Each year, the Wissenschaftskolleg invites about 40 Fellows and a number of Short-term Fellows. Some scientists and scholars are associated with the Wissenschaftskolleg for a longer period of time (Permanent Fellows).
Fellows come for the whole academic year to Berlin, while Short-term Fellows spend up to six months at the Kolleg; in all other ways, they share the status of the Fellows.
A total of 1150 Fellows and Guests from more than 40 countries and from many different disciplines have worked at the Wissenschaftskolleg since its founding in 1981. The Wissenschaftskolleg cultivates ties to its former Fellows, the greater part of whom belong to the "Association of Members and Friends of the Wissenschaftskolleg - Fellow Club".