The latest round, for visits between August 2026 and July 2027, is now open, and will close on 24 April 2026. Apply here: https://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/application-form
Applications are invited for the IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship from postdoctoral scholars in any area of the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, to carry out research based on collections held at the National Museum of Scotland.
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.
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 helps scholars to take the humanities beyond campus to engage the public and work with organisations in a variety of sectors.
The Institute welcomes visiting researchers from across the world. Since 1970, over 1,500 Fellows have stepped through our doors. Up to 28 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 more than 70 countries, IASH Fellows form a global alumni community, and many career-long connections begin at the Institute.
A webinar will be offered on Monday 15 December 2025 (13:00-14:30 GMT) for postdoctoral scholars interested in applying for IASH Fellowships for academic year 2026-27. The deadline for most applications is 24 April 2026, so this session allows time to ask questions and prepare an application. Register here. Please register even if you are unable to attend, as the recording will be circulated afterwards.
Representatives from some of our partners will speak about the programmes, and IASH staff will give insights into the facilities and funding available, as well as hints and tips for crafting a successful application.
The webinar recording will be made available here afterwards. You can watch last year's webinar here.
The collections
Interest is invited for an IASH Fellow to be embedded in the National Museums Scotland, working within one of the following areas:
1) Cultures of Natural History
National Museums Scotland holds over ten million natural science specimens, the second most extensive in the UK and one of the leading collections in Europe. These specimens comprise a library of geo- and biodiversity, crucial for understanding environmental change.
They are not simply scientific data, however: they are also cultural texts. They have been collected over the last three hundred years by Scottish naturalists in conjunction with international collaborators, and they bring with them meanings that include colonial provenances. They have been used for scientific research but also in cultural practices. They are ascribed meanings by curators as well as by volunteers and visiting researchers, amateur or professional. As we accelerate our digitisation efforts to increase access to and scientific use of collections, what can we learn about their historical, political, cultural and social values?
Given the time, expertise and resource invested in them, there is merit in analysing natural history collections in the round, as embodiments of nature and culture. How can these different values be articulated together? How better can we understand and use them as specimens and artefacts?
Suiting a postdoctoral researcher with a background in history, cultural studies, history of science, politics or post-colonial studies, we also welcome approaches from other disciplines. Applications are invited to explore the cultures of the National Museums Scotland natural history collections - geological, palaeontological and/or zoological. The Fellowship will involve access to the resources in the National Museums Collection Centre and the institutional archives; and it will benefit from support across the curatorial departments in National Museums Scotland. This is part of a wider research programme assessing the values of stored natural collections.
Contact: Sam Alberti
2) Collecting Video Game Heritage
How do we shape and address the challenges of the digital and material elements of video games?
This industry is one of the largest and most significant sectors in Scotland and goes back to the early days of home computing. The digital and material heritage of this sector is, however, significantly underrepresented in collections across the UK. Focusing on Scotland but with reference to other UK collections and collecting, this project will explore the social, cultural, and material implications of collecting video game heritage within the contexts of National Museums Scotland collecting remit. Drawing on practices from games studies, digital humanities and museology, the project seeks to establish a framework for developing video game heritage across three of the museums core collecting areas: science and technology; global arts, culture and design; and Scottish cultural heritage. The research will help establish the boundaries of a national video game collection and explore the challenges of the digital curation and preservation this area of collecting. Areas of research can include:
- Material possibilities/limitations of collecting video game heritage
- Video Games as interactive engagement for museum visitors
- Related games collecting in the UK
- Global contexts of video game heritage collecting, private and public
- Digital collecting and preservation
- Collaborative collecting frameworks with heritage organisations in the UK
Suiting a postdoctoral researcher with a background in games studies, museology and/or digital humanities. They will identify ways in which to enhance the museum’s collections in anticipation of a new collecting priority around video game heritage.
Contact: Geoff Belknap
What does the IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship offer?
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, a 2026-2027 IASH-National Museums Scotland Fellowship provides:
- Research visit at the University of Edinburgh for three to six months
- Bursary of £2,000 per month
- Travel allowance of up to £500 for travel to the UK 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 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
Who can apply?
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 and/or short-term appointments are eligible to apply.
Application procedure
The closing date
The closing date for the receipt of the next round of applications (for visits from August 2026 to July 2027) will be 17:00 GMT on 24 April 2026. 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.
The application form
The application portal is now open - click here to apply.
Any additional supporting documents connected with an application should be emailed to iash@ed.ac.uk.
References and supporting documents
- 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 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.
- A letter of support from the NMS staff member listed as the collections contact above must also be included. Applications without letters of support or references cannot be considered.
Notes
- 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. 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 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. Candidates may like to submit a copy of any one article or publication that is thought to be especially relevant to the research proposal and Fellowship submission. It must be emphasised, however, that no such submitted publication will be returned to the candidate.
- 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.
- Applicants looking for suitable accommodation in Edinburgh may find these links useful.
In order to take full advantage of the seminars and lectures which take place during the semesters and to meet with staff in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, applicants are encouraged to apply for periods that will include at least part of one of the semesters.