Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Core Fellowships

The Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS) was established in 2001 as an independent institute of the University of Helsinki to enhance scholarly excellence in the humanities and social sciences, promote interaction between different fields of academic research, and to further international academic cooperation. The Collegium’s fellowships are open to researchers in the humanities, social sciences, educational sciences, theology, and law, and to researchers in other fields focusing on topics related to the human sciences. The applicant’s doctoral degree must have been conferred by the application deadline.

The Collegium appoints fellows at different stages in their academic careers and from different disciplines, but has no fixed quotas for seniority, discipline, nationality, or gender. The Collegium is committed to promoting equality and preventing discrimination in its operations.

Applications must be prepared in accordance with the specified instructions available on the HCAS website. Successful applicants should provide evidence of their ability to work in an international, interdisciplinary research environment and of their ability to publish at a high international level. In the application documents, applicants must also indicate how they plan to participate in the interdisciplinary cooperation central for the Collegium as an institute of advanced study. Relevant evidence may be provided by reference to publications, academic activities or participation in research projects or posts at research institutes, or in the research proposal itself. Planned or existing cooperation with researchers of the University of Helsinki may be explained in the letter of motivation, in which the applicants are asked to explain why the University of Helsinki is a suitable environment for their research.

The Collegium does not consider research plans that propose to rewrite the applicant’s PhD thesis as a book. The Collegium will not grant two consecutive funding periods to one researcher. If an applicant has been at the Collegium before, at least ten years must have passed after the previous fellowship term, and the applicant must justify why they ought to be accepted for another funding period.

The Core Fellowship Program is the basis of all HCAS activities and the majority of our fellows are appointed through it. We are seeking up to 15 Core Fellows for the academic year 2027–2028. You may find the key information on the core fellowship below. The application period begins on 17 August 2026 and ends on 14 September 2026 at 23:59 local Helsinki time.

• Annual open call usually from August to September.
• Open to researchers from the humanities, social sciences, behavioral sciences, theology, and law, as well as to researchers in other fields focusing on topics related to the human sciences.
• Employment, not a grant program.
• Fixed term appointments for 0,5–3 years.
• For all career levels beyond the doctorate (post-docs, mid-career researchers, and full professors).
• Usual number of appointments 8–14 per year.
• Number of applications has been 250–450 per year, with well over 50% from outside Finland.
• No fixed career stage or discipline quotas.

• Time and freedom for focused research, free from administrative duties and heavy teaching obligations.
• A thriving and stimulating collegial work environment in the center of Helsinki, surrounded by libraries.
• Salaried positions with associated benefits (paid family and sick leave, pension benefits and occupational health care) in accordance with the General Collective Agreement for Universities.
• Office space.
• Language check services.
• Travel and research allowance.
• A taxable relocation allowance for newly recruited fellows who must relocate to the Helsinki area from elsewhere in Finland or from abroad.
• Relocation assistance for international fellows.
• Social programming and limited in-house wellness services.
• International fellows are assigned a host working at the University of Helsinki, and they are encouraged to collaborate with the broader academic community.

• Fellows are expected to spend at least 80% of their total research period at the Collegium.
• Fellows are expected to attend the weekly Fellows’ Seminar.
• Fellows must report their publications in the University’s research portal.
• While working at HCAS, fellows are required to mention the Collegium as their primary affiliation in publications, presentations, and interviews.
• Fellows whose term exceeds one year have a 5% teaching duty starting from the second year onwards, which may be fulfilled by helping to organize the HCAS Winter School for doctoral students.
• After their fellowship has ended, fellows are expected to submit a final report.