RAVE Scholarship on the Management of Cultural Heritage

Benefits & funding

• A monthly lump-sum net payment of EUR 1,500 for the three to six months of the stay.
• Family allowance of EUR 250 for an accompanying spouse and EUR 250 for each accompanying child.
• Return travel between the home country and Germany. Flights are reimbursed in economy class and rail travel in second class; private car travel is paid at EUR 0.20 per kilometre up to EUR 130 per single journey. ifa advances 80 per cent of the estimated cost and settles the rest against receipts and boarding passes. Taxis and excess baggage are not covered.
• Visa costs.
• Health insurance, including for accompanying family members.
• A monthly public transport pass for the place of residence in Germany.
• Up to EUR 500 towards a language course.
• An optional reciprocal stay of two to twelve weeks, in which a member of the German host institution’s staff visits the scholarship holder’s country.
• Accommodation is not listed as a separate benefit. The monthly payment is the living allowance and covers rent.

Eligibility

• Permanent place of residence in a country on the OECD DAC List of ODA Recipients, or in Germany. ifa states that applications from people whose permanent residence is in neither will not be considered.
• Applicants temporarily living abroad may still apply, provided their permanent residence meets the rule and any other residency programme ends before this scholarship starts.
• Work as a curator, restorer, mediator or culture manager, dealing with cultural heritage, collections or archive records. Freelancers and members of self-organised groups or collectives are eligible alongside people employed by institutions.
• Completed higher education or completed vocational training. People currently enrolled as students are not eligible.
• A good command of spoken and written English. German or the host country’s language is an advantage and is not required.
• A named German host institution: non-commercial and verifiably non-profit, publicly or municipally run, with a physical site, a collection or archive, and a specialist contact person for the scholarship holder. ifa itself cannot act as host.
• A concept note for the project, drawn up jointly with that host institution.
• No age limit and no minimum length of professional experience are published. The CV must evidence the last two stages relevant to the scholarship.
• Applicants may not hold another scholarship or take part in another residency programme during the award period.
• ifa states that applications from Black people, people of colour, women, LGBTQIA+ people, people with disabilities and other historically marginalised groups are expressly welcome. This is an encouragement rather than a condition.

Application process

1. 1
   Check that the permanent place of residence is on the OECD DAC list, which ifa links from the programme page.
2. 2
   Find a German host institution that meets ifa’s conditions. ifa publishes a list of institutions as a starting point, and applicants may approach others.
3. 3
   Agree the project with the host and write the concept note together on ifa’s template. It runs to one or two pages and is signed by both sides.
4. 4
   Collect the remaining documents: a letter of invitation from the host, proof of the host’s non-profit status, a reference from the applicant’s own institution, the relevant CV stages with evidence for the last two, and personal and visa details.
5. 5
   Submit everything through ifa’s online form during the application period. The form is only switched on while a call is open. Applications sent by e-mail, incomplete applications and late applications are not considered.
6. 6
   Wait for the decision, which ifa sends by e-mail, generally by the end of September.
7. 7
   Begin the stay no earlier than 1 February of the following year and finish it no later than 31 December of that year.

Program timeline

1. 1 April 2026

   Call for applications opens for the 2027 round

2. 30 June 2026

   Application deadline for the 2027 round

3. Applicants notified of the decision by e-mail

   End of September 2026

4. 1 February 2027

   Earliest date a scholarship stay may start

5. 31 December 2027

   Latest date a scholarship stay may end

6. Next application period opens

   1 April 2027