heiDOCS Publication Grants – Apply now!
Purpose
Prerequisites for an application
Application deadlines
Amount
Good to know
FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a publication grant
Application Procedure and Forms
Payment Procedure and Forms
- Are you a doctoral candidate at Heidelberg University who wants to publish your dissertation with a renowned publisher? Are you finding that the price of acquiring reproduction rights is higher than expected?
- Do you want to publish in a language that is not your native tongue?
If so, you can apply for a publication grant through the Graduate Academy heiDOCS funding program for doctoral candidates at Heidelberg University!
Purpose
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your dissertation (monograph or cumulative dissertation)
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articles to be published in scientific journals, either subscription-based or open access journals (listed in the Electronic Journals Library) that are clearly relevant to your dissertation. Only articles that have undergone a peer-review process can be funded.
Important:
- Articles/publications that were developed as part of an externally funded project and/or for which publication funds are available are not eligible for this funding program.
- the purpose of the proofreading grant is to fine-tune the language of your publication and thus to reduce any disadvantages you might have as compared to native speakers.
- Proofreading includes only the correction of spelling, punctuation and grammar (not content).
Prerequisites for an application
- have successfully completed a university degree that entitles you to pursue a doctoral degree (In Germany, this is usually a Diplom, Magister or master's degree),
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have been officially admitted to one of the 13 Faculties at Heidelberg University*,
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have completed your doctoral training (incl. final oral exam) at the time of the application (and for the maximum of one year),
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have received at least "magna cum laude" on your dissertation and
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can provide a price quote from the publisher or a finalized contract for the publication of your dissertation at the time of your application.
The award of the publication grant will be valid for a period of one year. If the dissertation is not published within this period, you must apply for an extension of the grant. You may receive only one grant extension.
- have successfully completed a university degree that entitles you to pursue a doctoral degree (In Germany, this is usually a Diplom, Magister or master's degree),
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have been officially admitted to one of the 13 Faculties at Heidelberg University*,
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are the main author of the publication and
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are writing your publication in a language that is not your native tongue.
The award of the proofreading grant will be valid for a period of one year. If the proofreading is not completed within this period, you must apply for an extension of the grant. You may receive only one grant extension.
If you end your doctoral training prematurely (e.g. you discontinue your training completely or transfer to a different university), your eligibility for funding will end at the end of the month in which your doctoral training at Heidelberg University is terminated.
Application deadlines
Important:
- If the due date of the invoice from the external service provider falls in the 8-week assessment period, you will have to pay the invoice yourself and, if the grant is approved, you can only receive the grant in the form of a reimbursement paid out to you afterwards.
- The publication grant cannot be awarded retroactively for publications/proofreadings that have already been implemented.
- We will not consider applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications. An application is incomplete if documents are missing or if significant information is missing from the application form.
Amount
The amount awarded for a grant will be based on the expenses that you list on your application form.
The following expenses can be covered:
- Printing costs
- acquisition of reproduction rights (e.g. for images)
The grant does not cover:
- costs for scans, photocopying and books
- printing costs for the copies (Pflichtexemplare) of your thesis for submission to the faculty
Good to know
- You are not legally entitled to funding.
- The funding is awarded in the form of grants. The award of a grant does not establish an employment relationship between Heidelberg University and the recipient. The recipient of the grant may not be obligated to perform any specific academic service or employment activity in connection with the grant.
- The awards notifications are sent out via postal mail after the entire evaluation process is completed; this process takes about 8 weeks after each application deadline.
- We will not consider applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications.
- You must adhere to the principles of good academic practice (§3 Abs. 5 LHG). Please note the rules for safeguarding good academic practice of Heidelberg University.
- Applicants must ensure that their projects are carried out in accordance with the mission statement and principles of Heidelberg University.
FAQs/ Guidelines for applying for a publication grant
GENERAL QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION PROCESS
When should I apply?
Application deadlines are February 15, June 15 and October 15 of every year. You must submit a complete application by the relevant deadline in order to be considered for funding.
Please note that this also applies if the deadline falls on the weekend or a public holiday.
Please submit your application according to when you wish to start receiving funding:
Important:
- If the due date of the invoice from the external service provider falls in the 8-week assessment period, you will have to pay the invoice yourself and, if the grant is approved, you can only receive the grant in the form of a reimbursement paid out to you afterwards.
- The publication grant cannot be awarded retroactively for publications/proofreadings that have already been implemented.
- We will not consider applications submitted after the deadline or incomplete applications. An application is incomplete if documents are missing or if significant information is missing from the application form.
