Spend 8 Months in the Maghreb on a Paid Humanities and Social Science Fellowship: MECAM Residential Fellowships 2026-2027

If your research keeps circling back to big questions—who gets to imagine the future, who gets left out of it, and how inequality quietly scripts everyday life—then the Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM) Fellowship 2026–2027 deserves a serious spot on your calendar.

This is not a “nice line on the CV” fellowship. It’s the kind that changes your work because it changes your week-to-week intellectual diet: new colleagues, new arguments, new archives and field sites, and the productive discomfort of explaining your ideas to people who don’t share your subfield’s favorite jargon.

MECAM is offering eight residential fellowships running from September 2026 to April 2027 for postdoctoral and advanced researchers in the humanities and social sciences. The umbrella theme is “Imagining Futures: Dealing with Disparity.” In plain terms: how societies argue about tomorrow when today is uneven—economically, politically, environmentally, culturally, spiritually.

And yes, you can apply from anywhere. Researchers from all countries (including Tunisia) are eligible, and independent scholars without an institutional affiliation can apply too. That last point is rare, generous, and worth underlining twice.

This is a tough fellowship to get—eight slots doesn’t leave much room for “pretty good.” But it’s absolutely worth the effort if your project has a real connection to the Maghreb and you’re hungry for sustained, high-level conversation rather than yet another lonely writing semester.

MECAM Fellowship 2026-2027 At a Glance

What This Fellowship Actually Offers (Beyond the Headline)

Let’s start with the practical: MECAM covers a monthly stipend and travel/relocation costs under a “no gain/no loss” principle. That phrase can sound like bureaucratic soup, but the idea is simple: they aim to cover the real costs of you being there without turning the fellowship into a financial windfall or a pay cut. In other words, it’s meant to make the residency feasible—especially for scholars who can’t afford to self-fund “prestige opportunities.”

Now the more important part: time and company. A residential fellowship is academic catnip because it forces you out of survival mode (teaching loads, admin, endless email) and back into thinking mode. But MECAM isn’t selling solitude. It’s selling structured proximity to people wrestling with related questions from different angles—historical, sociological, philosophical, anthropological, literary, political.

The research agenda is organized through five Interdisciplinary Research Fields (IRFs):

• Aesthetics & Cultural Practice (think art worlds, performance, media, creative labor, cultural policy—plus the politics hiding inside beauty)
• Inequality & Mobility (migration, borders, class, labor, urban-rural divides, education, informal economies)
• Memory & Justice (archives, transitional justice, postcolonial memory, violence, commemoration, legal pluralism)
• Resources & Sustainability (water, land, energy, climate stress, extractivism, environmental governance)
• Identities & Beliefs (religion, secularism, ethnicity, language politics, everyday moral life)

Your proposal needs to connect to the main theme and at least one IRF. But here’s the secret: the best proposals don’t “fit” an IRF like a checkbox. They argue why that IRF is the right intellectual home for the project—and what your project adds to the conversation already happening there.

The Theme Explained Like a Human Being: Imagining Futures, Dealing with Disparity

“Imagining futures” isn’t sci-fi. It’s about the stories, plans, fears, and forecasts that shape policy and daily life—especially in places where disparity isn’t a side issue, it’s the operating system.

“Dealing with disparity” doesn’t only mean income gaps. It includes disparities in mobility (who can cross borders), in voice (who gets heard), in safety (who is exposed to risk), in resources (water, housing, land), and in recognition (whose identity is treated as legitimate).

If you’re working on, say, youth political imaginaries in Tunisia, diasporic belonging across the Mediterranean, climate adaptation and water governance, heritage politics and memory conflicts, or religious authority in changing public spheres, you’re already in the neighborhood. MECAM is essentially asking: What future is being proposed, by whom, for whom—and at what cost?

Who Should Apply (And Who Should Probably Not)

MECAM is for postdocs and advanced researchers in the humanities and social sciences. The “advanced” wording matters: it’s not restricted to people with a specific title, but your application should read like someone who has already done serious research and can contribute as a peer in a room full of heavy thinkers.

You should apply if your project has a real, specific connection to the Maghreb—not the vague “my work is relevant globally” kind. “Connection” can mean fieldwork, archives, cultural production, political institutions, transregional networks, diasporas, or comparative work where the Maghreb isn’t a cameo appearance.

A few examples of strong fits (not official examples—just realistic ones):

• A sociologist studying precarious labor and migration routes linking Tunis, Sfax, Marseille, and beyond, tying mobility to inequality narratives about “the good life.”
• A historian working on postcolonial memory disputes and how they shape contemporary justice claims, public monuments, and school curricula.
• A literary scholar analyzing futurity in Maghrebi speculative fiction or cinema, connecting aesthetics to political economy.
• An anthropologist examining religious ethics and economic aspiration amid inflation, unemployment, and social change.
• A political ecologist researching water allocation and climate governance and how communities narrate scarcity and entitlement.

You should probably not apply if your proposal only gestures at disparity as a buzzword, or if the Maghreb link is thin enough that you’re basically asking MECAM to fund your pivot. Also, current PhD candidates are not eligible. If you’re finishing soon, check whether you can realistically hold postdoc status by the fellowship period—but don’t assume; verify and be clear.

One more important point: independent scholars are welcome. If you’re between institutions, working in policy or cultural sectors, or simply refusing the academic conveyor belt, MECAM is explicitly saying you still belong in this conversation.

What Makes MECAM Different from a Typical Fellowship

Many fellowships quietly reward lone-wolf productivity: “Go away, write your book, return with pages.” MECAM is more like a well-designed research kitchen: you bring your ingredients, but you’re expected to cook in front of others, taste their dishes, argue about seasoning, and leave with a better palate.

Their eligibility language emphasizes people who want to revisit their research from a different vantage point, engage in debate and exchange, and join a transregional, intergenerational network spanning the Maghreb, the Middle East, Europe, and beyond. That’s not filler. It’s a signal about the kind of fellow who thrives there: intellectually generous, flexible, and willing to be changed by conversation.

Insider Tips for a Winning MECAM Application (The Stuff That Actually Moves the Needle)

Most fellowship rejections are not about bad ideas. They’re about unclear stakes and weak alignment. Here’s how to avoid being the brilliant applicant who leaves reviewers unconvinced.

1) Treat “Maghreb connection” as a backbone, not a footnote

In your required explanation (1–2 pages), don’t merely state your project is “relevant” to the Maghreb. Show where the Maghreb sits in the project’s logic. Is it your primary site? A comparative anchor? A node in a network (diaspora, trade, media circulation)? If your project spans regions, explain why the Maghreb is analytically necessary, not just convenient.

2) Make the theme do work for you

“Imagining Futures: Dealing with Disparity” can sound abstract until you pin it down. Identify the specific “future” your actors are imagining: economic stability, religious renewal, migration, environmental survival, democratic participation, cultural renaissance, security, dignity. Then show how disparity shapes who gets to imagine, who gets to act, and who absorbs the costs.

3) Choose one IRF and go deep (you can nod to others)

A common mistake is trying to be everything: “My project relates to all five IRFs.” That reads like you didn’t make a decision. Pick the best-fitting IRF, build your core argument there, and then briefly mention secondary connections if they genuinely strengthen the case.

4) Write a 1000-word abstract that behaves like a miniature article

A short proposal is a stress test. In 1000 words, reviewers want to see: your question, why it matters, what you’ll study, how you’ll study it, and what you expect to learn. Use concrete nouns. Name your sources: interviews, archival collections, newspapers, court records, artworks, policy documents, ethnography, digital traces—whatever applies. Vagueness is the enemy.

5) Your writing sample should match the promise of your proposal

Choose a sample that demonstrates the mind you’re advertising: clarity, rigor, and style. If your project is theoretical, send theory that sings. If it’s ethnographic, send writing that proves you can handle lived complexity without flattening people into examples.

