IASH Visiting Research Fellowships
The Visiting Research Fellowships are fellowships between two and six months. No limitation is placed on the area of research within the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. The Institute exists to foster interdisciplinary activities in the Humanities and Social Science and has a particular interest in using its visiting fellowships to build international collaborations.
The Institute is housed in a nineteenth-century courtyard close to the University Library and about twenty-five scholars are in residence at any time. Fellows are allocated a private office in the Institute with all the usual research facilities and are expected to play a full part in the activities of the Institute. They are also encouraged to develop their contacts with colleagues within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. They give at least one seminar on their current research work during their tenure. These Fellowships are not funded, as they are designed to accommodate scholars who are already in receipt of funds from their own institution, grant funding or sabbatical funding.
For 2025-26, we particularly welcome applications from scholars based in the Nordic and Baltic countries, as part of the university's Northern Scholars scheme.
Application procedure
Closing date
Applications for the 2024-25 round have now closed. Applications for the 2025-26 round will close on 28 February 2025. Applications received after that date will not be considered. Successful candidates will be notified by email by the end of April with a formal letter of confirmation to follow; please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.
The application form
You can find our application form here.
References
- A minimum of two and a maximum of three confidential references are required.
- At least one referee should come from outside the institution of the applicant.
- Referees should comment on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant.
Applicants should ask their referees to send their references by email to the Institute Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 28 February 2025.
Notes for guidance
- Candidates for Fellowships will hold a doctorate or equivalent professional qualification. Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of all applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people. Candidates should give evidence of any contact they have made with researchers at the University of Edinburgh, and of proposed collaboration during and beyond their visit to Edinburgh; those who do make such contact before submitting their applications will be at an advantage. Competition for Fellowships is intense and preference may be given to applicants who have not previously held a Fellowship at the Institute or an equivalent institution.
- The Institute was established in 1969 to promote enquiry of the highest standards in the Humanities and Social Sciences. Inter-departmental and interdisciplinary study is encouraged.
- Fellows are expected to be resident in Edinburgh throughout the tenure of their Fellowship and to play a full part in the activities of the Institute. The Institute will be pleased to help with finding suitable accommodation in Edinburgh but is unable to pay accommodation costs. The minimum tenure for a Fellowship is two months; applications for less than two months will not be considered.
- Visiting Research Fellowships are not accompanied by a stipend, but we are able to support successful applicants with applying for grants from their own institutions, learned societies and other bodies.
- No regular teaching is required but Fellows will give at least one seminar at IASH on their current research work and may be asked to speak to an appropriate subject group within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science.
- The Institute is close to the University Library and within easy reach of the National Library of Scotland, the Central City Library, the National Galleries and Museums, the Library of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland, the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the National Archives of Scotland. Access to both the extensive archival and online resources of all of these collections can be arranged for Fellows as appropriate.
- Only fully completed applications will be considered. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete, and that referees submit their reports to the Institute by the closing date. Applications may include a copy of any one article or publication that is thought to be specially relevant to the research proposal and Fellowship submission.
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