The GIAS Fellowships give selected scholars and arts practitioners protected time for self-directed research in Lisbon. GIAS is an independent institute established by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation in 2025 and builds an interdisciplinary residential cohort.
Residencies last three, four, or eight months during the academic year, with the full eight-month academic year preferred. Fellows receive private workspaces and join an intellectual community with few formal duties beyond at least one lunchtime presentation.
Benefits & funding
- A monthly stipend, travel expenses, travel and family health insurance, and a partial housing allowance; the amount is set after selection according to the stay length and fellow’s circumstances.
- An individual office, seminar rooms, electronic resources, access to campus restaurants, and borrowing privileges at Lisbon-area university libraries and the Gulbenkian Art Library.
- Guidance on finding accommodation and schools for accompanying children is available when needed, but GIAS does not provide housing directly.
Eligibility
- Active academics, emeriti, independent scholars, and arts practitioners may apply.
- Applicants of any nationality are eligible; Portuguese proficiency and specific academic degrees are not required.
- Projects may come from most fields but must not require laboratory or experimental facilities or be primarily practical or applied.
- The residency must normally be continuous, and former GIAS fellows may reapply only after at least five years.
Can you apply?
Open to all applicants
No nationality, residency, education, or experience limits are listed.
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Application process
- 1Apply individually online through the official fellowship page by 15:00 Lisbon time on 15 October 2026.
- 2Submit a CV, a proposal of no more than three pages describing the project’s themes, scholarly context, novelty, and residency objectives, and the names of two referees.
- 3If requested, referees submit their letters directly through MyGulbenkian; emailed letters are not accepted.
- 4Check the Applications section of the MyGulbenkian account for the submitted file; offers begin in late January, with outcomes generally communicated by early February.
Program timeline
Applications open.
1 July 2026
Application deadline.
15 October 2026, 15:00 Lisbon time
Fellowship offers and applicant notifications.
Late January to early February 2027
Final cohort announced.
By 15 April 2027
Preferred full academic-year residency begins.
15 September 2027
Preferred full academic-year residency ends.
15 May 2028