6) Be specific about how you’ll “engage with MECAM”

They ask for a clear statement of how you intend to engage during the fellowship. Don’t write “I look forward to exchanging ideas.” Name the exchange. Will you workshop a chapter? Build a comparative framework with another fellow? Run a reading group around mobility narratives? Present field materials for feedback? The more your plan sounds like an actual calendar, the more believable it is.

7) Make career significance sound honest, not desperate

Yes, this fellowship helps careers. But don’t write like you’re pleading. Write like a professional stating a plan: this residency allows you to complete X, refine Y, and position the project for Z (a book proposal, article submissions, a second fieldwork phase, a public-facing output). Reviewers can smell melodrama. Give them strategy.

Application Timeline: A Realistic Plan Backward from March 2, 2026

If you start in late February, you’ll submit something that looks like it was written in late February. Give yourself room to think.

8–10 weeks before the deadline (early January 2026): Decide your project’s angle relative to the theme and pick your primary IRF. Draft a rough 1000-word abstract and a separate outline for the 1–2 page “alignment and engagement” explanation. Identify your best writing sample and confirm it’s publication-ready (or at least clean and coherent).

6–7 weeks out: Request feedback from two readers: one in your subfield and one outside it. The outside reader is key because MECAM is interdisciplinary. If a smart colleague can’t tell what your project is after one page, reviewers won’t either.

4–5 weeks out: Revise for clarity and specificity. Update your CV to a crisp 2–3 pages (not a life story). Confirm referee names and contact details, and politely ask their permission so nobody is surprised if contacted.

2–3 weeks out: Proofread like your reputation depends on it (it does). Ensure your documents match required lengths and file formats. Prepare a short internal checklist: abstract (≤1000 words), alignment statement (1–2 pages), CV (2–3 pages), writing sample, referee details.

Final week: Submit early—ideally 48–72 hours before the deadline—to avoid portal drama and time-zone miscalculations. “12:30 CEST” is not a suggestion.

Required Materials (And How to Make Each One Pull Its Weight)

You’ll upload three core documents and provide additional written responses in the application system. Here’s what to prepare:

• CV (2–3 pages) including publications. Keep it sharp and relevant. Highlight work tied to the Maghreb, disparity, or your chosen IRF. If you have public scholarship, policy work, exhibitions, or media contributions that fit, include them—MECAM clearly values cross-context dialogue.

• Research proposal abstract (max 1000 words). Treat it as your “pitch plus method.” Include your research question, main claim or hypothesis (even in qualitative work, you have a guiding argument), materials, approach, and expected contribution.

• One recent writing sample. Choose a piece that showcases your best thinking and cleanest writing: an article, a book chapter, or a thesis chapter. Recent matters because it reflects who you are now, not who you were five years and three intellectual crises ago.

In the application process, you’ll also write:

• A 1–2 page explanation connecting your project to the Maghreb, the theme, and at least one IRF, plus how you’ll engage with MECAM, why it matters for your career development, and what goals you’ll achieve during the residency.

• Names and contact details of two referees. No letters are required at the application stage, which is a gift to everyone involved. Still, choose referees who can speak to your work’s substance, not just your job title.

What Makes an Application Stand Out (Read This Like a Reviewer Would)

Reviewers for fellowships like this usually scan for a few non-negotiables.

First, fit: your project should naturally live inside the theme and an IRF without rhetorical gymnastics. Second, intellectual payoff: you’re not just describing a topic; you’re posing a problem that matters and showing how your work will change how we understand it.

Third, feasibility: September to April is generous, but it’s not infinite. The strongest applications name what will be completed during the residency—an article draft, a chapter, a set of interviews, an archive tranche analyzed, a conceptual framework finalized.

Finally, collegial energy: MECAM is explicitly about debate and exchange. Applications that sound like “I will hide and write” may be less attractive than those that show you’ll contribute to collective life while still producing serious work.

