Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies

Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies is an independent institute within the University of Helsinki. Its aims are:

• to enhance scholarly excellence within humanities and social sciences;
• to endorse dialogue between different academic orientations;
• to provide an innovative environment for concentrated study;
• to encourage theoretical and methodological reflection in research;
• to promote international visibility of Finnish research and interaction between scholars from all over the world.

The Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies has a very competitive fellowship programme. Through its application procedure it appoints 8 to 12 Fellows annually for periods extending from one- to three-year terms. Both junior postdoctoral researchers and more established senior scholars are welcome to apply. Distinguished scholars from outside Finland can be appointed by invitation.

We invite applications from humanities, social sciences, law, theology, and education, and from all those pursuing research projects related to human beings as cultural and social creatures. The Collegium also has a special programme for visiting scholars coming from Russia and the Baltic countries, sponsored by the Kone Foundation and a Visiting Professorship in Studies on Contemporary Society, sponsored by the Jane and Aatos Erkko Foundation. Currently there are ca. 50 Fellows at the Collegium and the proportion of Fellows coming from outside Finland is steadily growing.

The Collegium premises are located in the heart of the City Center Campus of the University of Helsinki. We provide convenient offices, professional administrative services, and easy access to the best libraries for our Fellows. The Collegium secures ample time and space for resident Fellows to pursue their projects, but it also promotes dialogical interaction and cooperative projects between them. The Collegium organizes weekly Brown Bag seminars at which the Fellows are invited to present their work for critical discussion, as well as visiting lectures and international symposia with a variety of speakers from both Finland and abroad. We have also recently established an electronic publication series COLLeGIUM: Studies Across Disciplines.

The Collegium is governed by its Board and Director. The Board represents various academic constituencies of the University of Helsinki, and the Director is expected to be an active scholar with an international orientation. For the evaluation of the applications, the Collegium has an international Academic Advisory Board, appointed for a three-year period, which includes seventeen distinguished scholars, all from outside Finland.

As an institution, the Helsinki Collegium is unique in Finland. Its international models include several similar institutes in Europe and North America, including the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton and the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin. The University of Helsinki has been ranked among the best research universities in Europe. The Collegium strives to support the international role of the University in basic research in humanities and social sciences.