Area of investment and support

Area of investment and support: UK-German funding initiative in the humanities

AHRC and the German Research Foundation (DFG) support collaborative humanities research between researchers in the UK and Germany. The programme funds international research projects across humanities subject areas where collaboration can help advance knowledge.

Budget:: The average budget for each funding round in this programme is £6 million (matched by equivalent funding from DFG)
Duration:: 2018 to 2035. Funding rounds occur once every two years.
Partners involved:: Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC), DFG

The scope and what we're doing

The programme supports collaborative humanities research involving researchers based in the UK and Germany.

Funding opportunities are open to applications in any humanities research area where there is significant potential to advance knowledge through collaborative research.

Projects must:

bring together UK arts and humanities researchers within AHRC’s remit
involve humanities researchers in Germany
demonstrate the value of cross-national collaboration

Why we invest in this area

Both AHRC and DFG are aware that some of the best research can only be achieved by working with the best researchers internationally.

This investment aims to:

support high-quality humanities research undertaken by UK-German teams
strengthen cooperation between UK and German humanities researchers
support the development of a transnational UK-German research culture

Opportunities, support and resources available

Funding opportunities through the AHRC-DFG initiative are offered once every two years for the next five rounds, with the next (ninth) funding round opening in October 2027. The scope of the initiative will remain the same, and each round is expected to support a similar number of projects as previous rounds.

Both AHRC and DFG are committed to the bilateral partnership as an example of international collaboration in support of each organisation’s mission.

Past projects, outcomes and impact

Funded projects

In total, 127 projects have been jointly funded across seven rounds through over £37 million investment from AHRC and over €53 million investment from DFG since 2018.

Outcomes of previous funding rounds:

Celebrating the 100th funded project

AHRC and DFG celebrated more than 100 funded projects in the DFG and AHRC bilateral funding initiative in a two-day workshop in 2025.

See posters shared by funded researchers during the event.

Who to contact

Ask a question about this area of investment

AHRC International Partnerships and Engagement team

Email: international@ahrc.ukri.org

Include ‘AHRC-DFG Bilateral’ in the subject line.

We aim to respond within three working days.

Last updated: 27 May 2026