Funder: Volkswagen Foundation
Due Dates: October 26, 2026, 2:00–3:00 p.m. (Online Q&A) | November 18, 2026, 2:00 p.m. (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Up to €220,000 for 6–18 months, plus equal opportunity funds
Summary: Funds substitute professorships so established professors can complete a major scholarly book in the humanities, cultural studies, or social sciences.
Key Information: Applicants must hold a permanent full professorship at a German university and be at least five years before retirement.
Description
Opus Magnum is a Volkswagen Foundation initiative that gives established professors time to concentrate full-time on writing an extensive scholarly treatise. It finances a substitute professorship during release from teaching and administrative duties, alongside support for costs associated with the work. The intended book must have fundamental significance, originality, and reach beyond the applicant’s specialist academic community—not simply be a regular academic publication.
The initiative supports work that comprehensively reassesses a research field, challenges established interpretations, or synthesizes preparatory research to generate new insights. Projects must already be very advanced and ready for a sustained writing phase. Substitute professorships also provide opportunities for early career academics, whom grantees are expected to mentor. The initiative belongs to the Foundation’s “Understanding Research – Evaluation and Science Practice” profile area.
