Formal Requirements

1. By the date the call closes, the applicant must have at least three years of academic experience since being awarded a PhD, or equivalent experience as a journalist, writer or artist.
2. The project must fall broadly within the humanities and/or social sciences.
3. The project proposal may not exceed 1,500 words, including footnotes and excluding references and abstract.
4. The proposal must contain at least a research question, a clear description of the project to be carried out at NIAS, and the methodological and theoretical contribution the project aims to make.
5. The proposal must be embedded in the existing literature and include a short list of references.
6. The applicant submits an updated CV of no more than three pages, including a list of up to ten core publications. The CV opens with a narrative section of no more than 300 words, explaining how the project relates to the applicant’s academic trajectory so far and why the fellowship is timely in their current academic context.
7. Applicants may apply only once per call.
8. Applicants may not apply while another of their applications is under review at NIAS.
9. Former NIAS fellows may apply for an Individual Fellowship only if at least ten years lie between the application date of their previous fellowship and the closing date of the current call.
10. NIAS reserves the right to extend invitations for a NIAS Fellowship independently of the regular selection procedures to any candidate or alum, regardless of their selection status or whether they have previously held a NIAS fellowship.
11. Applicants provide the names of three international experts in their field who could be approached as referees. These experts may not have a conflict of interest with the applicant, as described in, but not limited to, the KNAW Code of Conduct on conflicts of interest for awards, memberships and funding.
12. The project proposal may not be generated by AI.
13. The application must be complete and correct, and contain all requested information and documents. Incomplete or incorrect applications are rejected automatically.
14. Applicants must have a good command of English, the working language at NIAS.
15. In line with EU sanctions introduced in March 2022 in response to the war in Ukraine, NIAS cannot accept applications from researchers, of any nationality, who are affiliated with universities or research institutes in Russia or Belarus. Researchers of Russian or Belarusian nationality who are independent or affiliated with an institution outside Russia or Belarus are eligible.

NIAS aims to grant equal freedoms and rights to all researchers. It does not exclude individual researchers on the basis of nationality, ethnicity, religion or affiliation, and is committed to ensuring that everyone in its community feels safe among their peers. Requirement 15 is the only exception, and follows from the EU sanctions by which NIAS is bound.

The regulations for the 2027 Open Call will be published before the call opens. Until then, the regulations for the 2026 call are available here (in PDF).