What is considered in the selection process and who awards the funding?
The following criteria are decisive for the selection process:
- academic qualification of the applicant
- quality of the research project
- relevance and necessity of the publication grant
- supervisors' evaluation
The award will be granted by a selection committee of the Council for Graduate Studies (CfGS). If necessary, the responsible faculty will be consulted.
How high is the grant?
The publication grant will cover costs up to a maximum of 1,000 Euro. The amount awarded for a grant will be based on the expenses that you list on your application form.
Can I apply for more than one grant simultaneously?
Yes. If you apply for more than one publication grant at the same time, you need to submit a complete and separate application for each.
Please note that the maximum amount that can be awarded within the heiDOCS publication grant funding line amounts to a maximum total of 1,000 Euro over the course of your entire doctoral training.
Is there a maximum amount that can be awarded within the entire heiDOCS program?
Yes. Every doctoral candidate may receive grants within the heiDOCS program amounting to a maximum total of 2,500 Euro over the course of his or her entire doctoral studies. This limit applies to the heiDOCS funding lines "travel grants", "publication grants" and "project grants".
How do I know if the Graduate Academy has received my application?
Unfortunately, it is not possible for us to automatically notify each applicant that their application has been received. If you want to check on the status of your application, please send an email to: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.
Please note that we will not consider incomplete applications.
When will I be notified of the decision regarding my application?
The awards notifications are sent out after the entire evaluation process is completed; this process takes about 8 weeks after each application deadline. It is not possible to inform you about the results of your application before all evaluations are completed.
QUESTIONS ABOUT THE APPLICATION FORM
Why do I have to indicate the expected invoice due date on the online registration form?
Due to administrative processes and in order to coordinate the financial planning, especially for payments of invoices directly to the service providers, it is important for us to know approximately when the payment will be due. Please simply indicate the expected date of the invoice (at very least the month and the year) in the online registration form.
Please note that invoices cannot be paid during the 8-week assessment period because the awards decisions are not finalized at this point. If the due date of the invoice falls in this assessment period, you will have to pay the invoice yourself and, if the grant is approved, can only receive the grant in the form of a reimbursement paid out to you afterwards.
Who is going to read my application?
Your application will be reviewed by evaluators who are both from your research field as well as outside your field. Therefore, it is important to present your project in a way that can be understood by experts who are unfamiliar with your field.
What do I need to consider when filling out the application form?
Please fill out the application form electronically; do not handwrite your application. In order to ensure that the electronic forms work with all versions of the Adobe software, we strongly recommend that you first download and save the empty application form on your computer and then fill the form out and save it again.
Please use an Apple or Windows operating system to fill out the forms. The forms are not compatible with a Linux system.
Please use only the space provided in the existing fields on the application forms. The evaluators will not be able to read any text that extends beyond the existing limits of the fields.
Please do not change the formatting of the fields on the application forms.
Please send the application documents as separate attachments in your email. You do not need to merge the various documents into one PDF-file.
Do I need to submit any additional documents (e.g. publication lists, CV, etc.)?
The application procedure and required application documents are indicated in detail here. Additional documents that are not listed on the website such as publication lists, literature lists, or CVs will not be sent to the evaluators.
What is meant by "external funding" and why am I asked about it?
"External funding" refers to funds that you have received from an external funding organization (e.g. Begabtenförderungswerke, other funding organizations) for your planned publication. The fact that you have been awarded external funding can be of advantage to you in the evaluation process. For example, the receipt of an external grant or fellowship will be treated as a prize or distinction on your part.
Who can issue the evaluation form for my application?
The evaluation form for your application must be issued and submitted to the Graduate Academy by your doctoral supervisor. Please note that the evaluation is to be treated confidentially and must be sent by your supervisor directly to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de. Please be aware that the application deadlines also pertain to the receipt of the evaluation form.
If it is not possible for your first supervisor to fill out the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave etc.), you can ask another professor in your subject area who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.
QUESTIONS ON THE PROCEDURE AFTER APPROVAL OF THE PUBLISHING GRANT
How is the grant paid out?
The publication grant can either be paid out to you in the form of a reimbursement of the expenses you have already covered or it can be paid out directly to the external service provider.
If the financial processing of your publication grant takes place directly between the external service providerand the Graduate Academy, please make sure to submit the invoice(s) to the Graduate Academy as soon as possible after receipt. If the invoice amount exceeds the approved funding amount, a partial invoice in the amount of the approved funding amount must be submitted.
