Applying for a NIAS Fellowship

The application form asks for information on five subjects, namely the type of fellowship, personal details, work and career, practical information about the fellowship, and the project proposal. It is advisable to have all information and documents to hand before starting. Documents can be uploaded in PDF, DOC or DOCX format.

The sample forms below give an impression of the questions. Some details may differ in this year’s form.

• Sample form NIAS Individual Fellowships
• Sample form NIAS Theme Group Fellowships

A description of the research project of no more than 1,500 words, including footnotes and excluding references and abstract.

The proposal includes

• Title of the research project
• Research topic and research question
• Relation of the project to the existing literature
• Relevance of the project, which may be academic but also societal, cultural or artistic
• Methodological and theoretical contribution
• Time schedule
• Intended results

Proposals that are not embedded in the existing literature and do not include a short list of references are not eligible.

An updated CV of no more than three pages, including the narrative section and the list of publications. The CV opens with a narrative section of no more than 300 words that addresses two questions.

• How does the proposed project relate to your academic trajectory so far?
• Why is this fellowship timely in your current academic context?

It then lists up to ten key publications, preferably recent and in refereed journals or books, and mentions any international collaborations the applicant is involved in.

The names of three international experts in the applicant’s field who could review the proposal. They should have no conflict of interest with the applicant, which excludes, for example, colleagues from the same department, co-authors, personal friends, former supervisors and anyone directly involved in the proposed project.

The application form also asks two questions about the applicant’s place in the NIAS community.

What would be the added value of the interdisciplinary NIAS environment for you?
How will you contribute to the NIAS community during your stay?

The answers are assessed in the second stage of the selection procedure, in which a NIAS staff committee proposes up to 150 applicants for peer review. They carry real weight in the selection and deserve the same care as the project proposal.

After submission, an automatic acknowledgement of receipt is sent to the work email address given in the form. If it does not arrive, applicants are advised to check their spam folder or contact selection@nias.knaw.nl.

Only complete applications that meet the formal requirements are considered. Applicants whose application is incomplete or does not meet the requirements are notified by email by 1 May.

All information is treated confidentially. NIAS-KNAW complies with EU privacy law and stores applicants’ data securely, with restricted access. Information from the application form is used solely for the selection procedure, by the NIAS staff committee, the Fellowship Advisory Committee, external referees, the Director and the administrative office.

Information from successful applications is retained permanently for administrative and historical purposes. Information from unsuccessful applications is kept for ten years, so that eligibility for future applications can be verified.