Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) Individual Fellowship 2026 for Global Scholars

Join a cohort of leading thinkers in a creative space for the mind.

Application Deadline: 31st October 2024

To be Taken at (Country): South Africa

About the Award: STIAS provides and maintains an independent ‘creative space for the mind’ to advance the cause of science and scholarship across all disciplines. It is global in its reach and local in its African roots, and values original thinking and innovation in this context. No restriction is placed on the country of origin, discipline, or academic affiliation when STIAS considers a fellowship invitation. It encourages the cross-pollination of ideas across cultures, academic or otherwise, and hence gives preference to projects that will tap into, and benefit from, a multi-disciplinary discourse while also contributing unique perspectives to such a discourse. This interaction is fostered by inviting individual fellows or project teams where each team member is evaluated individually.

Type: Research

Selection Criteria: The STIAS programme comprises projects which are entirely self-generated and proposed by applicants, as well as projects within a portfolio of long-term theme driven projects; participation in one of the latter projects likewise requires  application and a proposal within the framework of a given theme. STIAS fellows are expected to be resident at STIAS for the duration of a fellowship, with no academic obligations other than pursuing the proposed research project. The only other obligations are to share in the discussion over lunch which is served daily at the STIAS Wallenberg Research Centre, and to participate in the Thursday STIAS fellows’ seminar where fellows in turn present their work to other fellows and invited academics from the local community.

To facilitate the heterogeneity STIAS strives for, its programme specifically includes artists-in-residence and short-term fellows drawn from the sphere of public commentary and opinion making.  Applications in these categories will be considered on their own merit, rather than strictly following the research oriented criteria posted below. A limited number of  applications from young scholars who have completed at least one postdoctoral fellowship (preferably more than one) will also be considered annually. Apart from candidates who apply within the framework of an agreement with the Volkswagen Foundation (see below), STIAS does not consider postdoctoral applications per se.

STIAS fellows are selected on the basis of academic excellence and the originality of their proposed research project. The following criteria serve as important guidelines:

• 1. Level: Does the proposal entail research at the highest level?
• 2. Innovation: Does the project break new ground? Does it hold the promise of new insights and the potential to produce new knowledge?
• 3. Interdisciplinarity: To what extent does the project draw on different disciplines and what methodology is envisaged for doing so? Will the project facilitate an interdisciplinary discourse?
• 4. Relevance: Does the project have relevance for South Africa and Africa? Is the project appropriate for the programme of an institute for advanced study?
• 5. Feasibility: How convincing is the proposed methodology and research design, and how realistic is the research plan? Is the applicant equipped to deliver on the proposed project?

Number of Awards: Limited

Value of Award: STIAS provides and maintains an independent ‘creative space for the mind’ to advance the cause of science and scholarship across all disciplines. 

Duration of Award: The STIAS terms run from mid-January to mid-June (first semester), and from mid-July to early December (second semester). 

How to Apply: Applications for the first semester of 2026 (mid-January to mid-June) may be submitted before 31 October 2024 with the results of the cohort selection  available in March 2025.

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• It is important to go through all application requirements in the Award Webpage (see Link below) before applying.
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