Who can apply?

NIAS individual Fellowships are awarded to scholars to carry out advanced research in the humanities and the social sciences. Fellows have have already made a considerable contribution to their field.

In order to be considered eligible for a fellowship by NIAS, the following criteria and rules are applicable:
• At least 3 years of post-Ph.D. degree academic experience
• Applicants must have an affiliation with a university or research institute during the period of the fellowship. The NIAS Fellowship does not constitute an employment relationship: the fellow is and remains an employee of his or her own university or research institute. NIAS is thus not obligated to make social insurance contributions or to contribute to pension or unemployment insurances
• Applicants can only apply for either an individual fellowship or a theme-group fellowship in a single year, not for both
• If applicants were granted with an earlier fellowship at NIAS, they can apply for a new fellowship 10 years after finishing the first fellowship
• A completed online application form with all requested documents uploaded

Selection criteria

Applications are primarily evaluated on the basis of scientific quality, innovative character and originality. Scholarly achievements, grants, awards and publication record are also taken into consideration in the selection process.

In order to establish a diverse and coherent research group, additional elements that are taken into consideration by the NIAS directorate include the spread across disciplinary backgrounds, gender, age and geographical origin. In addition, the availability of facilities such as housing are also taken into consideration.

Selection procedure

All correctly submitted applications are screened for eligibility on the basis of the abovementioned formal criteria. Applications that fit the formal criteria are sent to independent external reviewers. Applicants who do not meet the criteria are notified by email that NIAS does not intend sending their application to external reviewers for evaluation. Applicants can object to this decision by email. On the basis of the arguments given by the applicant, NIAS will decide whether or not to reconsider.

Based on the reviewers’ assessments, in combination with the abovementioned additional selection criteria, it is the director who ultimately decides which applicants will be invited for a NIAS Fellowship.

Please note that NIAS only offers a limited number of NIAS Fellowships each year and that the competition is fierce, which means that less than 10% of all applications is accepted.

For more information, and to apply, click here.