NIAS Fellowship

The fellowship is open to scholars from the Netherlands and abroad whose project falls broadly within the humanities and/or social sciences. Applicants should have at least three years of academic experience after obtaining their PhD by the date the call closes.

A permanent position at a university or research institute is not required. The working language at NIAS is English, and fellows are expected to speak and write it well enough to take a full part in the life of the institute and to benefit from the responses of their peers.

A fellowship at NIAS is a full-time commitment. Fellows are expected to be at the institute four days a week from the start to the end of their fellowship, including Thursdays for the weekly seminar. They are also expected to take part in the introduction period in the first two weeks, and to set aside other work as far as possible. As this can be difficult for scholars at Dutch universities, NIAS strongly advises Dutch applicants to discuss the terms of the fellowship with their university before applying. More information is available under What NIAS offers and Commitment, rules and regulations.

Each year NIAS brings together a cohort that is balanced across disciplines, career stages, gender and academic cultures. The full eligibility criteria are set out under formal requirements.

Applicants from the Netherlands

NIAS reserves part of its places for scholars based in the Netherlands. Unlike most institutes for advanced study in Europe, which select their fellows mainly from abroad, NIAS brings national and international fellows together. International fellows find their way into Dutch academic and cultural networks more easily, and Dutch fellows extend their international networks without having to leave the country for a long period.

As a fellowship requires setting aside teaching and other duties, NIAS strongly advises Dutch applicants to discuss the terms of the fellowship with their university before applying.

NIAS assesses a maximum of 216 eligible applications in each Open Call. To bring together equal numbers of fellows from the Netherlands, the Global North and the Global South, applications are divided into three categories of no more than 72 each.

• The first is for applicants affiliated with or based in the Netherlands.
• The second is for applicants affiliated with or based in another EU country or in Andorra, Australia, Canada, the Faroe Islands, Iceland, Israel, Japan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, New Zealand, Norway, San Marino, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, the United States or Vatican City.
• The third is for applicants affiliated with or based anywhere else.

The category is determined by the applicant’s institutional affiliation at the time of application, not by their nationality, place of birth or place of residence. Independent and self-employed researchers without an institutional affiliation indicate the country in which they live.

When a category is full, NIAS announces it on this page and no further applications in that category are accepted. Only confirmed applications count towards these limits. If a category does not reach its limit, the remaining places are divided equally between the other two. NIAS therefore advises applying as early as possible after the call opens.

This limit does not apply to applications for Theme Group Fellowships.

The Open Call for Individual Fellowships is project-based. Fellowships are awarded first and foremost on the quality of the research proposal, with the applicant’s CV and publication record weighing less heavily. In this way NIAS aims to encourage original research and a wide range of perspectives.

Applications are submitted through the online application form. Applicants provide a project proposal, a CV with a list of key publications, and the names of three international experts who could review the proposal. The form also includes two questions on interdisciplinary and community engagement. What each part should contain is explained under Applying for a NIAS Fellowship.

Selection takes most of the year. All eligible applicants hear the outcome no later than 15 December 2027, and the new cohort is announced in august 2028. Each step is described under Selection Procedure.

• What NIAS offers
• Commitment, rules and regulations
• Applying for a NIAS Fellowship
• Formal Requirements
• Selection Procedure