Golestan Fellowship

Golestan Fellowships are awarded to scholars conducting research in the medical or biological sciences that interfaces with the humanities and social sciences. The fellowship is specifically aimed at researchers who have already made a significant contribution to their field.

During the fellowship, Golestan Fellows are able to pursue their own research and study their chosen topic in depth, within the stimulating international and multidisciplinary scholarly community at NIAS. Fellows benefit from daily interaction with a wide range of scholars and receive valuable feedback on their research.

The fellowship is open to researchers from the Netherlands or abroad with more than three years of post-PhD academic experience, whose work has a clear link to the medical or biological sciences. In accordance with the wishes of the late Prof. Dr med. Kenower Weimar Bash, the Golestan Foundation gives priority to non-Dutch scholars.

The working language at NIAS is English. Applicants must therefore have a good command of English in order to contribute effectively to the fellows’ community and receive input on their own research.

• The Golestan Foundation offers one five-month or one ten-month fellowship per academic year at NIAS.

• Fellows are provided with an office at NIAS, access to research facilities, and subsidised accommodation (where eligible).

• Fellows receive a personal stipend or—if affiliated with a Dutch university or research institute—a Dutch University Grant, awarded to their institution.

• A residency at NIAS constitutes a full-time commitment. Fellows are expected to be present at the Institute four working days per week for the duration of their semester.

Applications must be submitted via the online application form. The call for the 2027–2028 academic year is open from 15 January to 16 March 2026.

An application consists of:

• A completed online application form

• A full project proposal (max. 1,500 words including footnotes; references and abstract excluded)

• An up-to-date CV

Suitable candidates may also be nominated for a Golestan Fellowship by the NIAS Directorate through the regular NIAS Fellowship application process.

Golestan Fellows are selected by the Board of the Golestan Foundation, in consultation with the NIAS Director.

Prof. Med. Kenower Weimar Bash was a Swiss psychiatrist who worked extensively in Iran. He was a NIAS Fellow in 1973–1974 and found the experience so fruitful that he wished other researchers—preferably from abroad—to benefit in the same way. Upon his death in 1986, Professor Bash bequeathed his estate to the NIAS Fellows’ Association (NFA). The Golestan Foundation was established to manage this estate. Professor Bash intended both to create a fellowship and to establish a Persian garden (“Golestan”, meaning “rose garden” in Persian) on the NIAS grounds in memory of his wife.

The Board of the Golestan Foundation consists of:

• Chair: Dr Luc Coffeng

• Treasurer: Mr Joe Bauman

• Secretary: Dr Franjo Weissing

Board members of the Golestan Foundation receive no payment for their work.

To the applicationform