Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation Provides New Opportunity for U.S. Students
To mark the 250th anniversary of the United States of America, the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation has launched a new special call for applications called Independence 250. It seeks to award fellowships for incoming students from the United States in order to promote young talent, strengthen international networks, and further deepen the long-term cooperation between Austrian and American academic institutions. Independence 250 offers space for new ideas, joint projects, and sustainable partnerships as a commitment to transatlantic cooperation. The application window is now open until September 30, 2026; the earliest start of study at the host university in Austria is January 4, 2027.
For more details and how to apply for these fellowships, please click here.
About the Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation: A Legacy of Transatlantic Knowledge Transfer
While the historical European Recovery Program (ERP)—commonly known as the Marshall Plan—is primarily remembered as a monumental 20th-century geopolitical initiative for post-war reconstruction, its contemporary influence in Austria has transitioned from physical infrastructure to intellectual capital. The Austrian Marshall Plan Foundation (Österreichische Marshallplan-Jubilaeumsstiftung) serves as the institutional successor to this legacy, functioning as a non-profit endowment dedicated to fostering academic excellence and transatlantic scientific cooperation between Austria and the United States.
Established in 2000 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Marshall Plan, the Foundation was capitalized through the Austrian ERP Fund. Unlike the original 1947 initiative, which focused on industrial stabilization and the delivery of essential commodities, the Foundation’s mandate is centered on the "Second Life" of the Marshall Plan: the promotion of bilateral knowledge transfer between the United States and Austria; it operates under the conviction that the most enduring form of international cooperation is the exchange of human expertise and innovative research.
The hallmark of the Foundation’s activities is its robust scholarship program, which facilitates high-level research exchanges for advanced students. These Marshall Plan Scholarships are strategically awarded to students in the "MINT" disciplines (Mathematics, Informatics, Natural Sciences, and Technology) as well as the social sciences. They support research stays at prestigious American and Austrian institutions, providing the financial framework for young scholars to engage in research and cooperation ranging from international laboratory work to archival research. To date, the Foundation has awarded over 1,300 research fellowships.
In addition, the Foundation supports conferences and publications; it maintains a presence at the Austrian Marshall Plan Center for European Studies at the University of New Orleans and also a strong partnership with the Austrian Studies Program at the University of California, Berkeley.