All the information and forms to receive the publication grant are provided here.
What happens to my publication grant if my dissertation is not published by the publisher indicated in my application?
The grant applies only to a publication carried out by the publisher indicated in your application. If your publisher changes at any time, please contact the Graduate Academy immediately (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de).
What happens to my publication grant if I do not publish my dissertation or do not follow through with the proofreading within the one year period after receiving the grant?
If you do not publish your dissertation or do not follow through with the proofreading within one year after receiving the grant, you must apply for an extension of the grant. You may receive only one extension. If the publication of your dissertation or the proofreading is delayed, please contact the Graduate Academy immediately (ga-docs@uni-heidelberg). If the dissertation is ultimately not published or the proofreading not completed within the deadline of the final extension, the grant will expire and you will not be entitled to replacement or compensation.
What happens to my proofreading grant if I do not have the proofreading done?
The proofreading grant is not transferable to another person or a different publication. Therefore, if you do not follow through with the proofreading, you will automatically forfeit your award.
Application Procedure and Forms
The application deadlines are February 15, June 15 and October 15 of every year. Please complete the following three steps to apply for a publication grant within the heiDOCS funding program of the Graduate Academy:
1. Fill out and submit the ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM
a) ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM PUBLISHING COSTS
b) ONLINE REGISTRATION FORM PROOFREADING GRANT
2. Submit the APPLICATION FORM (PDF) and accompanying documents to the Graduate Academy: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
a) APPLICATION FORM PUBLISHING COSTS
b) APPLICATION FORM PROOFREADING GRANT
To be submitted:
- Application form (PDF).
- A copy of the letter of admission as a doctoral candidate to your faculty (Annahme als Doktorand:in) or your enrollment certificate (with the intended degree "Promotion m. Abschlusspfrg.") to Heidelberg University.
- A copy of the university degree that qualifies you for your doctoral training (i.e. master's degree). This document must indicate your final grade.
- Please submit proof of the expected costs (price quote or contract with the publisher / price quotes from 2 providers of proofreading services)
- If applicable, please submit a copy of the approval letter for external funding
Please attach your documents separately to the email; it is not necessary to combine them into one PDF.
3. Ask your supervisor to submit the EVALUATION FORM (PDF)
Your supervisor must submit the evaluation form directly to the Graduate Academy via email by the same deadline that applies to your application: ga-docs@uni-heidelberg.de
If it is not possible for your first supervisor to fill out the evaluation form for you (e.g. due to illness, parental leave etc.), you can ask another professor in your subject area who is familiar with your project to evaluate your application and complete the form for you.
Please note: The evaluation is to be treated confidentially by your supervisor.
Payment Procedure and Forms
The publication grant can either be paid out to you in the form of a reimbursement of the expenses you have already covered or it can be paid out from the Graduate Academy directly to the external service provider.
Please submit the relevant original documents listed below either in person or by postal mail to the Graduate Academy:
Graduate Academy Heidelberg University
heiDOCS program
Im Neuenheimer Feld 370
69120 Heidelberg
i. You would like to receive the publication grant in the form of a reimbursement of the expenses you have already covered
Please submit the following documents to the Graduate Academy:
- Form Application for the reimbursement of publication expenses
- Invoice of the service provider (if you have not submitted this proof to the Graduate Academy already during the application process)
- Proofs of payment such as bank account statements or PayPal transfers if the receipts do not show that payment was received or if the expenses are in a currency other than Euro
- If applicable: Proof of the publication of your doctoral thesis (e.g. link to the website of the publishing company)
- If applicable: Proof of external funding for the publishing or proofreading costs
ii. The financial processing of your publication grant takes place between the Graduate Academy and the external service provider (only for domestic invoices)
Please submit the following documents to the Graduate Academy:
- Invoice of the service provider (if you have not submitted this proof to the Graduate Academy already during the application process)
- If applicable: Proof of the publication of your doctoral thesis (e.g. link to the website of the publishing company)
- If applicable: Proof of external funding for the publishing or proofreading costs
Please note:
- The publication grant can only be transferred to the external service provider within the country. For invoices from abroad, the funding can only be paid out in the form of a reimbursement paid out to you afterwards.
- If the due date of the invoice falls in the 8-week assessment period, you will have to pay the invoice yourself and, if the grant is approved, you can only receive the grant in the form of a reimbursement paid out to you afterwards.
- If the invoice amount exceeds the approved funding amount, a partial invoice in the amount of the approved funding amount must be submitted.
