The essentials
FIAS (French Institutes of Advanced Studies) is an international mobility programme offering high-level research fellowships across seven Institutes for Advanced Study. The programme supports high-quality and innovative research, with fellows conducting their work in complete academic freedom while benefiting from strong scientific and non-academic support provided by the institutes.
The partner institutes involved are:
The CYAS in Cergy,
The Collégium in Lyon,
The Imera (Aix-Marseille),
The IEA in Paris,
The Montpellier Advanced Knowledge Institute on Transitions (MAK’IT),
The Studium Val de Loire (Orléans-Tours),
and the Nantes Institute for Advanced Studies.
Launched in 2020, the programme will now run until the 2029–2030 academic year. During the past four calls for applications (2021–2025), 120 fellowships have been awarded to experienced researchers from all fields of the social sciences and humanities, as well as from other disciplines at the interface with these fields.
Theme
These fellowships are open to all disciplines within the social sciences and humanities, as well as to all research fields. Projects from other scientific disciplines that engage in cross-disciplinary dialogue with the social sciences and humanities are also eligible.
While they do not constitute formal selection criteria, the scientific orientations of the Nantes Institute may serve as a reference framework for proposed projects, particularly around the following themes:
- Academic freedom, epistemic justice, and hospitality
Projects examining the conditions of intellectual freedom and the challenges faced by scholars at risk or in exile, particularly from non-Western and/or marginalized epistemological perspectives. - Creation, narratives, and speculative knowledge
Research exploring the relationships between artistic creation and scientific inquiry, speculative approaches, and the role of imagination in transforming knowledge, experiences, and possible futures. - Habitability, commons, and interdependencies
Research addressing the habitability of the planet, the shared governance of natural, social, and epistemic resources, and the ethical and political dimensions of interdependence, from a perspective that acknowledges plural conceptions of justice.
Profile and terms
The call is open to all disciplines within the social sciences and humanities, as well as to all research fields. Projects from other scientific disciplines that engage in cross-disciplinary dialogue with the social sciences and humanities are also eligible.
The FIAS programme is aimed at high-level researchers at all stages of their careers, from postdoctoral fellows to senior scholars.
Applicants must hold a PhD and have at least two years of research experience after the completion of their doctorate at the time of application (the doctoral period is not included in this calculation).
The programme is open to candidates of all nationalities. However, applicants must not have resided in France for more than 12 months during the three years preceding the application deadline.
Further information is available on the FIAS website.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No. 945408. The FIAS programme also benefits from French national funding under the France 2023 programme (contract No. 11-LABX-0027).
Timeline (2027–2028)
- 28 April 2025: Opening of the call for applications
- 25 June 2026: Application deadline
- July 2026: Eligibility check
- August – November 2026: Double peer review
- December 2026: Preselection by the FIAS Selection Committee
- January – February 2027: Final selection of fellows by the Scientific Advisory Boards of the Institutes for Advanced Study, based on the shortlisted candidates. Online interviews will be conducted during this period.
- March 2027: Notification of results
👉 Further details are available in the Application Guide.
For questions regarding the application procedure or eligibility, please contact:programme-officer@fias-fp.eu
For any other inquiries, please consult the FAQ on the FIAS website.