Common Mistakes to Avoid (So You Do Not Self-Sabotage)

Mistake 1: Treating “disparity” as a decorative word.
Fix: Define the disparity you’re addressing—economic, legal, environmental, gendered, spatial, religious, linguistic—and show how it shapes future-oriented politics or culture.

Mistake 2: Writing an abstract that reads like a trailer, not a plan.
Fix: Replace vague verbs (“explore,” “examine”) with specifics: what sources, which sites, what time period, what method, what outputs.

Mistake 3: Over-claiming interdisciplinarity.
Fix: You don’t need to be five disciplines in a trench coat. You need to be one excellent scholar who can talk across fields. Show openness and conversational range without pretending you’re simultaneously an economist, historian, and hydrologist.

Mistake 4: Sending a mismatched writing sample.
Fix: If your project promises grounded fieldwork and your sample is abstract theory with no empirical anchor, reviewers may worry you can’t execute. Align the sample with the project’s tone and method.

Mistake 5: Ignoring the “engagement” prompt.
Fix: Describe concrete ways you’ll participate: presenting work-in-progress, co-organizing a session, joining a reading group, collaborating with fellows in your IRF. Make it sound real.

Mistake 6: Waiting too long to confirm referee details.
Fix: Ask permission early, confirm emails, and give referees a one-paragraph summary of what you’re submitting so they can respond intelligently if contacted.

Frequently Asked Questions About the MECAM Fellowship 2026-2027

Can I apply if I am not based in Tunisia or the Maghreb?

Yes. The call is open to researchers from all countries, including Tunisia. The key requirement is that your project has a meaningful connection to the Maghreb and aligns with the theme and an IRF.

Do I need an institutional affiliation to apply?

No. Independent scholars and researchers without a current affiliation are eligible. That’s a major plus if you’re between positions, working outside academia, or affiliated informally.

Are PhD candidates eligible if they are close to finishing?

No. The call specifies that current doctoral candidates are not eligible. If your status will change before the fellowship period, read the official guidance carefully and be explicit about your timeline—don’t rely on wishful interpretation.

What language should I apply in?

MECAM requests applications in English or French, submitted through the Forum Transregionale Studien online platform.

Do I need to submit recommendation letters?

Not at the application stage. You provide names and contact details of two referees, but no letters are required with your submission.

How much is the stipend?

The call describes funding under a no gain/no loss principle and does not state a single universal amount in the text provided. Expect the stipend and reimbursements to be calibrated to your circumstances and program rules. For exact figures and conditions, consult the official call page.

What if my project connects to multiple IRFs?

That can be a strength—if you present it cleanly. Anchor your application in one primary IRF and explain secondary links briefly. Reviewers want coherence more than ambition.

What should I aim to accomplish during the residency?

Think in deliverables: a draft article, a book chapter, an archive-based section, a conceptual framework, or a set of polished materials for the next stage (book proposal, journal submission plan). The residency is long enough to produce something substantial—so promise something substantial, and make it believable.

How to Apply (And What to Do This Week)

Treat this like a professional project, not a hopeful click. Your first job is to draft two short texts: (1) a tight 1000-word abstract that explains your research question, approach, and contribution, and (2) the 1–2 page alignment statement that proves your project belongs at MECAM and explains how you’ll participate in the fellowship community.

Then choose your writing sample strategically, refresh your CV to a crisp 2–3 pages, and contact two referees to confirm they’re willing to be listed (and that their contact details are correct). Finally, plan to submit a few days early—March 2, 2026 at 12:30 CEST is an easy deadline to miss if you’re in a different time zone or if the portal decides to be temperamental.

Apply Now and Read the Full Official Call

Ready to apply? Visit the official opportunity page and submit through the Forum Transregionale Studien platform:
https://www.forum-transregionale-studien.de/news/nachrichten/details/mecam-call-for-application-individual-fellowships-2026-2027