The French Institutes for Advanced Study Fellowship Programme offers 10 months fellowships at the seven Institutes of Aix-Marseille, Cergy, Loire Valley (Orléans-Tours), Lyon, Montpellier, Nantes and Paris. It welcomes applications from high-level international scholars and scientists to develop their innovative research projects in France. In the Spring of 2025, 28 fellowships are proposed in the 2026-2027 call for applications.

Presentation

For the 2026-2027 academic year, FIAS offers 28 fellowship positions: 7 in Aix Marseille, 3 in Cergy, 2 in Loire Valley (Orléans-Tours), 3 in Lyon, 2 in Montpellier, 4 in Nantes and 7 in Paris.

The FIAS Fellowhip Programme is open to all disciplines in the Social Sciences and the Humanities (SSH) and to all other research fields interfacing with the SSH. Applicants are strongly encouraged to consult the webpages of the host Institutes for Advanced Study (IAS) to learn more about their specific scientific priorities, areas of focus, and institutional partners, as these should be carefully considered before applying.

FIAS Fellows will benefit from the support and stimulating scientific environment offered by the IAS, characterized by a multidisciplinary cohort of fellows and strong connections to local research centers and laboratories. They will be free to organize their work and conduct research according to their own priorities and interests. 

Conditions

FIAS fellowships offer the following conditions:

• A net living allowance (equivalent to take-home pay) of €2,200 per month *
• Two flexible contractual options, considering individual situations: work contracts or paid leave*
• Adequate social security coverage
• Accommodation or support for relocation
• An individual research and training budget equivalent to €2,500 per year
• Travel expenses (one round trip from the fellow home country)
• Same working conditions as the IAS’ other fellows, including individual offices, special access and lending privileges in university-based research libraries, IT services, multiple collective spaces
• Skills training opportunities

Eligibility

FIAS awards fellowships to outstanding researchers of all career levels, from postdoctoral researchers to senior scientists. The minimum requirement is a PhD + 2 years of research experience at the time of the application (PhD training period will not be considered in the calculation of experience).

Researchers from all countries are eligible to the FIAS Fellowship Programme but they must have spent no more than 12 months in France during the three years prior to the application deadline.

Application

Applications are submitted online via www.fias-fp.eu where you will find detailed information regarding the content of the application, eligibility criteria and selection procedure.

Before applying, please verify if you respect the eligibility conditions, and read carefully the guide for applicants.

Applicants are required to submit the following documents (in English exclusively):

• The completed online application form
• A detailed curriculum vitae, including a list of publications and the contact details of three scholars familiar with your academic work
• A copy of the PhD diploma in a pdf format
• A detailed research proposal (maximum 5 pages- and a bibliography 1 additional page)*
• A selection of three to five key publications (articles or book chapters)
• Optional: Up to two letters of recommendation

* The research proposal must detail the scientific goals of the project, its relation to the current state of the art, the proposed methodology, the expected scientific outcomes, and a justification for the fellowship duration in light of its anticipated impact on both the research project and the applicant’s career development. An additional page may be included for the bibliography. The names of up to three scholars to be excluded from the peer-review process may be listed at the end of the document.

Compliance with the Research Code of Ethics for Researchers, and with the EC regulations on privacy, data protection, confidentiality and property rules will need to be declared before validation of the application.

Scientific selection

The scientific selection is competitive, merit-based and conducted through an international independent peer review.

Calendar of actions

The scientific selection is highly competitive, merit-based and conducted through an international independent peer review.

• Application deadline: July 16th, 2025 - 6:00 pm (Paris, France time)

• July 2025: Eligibility ChecK
• August - November 2025: Peer review process
• December 2025: Preselection by the FIAS Selection Committee
• January - February 2026: Selection by IAS Scientific Advisory Boards
• March 2026: Communication of results 

For more general information on the FIAS Fellowship Programme

For more detailed information on the IAS specific environment and scientific priorities

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101217263