Apply
to the Max Weber Postdoctoral Programme

Why
Apply to the Max Weber Programme?

It is not difficult
to explain why t
he Max Weber Post Doctoral Programme at the EUI is widely
considered as the leader of its kind in Europe.

It is one of the
most selective – attracting around 1200 applicants in the fields of political
and social sciences, economics, law and history for around 55-60 available
positions.

Its placement record
is second to none: Practically all Max Weber Fellows secure academic positions
in the finest institutions around the world upon completion of the programme.

Part of the
explanation for these truly extraordinary indicators is its institutional
environment: Situated at the European University Institute, Max Weber Fellows
enjoy superb research facilities (including an outstanding library, a shared
office space, a personal research fund of 1000 euros) and are part of an
Institution dedicated entirely to post-graduate research: The EUI’s education
mission is focused solely on doctoral and post doctoral studies.

But in addition
there are specific features of the Max Weber programme which help define its
unique identity and explain its popularity and success. 

Unlike many
post-doctoral programmes which consist of little more than a stipend and a
place to work, the Max Weber is actually a programme with a decided philosophy
of post doctoral studies. Prominent aspects of this philosophy are the
following:

• A
  belief that intellectual community, interlocutorship and scholarly
  synergetic exchanges are fundamental to the early phase of one’s academic
  career and significantly enhance the quality of the individual research
  undertaken during the postdoctoral Fellowship.
• A
  belief that a successful academic career (and success in the so called
  academic ‘market place’) do not only depend on high quality research and
  publications but also on learning and understanding the world of ‘academic
  practice’: Teaching, examining, writing and speaking well, competitive
  bidding for research funds and the like.

 Several
features of the programme give expression to this philosophy.  

1 – Intellectual
Community: The Thematic Groups

Typically, Max Weber
Fellows will find themselves belonging simultaneously to three interlocking
intellectual communities:

The first is, of
course, the Max Weber Programme itself – with several programme wide activities
such as the Max Weber Lectures.

The second are the
departments or the Research Centers of the EUI to which each fellow is
affiliated.

The third is a “thematic research group”
of Fellows working on related research interests in different disciplines which
meets on a regular basis to discuss each others projects and work, give
feedback from different disciplinary perspectives and engage in other
activities (e.g. reading groups) of shared interests.

There are two types
of thematic groups. In each year the programme announces a few broad
preselected themes such as, for example Inequality and Efficiency inEducation and Labour Markets precisely in the hope of attracting applicants
interested in these broad areas and thus facilitating the creation of these
synergetic groups.

In addition, in
examining the corpus of admitted Fellows we are usually able to identify
various potential synergetic research themes and put together such
spontaneously formed thematic groups. Sometimes they will fall neatly into
ongoing Seminars in the departments or research groups in one of the RSCAS
programmes or Centers, such as the working group on legaland political theory.

In the application
forms we ask applicants to indicate whether they are interested in one of the
announced themes; It helps our planning to be able to estimate the potential
size of these groups.

We wish to
underscore that there is neither advantage nor disadvantage in terms of the
prospects of admission to the programme of indicating an interest in one of the
pre-announced themes. For example, shaping one’s research interest to coincide
with one of the themes would be entirely counterproductive. Fellows will be
chosen by the three selection criteria.

2 – Academic
Practice

The Academic Practice activities form
one of the most distinctive aspects of the Programme. These seek to foster the
on-going professional development of Fellows by improving their communication
skills (writing, presentation and teaching), helping them with the development
of a publication strategy and applying for research grants, and, in
collaboration with the Academic Careers
Observatory, preparing them for the job market by helping Fellows to
identify potential employment opportunities, supporting them with the
preparation of their application, and arranging and giving feedback on mock job
talks and interviews.

Fellows are also
provided with a range of teaching-training opportunities (within the EUI,
Florence and with a number of presitigious universities abroad) and the
possibility of acquiring the MWP
Teaching Certificate.

For the Academic
practice activities Fellows are organised into disciplinary based Academic Practice Groups.

Who
Can Apply, for How Long and How?

The Programme is
open to applicants who are within 5 years of the completion of their PhD from
anywhere in the world, regardless of nationality, and is not restricted to
citizens of the EU. The language of the programme is English and applicants
must fulfil the English language requirements as outlined in the section on Eligibility.

The vast majority of
Max Weber Fellowships are for one year. Most applicants in the field of
Economics are selected for a 2 year fellowship, which involves additional
activities, such as limited teaching in the department, in the second year.
Applicants in other disciplines may apply for a limited number of second year
Fellowships by the 25 October deadline of their first year, either to their
Department or the RSCAS. In exceptional cases, three year Fellowships may be
offered. Candidates are asked to indicate the desired length of their
Fellowship (1, 2 or 3 years) when applying. However, the decision to extend a
Fellowship to 2 or 3 years will be made either by the Department or the RSCAS
and the MW Steering Committee on the basis of their evaluation of the
candidates and departmental or Centre needs.

To apply to the Max Weber Programme please see the following
pages:

• Eligibility
• Conditions of Award
• Selection criteria

and then go to
the How to Apply page.