mdw Postdoc Fellowships

Application deadline: 4 September 2026

In 2026 the mdw offers for the fourth time two Postdoc Fellowships aimed at supporting early-stage researchers after the completion of their doctoral studies. The Fellowships are part of a set of measures taken to implement the mdw’s Research Strategy.

The Fellowships are open to early-stage researchers from all disciplines who plan on submitting a proposal to the ESPRIT programme of the FWF or other post-doc funding programmes*.

Successful candidates should be able to start their Postdoc Fellowship position by latest December 2026.

The funding decision will be made by an interdisciplinary jury (mdw-internal and external).

Eligible to apply:

Postdocs within the first 4 years after completion of their doctoral studies without habilitation, either with a degree from the mdw or a contractual relationship with the mdw in the last 2 years prior to application. Periods of care work are taken into account.

The fellowship may only be claimed once.

Selection criteria:

  • Excellent academic qualifications (according to the respective discipline and career level, evidenced e.g. by publications);
  • Quality of the planned project (based on the assessment criteria of the respective funding programme);
  • Feasibility of the project within the respective funding programme.

The funding decision for a Postdoc Fellowship of the mdw is made in view of the probability of a successful future submission. Applicants are encouraged to address deadlines and requirements of the respective funding programme in the application form and to disclose relevant information.

Contract:

Temporary employment (3 to 6 months) according to collective agreement ("Kollektivvertrag"). The fellows are employed at the respective Department/Research Center.

Employment:

Part-time. Personnel costs up to a maximum of € 15,000 (including the employer’s social security contribution/“Dienstgeberanteil”) per position are funded. The scope of employment will be agreed on accordingly.

Minimum wage:

According to the collective agreement, the gross monthly salary is individually determined on the basis of the classification in salary group B1/3 and the agreed scope of employment. The minimum monthly salary for full employment (100%) is € 5.014,30 gross.

Submission of applications:

Applications are possible until 4 September 2026 via the online form and are to be submitted exclusively in English.

Reporting:

The Postdoc Fellows are asked to submit a short report of activities and documentation of the submitted external funding proposal or a status report of the planned submission to the Research Support Office within 2 months after the end of the Fellowship. If the proposal for third party funding is submitted later (in justified cases), this documentation has to be handed in subsequently.

Consultation on third-party funding applications:

Applicants are advised to consult at an early stage the Research Support Office via Vitali Bodnar, Project Service: bodnar@mdw.ac.at, regarding third-party funding applications.

Further information:

Double funding is not permitted. Material and travel costs cannot be covered within the fellowships, however, fellows may submit separate applications to have such costs reimbursed (e.g. Start-up financing for project proposals or International Mobility for Early-Stage Researchers), if applicable.

As an employer, mdw - University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna pays attention to equal treatment of all qualified applicants regardless of gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, religion, ideology, age, or disability.

The University aims to increase the proportion of women among academic, artistic, and general university staff, especially in management positions, and therefore explicitly invites qualified women to apply. If there are several applicants with the same qualifications, women will be given preference.

 

For any further information concerning the call for proposals, please contact Marita Schaaser via forschungsfoerderung@mdw.ac.at.

 

* Submission in the following programmes are supported in particular:

 

 

 

Post-Doc Fellowship 2025

Fellow

  • Milena Amann-Rauter, PhD: "Sounding Reform: Sacred Music Across Confessional and Territorial Boundaries in the Lake Constance Region (ca. 1550–1800)"


Jury

 

PostDoc Fellowship 2024

Fellows

  • Barbara Wolfram, PhD: "Klasse Kino?! An Artistic-Scientific Investigation of the Representation and Reception of Social Class with focus on the working class in recent Austrian Film and Television"
  • Dr.in Bianca Schumann, B.Mus. B.A. MA: "Klavierwettbewerbe im Kalten Krieg: Institutionelle Logiken in kulturpolitischen Kontexten", funded by the Walter Benjamin Program of the German Research Foundation (DFG)


Jury


PostDoc Fellowship 2023

"The mdw Greets its First Two Postdoctoral Fellows", Report in mdw-Webmagazin


Fellows

  • Dr.in Henrike Rost: A look behind the scenes: The music critic Max Kalbeck in Vienna at the turn of the century, Department of Musicology and Performance Studies
  • Raz Weiner, PhD: The Pink-Washout: digital Queer Performance's Renogotiation of Citizenship in the Post-Liberal State, Department of Cultural Management and Gender Studies


Jury

The selection of the mdw PostDoc fellows is made by an interdisciplinary jury consisting of mdw-internal and external persons:

 

 

 

Contact

Research Support

Mag.a Marita Schaaser, MA

Anton-von-Webern-Platz 1
1030 Vienna
First floor, Office nr. B 01 23
Phone: +43 1 711 55-6101

forschungsfoerderung@mdw.ac.at