[2] The purpose of the institute is to offer scholars and scientists the opportunity to concentrate on projects of their own choosing for one academic year, free from administrative duties.

The institute embraces a balance of both distinguished senior scholars and promising younger researchers, drawn from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.

With the help of an international advisory board, invitations to scholars and scientists, are designed to promote exchange across disciplinary boundaries and among researchers from different cultures.

The fellows' only obligations are to reside at the Wissenschaftskolleg, and to meet once a day for a meal and each Tuesday for the weekly colloquium.

[4] Among the alumni/alumnae of the Institute for Advanced Study Berlin are Carolyn Abbate, Svetlana Alpers, Philippe Ariès, Peter Burke, Lorraine Daston, Jon Elster, Ute Frevert, Clifford Geertz, Carlo Ginzburg, Anthony Grafton, Hans Werner Henze, Albert O. Hirschman, Antjie Krog, Stanislaw Lem, Hilary Putnam, Elaine Scarry, Quentin Skinner, Sa'diyya Shaikh, and Niko Kolodny.