Eligibility criteria
Criteria for applicants
The applicant must belong to the up-and-coming generation of researchers in the Social Sciences and Humanities in Switzerland.
Nationality and place of work: Applicants must be early career researchers who are Swiss (irrespective of their place of work) or work in Switzerland (irrespective of their nationality), or both.
Age: The applicant must be under the age of 39 (until 38.99) at the time of the publication of the submitted article. In justified cases, exceeding the age limit may be accepted. For example, if the applicant has completed a second-chance education or if family responsibilities have led to unavoidable delays in the academic career.
Collective application: It is possible to submit an individual application or a collective application (joint authorship). For collective applications, the applicant who submits the application must fulfil the criteria for applicants. The eligibility criteria do not have to be fulfilled by all authors.
Criteria for articles
The article must belong to at least one of the academic branches in the Social Sciences and Humanities. A list of all these branches can be found here.
Publication date: The article must have been published between 1 October 2022 and 31 October 2023. The date of the first publication counts. This also applies if the article is published online or in print at a later date.
Type of publication: The publication must be an article. It must have been published in a peer-reviewed publication (scientific journal, book chapter, etc.). Monographs will not be accepted.
Open Access: We encourage Open Access publications. This is not mandatory but strongly recommended.
Application procedure
Required documents
Applications for the Early Career Award of the Swiss Academy of Humanities and Social Sciences are accepted every year between the beginning of the autumn semester in September and 1 December. Applicants must submit their application via an online application form and include the following documents in PDF format:
- A copy of the article that is submitted. Please heed the criterion concerning its publication date (see Criteria for articles).
- A letter of maximum two pages explaining why the submitted article is excellent, how it contributes to research, and why it is relevant to other disciplines. This letter can be written in English, German, French or Italian.
- A CV of maximum two pages. Please heed the criteria for applicants.
- A separate list of publications. Only articles, no monographs will be considered.
The deadline for application for the Early Career Award 2024 is midnight 1 December 2023.
Submission of applications
Go to my.sagw.ch. To submit an application, please create an account by clicking on «Register». After completing your registration, log in and select the option «Create a new application». Fill in all sections of the application form and upload the four documents required (see above). If your application is complete and ready to be submitted, click on «submit» in the «Completion» section. If you log out before completing your application, the information will be saved and you can complete your application the next time you log in.
Under «Download» you can download your completed application in PDF format.