Applying for a NIAS fellowship

Please ensure you have all the necessary information and documents readily available.

The application form includes questions on five subjects:

1. Type of fellowship you are applying for
2. Personal information
3. Work and career
4. Fellowship: practical information
5. Project proposal

If you are applying for a NIAS Fellowship, you will need to upload the following documents (in PDF, DOC, or DOCX format):

1. Full project proposal: A project description of no more than 1500 words, including:

• Title of the research project
• Research topic and research question
• Relation of the project to existing literature in the field
• Relevance of the research project (e.g., academic; may also include societal, cultural, or artistic relevance)
• Methodology
• Time schedule
• Intended results

(The 1500-word limit excludes the bibliography.)
Note: Project descriptions that are not embedded in existing literature and do not include a short list of references will not be considered for selection.

2. CV and list of relevant key publications (maximum 4 pages):

• Begin with a narrative section addressing the following items (in no more than 300 words):
  1. How does your proposed project relate to your academic trajectory to date?
  2. Why is this fellowship timely for your current academic context?
• Include a list of key relevant publications, preferably the most recent, in refereed journals or books.
• If applicable, mention any international collaborations you are involved in.

3. Names of three international experts in your field

• Provide the names of three independent experts suitable to review your proposal. Ensure these experts have no conflicts of interest (e.g., they should not be colleagues from the same department, co-authors, personal friends, former supervisors, or scholars directly involved in the current research project proposal).

For your convenience, we have provided a blank application form to give you an idea of the information required.

• Application Form individual fellowships 2026 – 2027
• Application Form theme group fellowships 2026 – 2027

You can save your application and continue at a later moment. After submitting your application, you will receive an automatic acknowledgement of receipt on the work email address you provided. If you do not receive this message, please check your spam folder or contact NIAS.

Only complete applications that meet the formal requirements will be taken into consideration. You will be notified by email if your application does not fulfill these criteria and/or if the submitted documents are either incomplete or do not contain the information as requested.

All information supplied will be treated with utmost confidentiality. NIAS-KNAW follows the EU privacy laws and has made every effort to ensure your data is stored in a secure way with restricted access. The information supplied in the application form will be used for procedures pertaining the fellowship application by the NIAS Scientific Advisory Committee, the NIAS Academic Advisory Board, selected External Referees, the Directorate and the administrative office. If your application is successful, your information will be preserved in perpetuity for administrative and historical purposes. If your application is unsuccessful, your information will be kept for a period of ten years, as this is necessary to be able to check the fellowship eligibility criteria.

Please make sure you have taken note of these financial and practical matters and the NIAS code of conduct, as well as the code of conduct for research integrity.

Contact:do you have questions about the fellowship application form, the procedure and practical matters? contact Anja de Haas Selection Officer +31 (0) 20 224 67 05.

Start your application