Fellowship
What NIAS offers
NIAS offers an intellectual haven to a diverse year group of international scientists, writers, journalists and artists and provides these NIAS Fellows with the opportunity to devote themselves to an independent research project of their own design. Each year, NIAS hosts around fifty fellows.
An intellectual haven
During the period of their fellowship, these talented individuals can work with a minimum of interruption by external obligations and are free to challenge boundaries, explore detours, deviate from the status quo and to approach intellectual confrontation head on. The core of a fellowship at an Institute for Advanced Study consists of being able to withdraw as much as possible from other work-related obligations. Therefore, being present four days a week at the Institute is required, for Dutch and international fellows alike.
The institute aims for a balanced year group in terms of academic cultures, gender, phase in career, and disciplines. NIAS puts extra effort into attracting talented scientists from Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean and Latin America, and aims for a cohort that is comprised of one third of scholars with affiliations from these continents. Scholars with a Dutch affiliation will make up another third of the cohort, and scholars with a European or North American affiliation make up the remaining third. English is the working language at the institute.
Time, space and a passionate learning community
A fellowship at the NIAS provides fellows with an environment conducive to bringing curiosity-driven work to fruition. The Institute does this by providing the following services and facilities:
- Library service that delivers books (almost) to your door steps
- Hot lunch served 4 days a week with good company and lively discussions
- Weekly academic seminars
- Grant writing group
- Creative writing workshop
- Interdisciplinary reading groups
- Opportunities to organise an expert workshop
- Opportunities to organise public events
- Social and cultural activities
- Financial support in the form of stipends and grants and travel expenses
- An office, shared or private, with telephone and a laptop with reliable internet access and subsidized accommodation
Located in the centre of Amsterdam
In 2016 the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study moved from the dunes in Wassenaar to the historical heart of the Dutch capital city of Amsterdam. The office building is situated in the quiet and peaceful Sint Jorishof. The NIAS Fellows House finds itself in the vicinity of the offices, a three-minute walk.
Amsterdam offers a dynamic scientific environment with two universities, the University of Amsterdam and VU University Amsterdam; unique archives and libraries, such as the “Special Collections” of the University of Amsterdam, the war archives of NIOD, Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies, library of the International Institute for Social History (IISH) and The Black Archives. Furthermore, it houses two of the humanities institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences (KNAW) as well as the Academy itself, located just across the street.
All other Dutch universities, research institutes, laboratories, special collections and archives can be reached easily by public transport within a few hours.
Amsterdam enjoys one of the lowest costs of living of the European capitals, and is famous for its rich cultural and social life with museums, music venues, restaurants and festivals. Moreover, the Dutch capital city offers a highly diverse environment in terms of ethnic backgrounds, lifestyles and religious orientation of its citizens, with 180 different nationalities living together in the city. Amsterdam is internationally oriented with the majority of inhabitants speaking English.
"Freedom, creativity, and the sense that time is no longer the enemy but my friend"
