-language sources.

Submitted documents should be in German or English; in exceptional cases documents in French may also be accepted. The following documents are required:

• Document A - Statement of Purpose (maximum one page): why you are applying for a research scholarship at the Institute, the goals and expectations connected to the research stay, the links between your research topic and the Institute's current or previous academic work, who could serve as possible dialogue partners at the Institute (prior contact is not required), and whether the research project could be pursued at another research institute. The statement of purpose must be signed.
• Document B - Curriculum Vitae (max. 2 pages): a current CV reflecting in particular your professional training, previous academic activities and positions, and current professional position.
• Document C - Research Proposal (maximum two pages): the most important part of the application. It must not be submitted in simple outline form, should not only generally describe the topic of research but also identify the central problems and challenges associated with the project, and should be formulated so as to be understandable for legal researchers having other areas of specialisation. A timetable and work plan are not required.
• Document D - Updated List of Publications: a current publication list giving a complete overview of your academic publications.
• Document E - Letters of Recommendation: doctoral and post-doctoral candidates (up to five years after receipt of the doctoral award) must submit two letters of recommendation. It is strongly recommended that letters be printed on official letterhead and bear the signature of the author. For doctoral candidates, one of the letters is expected to be from the supervisor of the doctoral project; if that is not possible, an official confirmation of doctoral candidate status must be included in addition to the two letters. For all other applicants, letters of recommendation are optional. The Institute advises that a letter of recommendation will be considered most informative if written by someone who knows you and your research well. Where a referee chooses to send the letter directly to the Institute, applicants must ensure this happens within the relevant application period.
• Document F - Proof of Doctoral Degree: applicants who have already obtained their doctorate should upload the doctoral diploma or other official confirmation. Applicants who have not yet completed the doctoral project and do not have a letter of reference from the doctoral supervisor must provide official confirmation of doctoral candidate status.

Only complete applications can be considered. Applications which are incomplete or deviate from the guidelines will not be considered. A printable document checklist is provided by the Institute and is linked below.

Step 1 - Preparation of documents. Assemble Documents A to F as set out above, using the Institute's printable checklist to tick off each item before proceeding.

Step 2 - Transmission of documents via the online portal. Application takes place entirely online. Register on the portal with your first and last name, an email address and a password; a confirmation email follows, and the Institute advises that the registration process is not instantaneous and may take some time. Sign in, carefully fill out the online application form, specify a desired period of a maximum of 3 months, and upload your documents. A confirmation email is sent shortly after successful transmission.

Applications can only be submitted via the online portal, and applications sent by email or post are not accepted. The portal is open only for the current application round until the stated deadline, and it belongs to this Institute alone; applications for other Max Planck Institutes cannot be submitted through it.

Letters of recommendation are ideally uploaded to the portal. Alternatively they may be sent by email to welcome@mpipriv.de, and only sealed letters of recommendation may be sent by the referee by post to: Max Planck Institute for Comparative and International Private Law, Scholarship Administration, Mittelweg 187, 20148 Hamburg, Germany. The application deadline also applies to sealed letters sent by post; letters received after the deadline will not be considered.

The Institute states that applicants will be advised about the status of their application approximately 8 to 10 weeks after applications have closed. Measured from the 15 August 2026 deadline, that places the outcome roughly between mid-October and late October 2026, though the Institute does not publish a fixed result date.

The decision is communicated to the applicant initially by email and subsequently by post.

Additional income: any additional income received from third parties must be disclosed to the Institute administration and may, where appropriate, be deducted from the scholarship amount paid by the Max Planck Society.

Health insurance: health insurance is compulsory for a stay in Germany and must cover the entire period of the stay. Depending on the length of the stay and personal needs, the Institute says it may be advisable to obtain travel health insurance or insurance with more comprehensive coverage. Proof of sufficient health insurance must be submitted at the commencement of the scholarship, and recipients are asked to note the information on health insurance that accompanies the scholarship letter. The Institute also points applicants to the Euraxess portal for further guidance on health insurance for researchers from abroad.

Other insurance: no other insurance is legally required for the stay, though depending on the length of stay and personal needs it may be advisable to take out private liability insurance or accident insurance.

Visa: the Institute is happy to provide a Hosting Agreement for a visa application on request by email to welcome@mpipriv.de.

Registration in Hamburg: a stay of more than 3 months requires registering your address with the Hamburg authorities within 2 weeks of arrival, with further detail on the official requirements available from the Hamburg City Welcome Centre. Registration may also be useful for shorter stays, for example to open a local bank account.

The Institute's Welcome Center supports guests and scholarship recipients with the scholarship application, accommodation, health insurance and visa questions.