SYLFF Fellowship of the Tokyo Foundation
Through the latter, the Tokyo Foundation’s SYLFF (Ryoichi Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund) supports excellent students from selected universities worldwide. To students of the mdw, the foundation offers a total of three fellowships per year worth USD 16,666 each. These fellowships serve to cover living expenses in order to give students a chance to focus entirely on making progress in their studies.
Open to degree students in the following disciplines
- Performing Arts
- Film and Television
- Conducting
- Composition and Music Theory
- PhD
- Artistic doctorate (Dr. Artium programme)
Eligibility Criteria
- Active enrolment in a degree programme at the mdw – University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna during the entire relevant academic year (academic leaves of absence may not be taken during this period).
- Enrolment in a master’s degree or diploma programme in one’s 2nd phase of study, enrolment as a PhD student in the research phase or in an artistic doctorate programme (Dr. Artium) in the focus phase
- Outstanding qualifications/excellence in one’s discipline
Required materials
- Curriculum vitae (in English), 2 pages max., pdf
- Letter of motivation (in English), 2 pages max., pdf
- Letter of recommendation by one’s main artistic subject instructor (written explicitly for this application; addressing one’s outstanding qualifications in the relevant discipline and not one’s proposed project concept)
- Endorsement of one’s application by the corresponding department head(s) and a colleague from the same discipline with their respective signatures on the letter of recommendation
- 1-page project concept* pertaining to a current societally relevant theme (content, target audience, budget [EUR 3,000 max.]; this project budget cannot be used to remunerate project-related work by the nominated SYLFF fellow) and directly connected with one’s own artistic and/or research activities
- Application form (German, PDF)
*Preparation of one’s project concept is for the internal mdw selection process.
The projects of nominated SYLFF fellows receive separate funding in the form of an internal mdw project grant in the maximum amount of EUR 3,000 (since fellows are not permitted to use their SYLFF Fellowship monies to finance these projects).
Selection and awarding:
The submitted materials will be examined and evaluated by an expert jury. Final decisions on nominations are made by the mdw’s SYLFF Steering Committee.
Outstanding prior recipients may apply a second time.
Application deadline for the academic year 2024/25: 4 November 2024 (11:59 p.m.)
Please e-mail the specified materials to karner-m@mdw.ac.at