ELIGIBILITY:

They 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 five 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 and/or short-term appointments are eligible to apply.

In addition to the application form, a minimum of two and a maximum of three confidential references are required.

Applicants should ask their referees to email their reference to the Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 24 April 2026.

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.

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 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 collection with which they plan to engage while at IASH. Fellows are expected to participate in the HC’s activities (such as delivering a workshop or seminar on their chosen topic or curating an exhibition at the library), and a proposal for an event should be described in the application.

Fellows are expected to become involved in the HC and to commit to agreed objectives such as contextualizing a collection through collections-based work or the provision of an exhibition, workshop, seminar, or online learning resources such as a series of blog posts. This will form part of the evaluation of candidates.

BENEFIT:

The 2026-27 Heritage Collections Research Fellowship provides:

Research visit at the University of Edinburgh for three to six months

Bursary of £2,000 per month

International travel allowance of up to £500 if required

Dedicated office space at IASH, University e-mail, and library access

Library workspace with privileged access to collections, support from curatorial and technical staff, and access to the facilities of the Digital Scholarship Centre

An allocated University mentor from the Centre for Research Collections (CRC) or a School within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences

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