Awards and Prizes

Illustration Preise und Auszeichnungen
© Uni MS - Robert Matzke

Prizes and awards not only recognise individual achievements, but also advance scientific progress by creating incentives for excellence and serving as inspiration for young talent. Science awards are particularly career-enhancing for early career researchers. They represent early recognition of outstanding research and often kickstart a successful scientific career. Awards put their recipients in the spotlight of their research community and open up a variety of networking opportunities. They also enable future research projects thanks to endowments and grant money.

Take your achievements or those of your colleagues to the next level by nominating yourself or a colleague for an award!

Overview of the award-winning researchers at the University of Münster

New campaign launched: Ausgezeichnet!

Logo of the campagne "Ausgezeichnet!"
© Safir / Goldmarie Design

Do you want to draw attention to your research and open up new career opportunities for yourself? Then consider the possibility of receiving recognition through a science award! A nomination is more than a step toward receiving an award, it’s also recognition of extraordinary academic achievement and a gesture of appreciation. Seize the opportunity to distinguish your own work or the research efforts of your colleagues.

Click here for the campaign website.

Our services and support

Are you interested in nominating yourself or would you like to nominate a colleague for a science award? Then please get in touch with us. We at the SAFIR research funding support office would be happy to assist you with your award nomination. We offer the following services:

  • offering individual advice - from doctoral candidates to established academics - on tailor-made prize competitions and other awards such as academy memberships
  • providing information on current calls for applications for science prizes and awards
  • offering support obtaining the necessary documents for your nomination
  • reviewing your nomination documents strategically upon request
  • organising and hosting events on the subject of science prizes and awards. We would be happy to tailor these to your individual needs upon request.
  • networking with academics and administrators at the University of Münster who are responsible for science prizes in the departments and collaborative projects
  • benchmarking and scouting potential nominees for science prizes, whom the Rectorate is authorised to nominate

At the University of Münster, you can use the FIT information service (SSO login with your University user ID) and the ELFI research funding search service to  find suitable calls for proposals.

Current Calls

Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize
The Heinz Maier-Leibnitz Prize is an accolade for early career researchers that recognises outstanding scientific work and encourages them to continue their scientific careers. Since obtaining their doctorate, the recipients should have established a distinctive profile early on and the results of their research should have attracted attention within the subject-specific community, suggesting that excellent performance can be expected of them in the future. Ten prizes are awarded each year, each endowed with 200,000 euros. The prize money can be used for further scientific research for up to three years. The nomination is submitted by the Rectorate. Therefore, please contact us well before the deadline (see below).
Deadline: 14 May 2025

Holberg International Memorial Prize
The Holberg Prize is awarded annually to scholars who have made outstanding contributions to research in the humanities, social sciences, law or theology, either in one of these fields or through interdisciplinary work. The recipient must have had a decisive influence on international research. The prize is worth NOK 6,000,000. The nomination is submitted by the Rectorate. Therefore, please contact us well before the deadline (see below).
Deadline: 15 June 2025

Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose Akademie-Preis für Geisteswissenschaften
The Sibylle Kalkhof-Rose Akademie-Preis is awarded every two years to excellent early career researchers from the entire field of the humanities. Early career researchers can be nominated if they have already made outstanding contributions to research at an early stage of their academic career, have developed an independent academic profile and are now about to complete their habilitation or have an equivalent qualification. The prize is endowed with 5,000 euros.
Deadline: 15 June 2025

Science Prize of the Düsseldorf Industry Club & the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts
The Industrie-Club Düsseldorf awards the Science Prize in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia every two years in cooperation with the North Rhine-Westphalian Academy of Sciences, Humanities and the Arts. The Science Prize aims to bridge the gap between basic research and innovation in application and is awarded alternately in the disciplines of physics, chemistry, medicine and physiology. It is endowed with 20,000 euros.
Deadline: 30 June 2025

Nominations with Rectorate endorsement

If you are interested in a nomination, please contact us at an early stage.

Deadline: 15 Jan. 2027 (tent.)

Deadline: Feb. 2025 (tent.)

Deadline: Jan. 2026 (tent.)

Deadline: 15 Jan. 2026 (tent.)

Deadline: 31 Aug. 2025

Deadline: 14 May 2025

Deadline: 15 Jun. 2025

Deadline: 15 Mar. 2026

Deadline: 1 Sep. 2025

Scientific Awards of the University Münster

Awarding of the 2024 rectorate prizes
© Uni MS - Christoph Steinweg

The University of Münster recognizes outstanding achievements of its academics and students in research, teaching and studies with highly endowed prizes. Nominations for these prizes are accepted at regular intervals.

Information on the University of Münster's Rectorate Prizes can be found here.