This is not a normal scholarship. It is a five month safe place in Amsterdam for scholars, journalists, writers and artists who cannot do their work because of conflict or war.
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The NIAS Safe Haven Fellowship 2027 gives a stipend of 3500 euros a month to fellows who need financial support. It also gives an office and a place in the NIAS community. Subsidised housing and travel reimbursement are available. The places are very few. Each semester NIAS grants two scholarly fellowships and one literary or artistic or journalistic fellowship.
The deadline for the first semester of 2027 to 2028 is Monday 14 December 2026 at 12:00 noon CET. That is 11:00 UTC. NIAS accepts applications all year but this date decides your chance for September 2027.
Last Information Checked: 12 November 2026
Quick facts
| Item | Details |
| Programme | NIAS Safe Haven Fellowship |
| Host | Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study (NIAS) in Amsterdam |
| Partners | University of Amsterdam, Maastricht University and KNAW |
| For | Scholars and writers and journalists and artists unable to work because of conflict or war |
| Length | 5 months |
| First semester 2027 to 2028 | September 2027 to the end of January 2028 |
| Places | 2 scholarly and 1 literary or artistic or journalistic per semester |
| Stipend | 3500 euros a month for fellows who need financial support |
| Housing | Studio at 975 euros a month or commuting costs |
| Travel | One return ticket up to 1500 euros |
| Language | English at C1 level |
| Deadline | 14 December 2026 |
What the Fellowship Includes
- 5 months to work on a project of your own choice
- An office with internet and ICT support
- Communal lunches on working days
- Technical and practical support
- Library service
- Weekly seminars and other academic activities
- Facilities to organise an in house Expert Workshop
- Facilities for public outreach
- A letter of invitation for all selected fellows
- NIAS applies for your work permit where one is needed
Stipend, Housing and Travel
| Support | Amount |
| Monthly stipend | 3500 euros |
| Studio at the Fellows House | 975 euros a month (subsidised rate) |
| Commuting from home in the Netherlands | Up to 250 euros a month |
| Return ticket from abroad | Up to 1500 euros |
Fellowship Periods and Places
- There are two periods a year. They run from September to the end of January and from February to the end of June.
- NIAS holds two selection rounds a year with deadlines in June and December.
- NIAS grants up to six Safe Haven Fellowships a year. That is a maximum of 30 fellow months.
- Each semester has two places for scholarly research and one for literary or artistic or journalistic research.
- The exact number depends on office space, housing and resources.
- An offer is for one named semester. It cannot be moved to a later one. It is withdrawn if you cannot stay the full semester.
- If war or another event outside your control stops you from starting on time then the fellowship can move to the next semester. This can happen once only.
Commitments During the Fellowship
- Be at NIAS at least four days a week including Thursdays for the weekly seminar
- Join the introduction period in the first two weeks
- Attend all weekly seminars except in vacation weeks
- Complete at least two peer reviews of fellowship applications during the academic year
- Take at most two weeks of vacation per semester
- Attend at most two external research events of more than one weekday per semester at your own cost
- Stay free as far as possible from teaching, supervision and administration
- Add to the NIAS community and respect the NIAS Code of Conduct and the Netherlands Code of Conduct for Research Integrity
- Cooperate with interviews and videos and photography when NIAS asks
- Call yourself a fellow at the Netherlands Institute for Advanced Study and thank NIAS in work from the fellowship
Who Can Apply
You must meet every formal rule. NIAS makes no exceptions.
Scholarly proposals:
- You hold a PhD.
- You have at least three years of research experience after your PhD on the date you apply.
Literary or journalistic or artistic proposals:
- You hold a bachelor’s degree from a university or university of applied sciences.
- Your CV shows at least seven years of professional experience in your field.
For everyone:
- You are unable to carry out your work where you are because of conflict or war. Severe limits on your academic freedom because of conflict or war also count.
- You have a proven record of academic or literary or journalistic or artistic work.
- You have English at academic level (C1). The working language at NIAS is English.
- You are not linked to an institution boycotted by the Dutch state.
- You apply yourself. Applications written or sent by intermediaries are ineligible.
- You have no other application under review at NIAS. You send only one application per selection round.
- If you held a NIAS fellowship before then at least 10 years must pass between the earlier application date and this one.
- You are not an employee of NIAS or KNAW or a member of the KNAW Board or the NIAS Academic Advisory Board.
Application Documents
Prepare four separate files in English. Use doc or docx or pdf format.
- Research proposal: at most 1500 words including footnotes and excluding references. It must fit humanities or social sciences. It must be original and possible to do at NIAS. It must state your project and research question and your methodological and theoretical contribution. It must address the evaluation criteria below.
- CV: at most 2 A4 pages. List all degrees with the institution and completion date. List relevant positions with employer, start and end dates, job title, and whether full-time or part-time. Add a shortlist of up to 10 core publications or works with links and English titles for non-English items. This shortlist does not count toward the two pages.
- Motivation statement: why you want the fellowship and why continuing your work at NIAS matters.
- Risk statement: at most 500 words. Describe the exact threat to your academic freedom and explain why you must relocate.
AI rules: You are fully responsible for any AI output in your application. You must check it for plagiarism and errors. You must say that you used generative AI and list it in the references of your proposal.
Selection Process
- NIAS checks every application against the regulations and rejects those that fail the formal rules.
- Applicants are told whether their application is eligible.
- Two external referees from the NIAS panel score each eligible proposal from 1 to 5 on each criterion. Your CV is used as background.
- The committee ranks the candidates and advises the NIAS Director.
- The ten best scholarly applications and the ten best literary or artistic or journalistic applications go to the Advisory Committee.
- The Director makes the final choice. The Director also looks at diversity of disciplines and gender balance, regional diversity, and the balance of early, mid, and late career candidates. Available office space and housing also count.
- NIAS tells all candidates the result in writing. A reserve list is used if a selected person declines.
- NIAS then discusses the fellowship agreement with selected candidates. If you do not agree the offer ends.
Scoring: Research Quality counts for 50%. NIAS Environment counts for 50%.
- Research Quality: clear topic and question, link to existing literature, relevance, method, timeline and expected output
- NIAS Environment: fit with your career so far and the value of NIAS’s interdisciplinary setting for your project and your possible contribution to the community
How To Apply (Step By Step)
- Read the official regulations. Check that you meet every formal rule.
- Prepare the research proposal, CV, motivation statement and risk statement in English.
- Open the online application form. Applications by email are not considered.
- Check every detail. You cannot change anything after you submit. Incomplete applications are ineligible.
- Submit the form. An application counts as submitted only after the automatic confirmation email arrives.
- Confirm your registration within 48 hours of that email. If you do not then the application expires.
- To withdraw write to partners@nias.knaw.nl. A withdrawal cannot be undone.
The official page is the NIAS Safe Haven Fellowship page.
Key Dates
- 21 July 2026: Call opened for the first semester of 2027 to 2028
- Monday 14 December 2026 at 12:00 noon CET: Application deadline (11:00 UTC and 4:00 pm Pakistan time)
- Decision date: not stated
- September 2027 to the end of January 2028: First semester fellowship period
- June and December every year: NIAS selection deadlines
