NIAS Fellowship

Each year, NIAS awards around 30 fellows with an individual NIAS Fellowship. The Fellowship call (for the academic year 2027-2028) is open from 15 January 2026 until 16 March 2026, 12.00 noon CET.

More information on:

• What NIAS offers
• Commitment, rules & regulations and practical matters
• Applying for a fellowship: formal requirements and selection procedure

NIAS Individual Fellowships are awarded to scholars from both the Netherlands and abroad. Applicants should have at least three years of academic experience since obtaining their PhD, and their project proposal should be related to the fields of Humanities and Social Sciences.

These fellowships are also open to scholars who do not hold a permanent position at a university or research institute. The working language at NIAS is English, and applicants are expected to have a strong command of the language in order to contribute fully to the fellows’ group and to benefit from feedback on their own research.

NIAS seeks to assemble a balanced cohort each year, reflecting a diversity of academic cultures, gender, career stages, and disciplines.

For a complete list of the formal requirements please see here.

As of March 2022, as part of the EU sanctions in response to the Ukraine crisis, NIAS does not accept applicants (whatever their nationality) affiliated to a Russian or Belarusian university or research institute. Applicants with a Russian or Belarusian nationality who are affiliated to a research institution not part of Russia or Belarus, may apply. NIAS’ sanctions are foremost targeted towards institutions, not people.

NIAS Fellowships for Dutch residents 

NIAS reserves part of its positions at the institute for scholars, artists, journalists and authors from the Netherlands. Unlike most other Institutes for Advanced Study in Europe, who focus primarily on selecting fellows from abroad, NIAS believes that a mix of national and international fellows is valuable for many reasons. For example, it allows international fellows to become more easily embedded in Dutch academic and artistic networks, and in reverse, Dutch fellows can broaden their international network without having to move abroad for a longer period of time.

For Dutch scholars considering a NIAS Fellowship, it is important to recognise that a residency at the Institute constitutes a full-time commitment, similar to a residency abroad. The core of a fellowship at an Institute for Advanced Study is the ability to withdraw as fully as possible from other work-related obligations. Consequently, fellows—both Dutch and international—are expected to be present at the Institute four days a week.

Experience shows that scholars affiliated with Dutch universities may find it challenging to free themselves from day-to-day responsibilities for periods of five or ten months. Therefore, Dutch applicants are strongly advised to discuss the terms and requirements of a NIAS fellowship with their university before applying.

The call for Individual Fellowships is a project-based, open call. Fellowships are awarded primarily on the quality of the research proposal, with the applicant’s CV and publication record considered of secondary importance. In this way, NIAS aims to encourage original research and a wide range of perspectives.

Apply as early as possible for the NIAS open call
In the NIAS Open Call, a maximum of 216 eligible applications will be assessed. In line with NIAS’ commitment to achieving an equal number of fellows from the Netherlands, the Global South, and the Global North, no more than 72 applications will be admitted in each of the following categories:

• Dutch-affiliated or -based applicants;

• Applicants affiliated with or based in other EU countries, or in Andorra, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Monaco, Norway, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Vatican City, Switzerland, the UK, the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand;

• Applicants affiliated with or based in all countries not listed above.

NIAS will announce when the limit for any of these sub-caps has been reached. If the maximum of 72 eligible applications is not reached in one category, the remaining capacity will be distributed equally among the other categories.

The numerus clausus does not apply to applications for the Theme Groups.

How to Apply
Complete the online application form with your personal details, career information, and practical matters. Upload a full proposal (max. 1,500 words) describing your chosen topic, its academic and societal relevance, and the benefits of the interdisciplinary environment at NIAS. Also include a CV and a publication list. Please do not use AI to write these texts for you.

We ask you to also provide the names and contact details of three international experts in your field who could be approached as reviewers and who do not have a conflict of interest by reviewing your work.

For full details on what an application consists of, see here.

Call for individual proposals for the academic year 2027 2028:

• Call opens: 15 January 2026
• Call closes: 16 March 2026, 12.00h noon CET
• If the application does not meet the formal requirements the application will be rejected and the applicant will be informed by email before 15 May 2026.
• The Director of NIAS informs all eligible candidates in writing of his decision no later than 15 December 2026

For a complete overview of all steps in the selection procedure, see here.

• What NIAS offers
• Commitment, rules & regulations and practical matters
• Formal requirements, selection procedure and how to apply

To the application form