Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences
The Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study in the Humanities and Social Sciences, founded in 1970, is one of the research institutes of the Royal Netherlands Academy of Arts and Sciences. It is the only institute for advanced research in the humanities and social and behavioural sciences in the Netherlands, and it plays a major role in the development of research in these fields in the country.
With the objective to foster advanced research in these intellectual areas, NIAS offers optimal conditions to the invited fellows to bring out the best of their intellectual creativity and stimulates scholarly interaction in an interdisciplinary and international setting. What NIAS sets out to do is to create conditions for the transgression of the boundaries of disciplines and subdisciplines. This results in a cross-fertilisation across research fields and leads to strong stimuli for intellectual creativity. The best work is often to be found at the convergence points of disciplines where methodologies drawn from several fields are indispensable. Each year, the Institute invites around 50 carefully selected scholars.
NIAS Goals
NIAS’ goal is to enable independent curiosity-driven advanced research in the humanities and social sciences. Moreover, NIAS aims to bridge the gap between the research practices of the humanities and social sciences on the one hand and the natural sciences and life sciences on the other hand. In addition, the academic community is enriched by the presence of writers, journalists and artists producing a serendipitous and collaborative work environment, which unlocks imagination and curiosity.
NIAS aims to attract high quality scholars and select the best scientists. Succesfull applicants are selected by an external review process, where the quality and innovative value of the research proposal count.
The institute offers offices, research facilities, library services and – if eligible – accommodation to its fellows. Researchers from universities and research organisations in the Netherlands can apply for a teaching replacement fund, which frees them from their teaching commitments and enables them to focus on what matters: their research. In addition, international fellows are eligible for a stipend and accommodation subsidy.
The institute’s support facilities – as well as its international and interdisciplinary community – provide an autonomous research setting in which creativity and forward-thinking ideas can thrive. In addition to the cross-discipline collaborations within the sciences, NIAS stimulates collaboration between the arts and the sciences by offering fellowships to writers, journalists and artists. This allows the fellows to meet, interact and form new partnerships with researchers from disciplines with whom they would not have an opportunity to engage with in their own academic settings.
What NIAS offers
NIAS offers you time and space to advance your scientific work. Its international and interdisciplinary environment inspires the generation of new approaches and ideas that will bring ground-breaking academic work to fruition. Each year, a new academic group is formed, consisting of fellows from the Netherlands and abroad.
