Carlsberg Foundation puts DKK 90 million into dedicated pool for Denmark’s humanities faculties

The donation will result in 45 fully funded Carlsberg Foundation Humanities PhD Fellowships, which will be advertised and awarded by the faculties themselves over a three-year period. The programme is aimed at talented candidates working in the humanities on original projects of their own choice. Each fellow will benefit from an award of DKK 2 million.

The background to the Carlsberg Foundation’s decision to donate DKK 90 million to the humanities in Denmark is that research in the field has been under particular pressure both politically and financially for a number of years. Repeated cutbacks have made it increasingly difficult for talented young candidates to embark on a research career in the humanities. This is bad news both for the research institutions and for society as a whole.

“I am incredibly pleased that we can now offer Denmark’s humanities faculties a number of fully funded PhD fellowships,” says Majken Schultz, Chair of the Carlsberg Foundation. “We hope that this will boost talent development and help ensure the academic continuity at humanities research institutions that is so important for the continued strength of this research field in Denmark.”

“At the Carlsberg Foundation, we are convinced that we as a society need talented researchers in the humanities so that we can continue in the future to understand and overcome the challenges we face. Talent development and a focus on opportunities for younger generations should therefore be prioritised and supported, both academically and financially. We look forward to seeing what exciting research projects the fellowships will give rise to.”

Fully funded fellowships

The humanities faculties themselves will advertise the Carlsberg Foundation Humanities PhD Fellowships and handle the application process. However, the Carlsberg Foundation has made it a condition for its donation that the fellowships are advertised and awarded in open competition without being restricted to any specific discipline or linked to an existing overarching project. Another requirement is that the projects can be carried out in an environment that promotes well-being and can provide expert supervision and peer support.

The programme will consist of five PhD fellowships annually for three years at Copenhagen University and at Aarhus University, three annually for three years at the University of Southern Denmark, and one annually for three years at Roskilde University and at Aalborg University. The faculties themselves will decide when to advertise the fellowships, and so potential candidates are advised to keep an eye on the faculties’ listings.