Through its funding initiative "Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities at Universities and Research Institutes in Germany and the USA,” the Volkswagen Foundation aims to strengthen transatlantic academic relations, especially in the field of the Humanities. In this funding initiative, the Volkswagen Foundation works closely with the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, New York.

Fellowships are offered both to researchers based in the U.S. to work in Germany and to researchers based in Germany to work in the U.S. and Canada. The fellowships are usually granted for a period of 9 up to 12 months, although in exceptional cases a funding period of 18 months is also possible.