IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship

IASH hosts a lively scholarly community of visiting fellows. It is a supportive environment for postdoctoral researchers, while also offering networking opportunities with successful mid-career and eminent senior scholars. The Institute occupies a historic building with private courtyard and leafy views – perfect for uninterrupted thinking, reading and writing. Yet there is also plenty of opportunity to socialise and share ideas.

In short, an IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship provides:

• Research visit at the University of Edinburgh for three to six months
• Bursary of £2,000 per month
• International mobility allowance of up to £500 if travel to the UK is required
• Dedicated office space at IASH, University e-mail and library access
• A University mentor from a relevant School within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences
• Curatorial support from NMS staff
• Weekly Fellows’ Lunch to build community
• Collegial work-in-progress seminar series for testing new ideas
• Calendar of engaging events at the Institute and College

National Museums Scotland (NMS) is an Independent Research Organisation (IRO) holding one of the largest and most diverse national heritage collections in the UK. Our collection comprises over 12.4 million objects across four collecting areas – Global Arts, Cultures & Design; Science & Technology; Scottish History & Archaeology; and Natural Sciences. NMS has four display sites - the National Museum of Scotland, the National Museum of Rural Life, the National Museum of Flight and the National War Museum. Our fifth site, the National Museums Collection Centre (NMCC), holds collections of national and international significance. Located in Granton, Edinburgh, NMCC is the heart of NMS' collections research and care with 99.8% of the estimated 12.6 million items held, accessed, cared for and researched at this site. One of NMS’s core functions, as defined by the National Heritage (Scotland) Act 1985, is to “preserve, interpret and make accessible for all, the past and present of Scotland, other nations and cultures, and the natural world”. This is realised through the creation of research partnerships, including collaborative doctoral projects, as part of NMS’s Collections Research Strategy and its Independent Research Organisation status.

National Museum Scotland Website

The collections

At this time, we encourage applications focused on one of the following:

COLLECTIONS TBC

IASH provides an enviable location in one of the world’s most intellectually inspiring cities, together with a dynamic network of international connections.

Home to the Scottish Enlightenment, Edinburgh has a rich cultural heritage of scholarship and creativity that continues to the present day. In this haven of libraries and archives, galleries and music venues – all set amid iconic architecture – IASH takes the humanities beyond campus to engage the public and work with organisations in a variety of different sectors.

The Institute welcomes visiting researchers from across the world. Since 1970, over 1,500 Fellows have stepped through our doors. Up to 30 researchers are in residence at any one time in our amazing – and eclectic – nineteenth-century building just on the edge of the University’s central campus, boasting views of the Meadows.

From upwards of 65 countries, IASH Fellows form a global alumni community, and many career-long connections begin at the Institute.

We warmly welcome applications from independent researchers, employees of universities and other organisations engaged in research from around the world. Selection will be subject to the immigration rules governing the UK. Applicants should be employed for purposes including investigative research (or be an independent researcher) and have a suitable project or study to undertake using a specific collection.

Applicants must have been awarded a doctorate at the time of application, and normally within the last three years; if you have not yet graduated, you must be able to produce a transcript, testamur, or a letter of completion/eligibility to graduate as part of your application. You should not have held a previous Fellowship at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities. Those who have held temporary, part-time, recurring and/or short-term appointments are eligible to apply.

The online portal opens in November 2026. Applicants will be asked to complete an application form, and then to supply their CV and a research proposal of 2-3 pages. Two academic references must also be sent to iash@ed.ac.uk by the deadline in April. 

Applicants must secure the support of a suitable mentor at the University of Edinburgh in advance of application, who must then be named on the application form. Please see our FAQ page for more information on how to identify and contact potential mentors.

Begin your application for an IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship

The closing date for the receipt of the next round of applications (for visits from August 2027 to July 2028) is 17:00 GMT on 30 April 2027. Applications received after that date will not be considered. Decisions will be communicated in July. Please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.

Applicants' visits to Edinburgh must take place between 1 August 2027 and 31 July 2028.

• In addition to the application form, two confidential references are required.
• Applicants should ask their referees to email their reference to the Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 30 April 2027. Failure to provide references by this date will mean your application is ineligible.
• Referees should comment on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant. One referee should certify the successful viva (defence) and final examination of the candidate’s PhD thesis.
• A letter of support from an NMS staff member listed as the collections contact above must also be included. Applications without letters of support or references cannot be considered.

• Consideration will be given to the academic record and the publications of applicants and their capacity to disseminate their views among a community of like-minded people. As well as providing evidence of contact with NMS staff, candidates must give evidence of any contact they have made with researchers at the University of Edinburgh, are required to make such contact before submitting their applications, and those who can evidence the relevance of their proposed project to the University of Edinburgh research community will be regarded favourably.  Particular weight will be placed on the quality and timeliness of the project proposed, and we encourage innovative and interdisciplinary topics and approaches.
• Applications must detail the specific NMS collection with which they plan to engage while at IASH. Fellows are expected to contribute to NMS collections information, and potentially activities such as seminars.
• Only fully completed formal 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 IASH by the closing date. 
• The Institute was established in 1969 by the then Faculty of Arts to promote enquiry of the highest standards in the Humanities, broadly conceived. It began to receive Fellows in 1970, and is now located as an independent institute within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science. Inter-departmental and inter-disciplinary study has always been encouraged.
• Fellows must make the Institute their main place of work for the duration of the Fellowship on a 0.6FTE basis (3 days per week minimum).  It is expected that Fellows will be in residence throughout the tenure of their Fellowship and will contribute fully to the life of the Institute during that time. Fellows give at least one seminar presentation during their tenure, and submit a report on their research at the end of their Fellowship. No regular teaching is required.
• For information about the scope of work undertaken at the University of Edinburgh, see Edinburgh Research Explorer, or browse through the staff pages of the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences.