The Human Abilities Centre announces 

1 postdoctoral fellowship in history of philosophy (preferably in medieval or early modern philosophy) and 

1 postdoctoral fellowship in contemporary philosophy 

for the duration of twelve months, starting from 1 October 2026.

The Centre aims to bring together scholars from different fields in philosophy with an interest in human abilities, both systematically and historically. Applicants should pursue a postdoctoral project related to human abilities and with a focus in at least one of the Centre’s main research fields: metaphysics, epistemology, or philosophy of action. 

What we expect: 

Applicants should be interested in discussing their work in an intra- and interdisciplinary setting. In particular, fellows will be expected to participate in the weekly informal meetings (jour fixe), some of the bi-weekly reading groups, the monthly colloquia, and other activities of the Centre (workshops, conferences, reading groups, etc.), and to be resident in Berlin for the duration of the fellowship. Applicants need to have completed their PhD within 5 years prior to the starting date of the fellowship. 

We offer: 

• An inspiring working environment with philosophers working within different fields.  
• A scholarship of 2.500€/month for twelve months, starting from 1 October 2026.
• A shared office in the heart of Berlin on Schönhauser Allee 10-11, 10119 Berlin.

The application should include the following documents (in English): 

• your CV;
• a one-page research proposal within the purview of the project; 
• a writing sample in the form of one philosophical paper (published or unpublished).

 

Please send your application as one single PDF document (document title: [Your surname]_fellowship 2026) by email to the academic coordinator of the Centre, Sanja Dembić, human-abilities@hu-berlin.de.

Deadline for applications: 27 March 2026

Please click here for the pdf version of this job advertisement. 

Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin is seeking to increase the proportion of women in research and teaching, and specifically encourages qualified female scholars to apply. Severely disabled applicants with equivalent qualifications will be given preferential consideration. People with an immigration history are specifically encouraged to apply. Since we will not return your documents, please submit copies in the application only.

Data protection information on the processing of your personal data within the framework of the advertisement and selection procedure can be found on our Website: https://hu.berlin/DSGVO.

Please visit our website www.hu-berlin.de/stellenangebote, which gives you access to the legally binding German version.