The Budapest Open Society Fellowship is a joint program of three CEU units in Budapest: the Institute for Advanced Study (IAS CEU), the Democracy Institute and the Blinken OSA Archivum. Its 2026/27 call, the fourth, was themed “Modalities of Resilience and Resistance: Academia and Society in Illiberal Times.”
Fellows live in Budapest and pursue their own research or artistic project. The 2026/27 call is closed; IAS CEU’s 2027/28 recruitment runs under its Global Invisible University program, and no new call for this fellowship is posted yet.
Benefits & funding
- Net monthly stipend: €2,600 (Senior Fellows), €1,500 (Junior Fellows), €2,000 (Artists in Residence).
- Housing for fellows and their families at the Raoul Wallenberg Guesthouse; utilities are charged to fellows.
- Fellows cover their own travel and health care.
- Stays of 9 months (October–June), 3 months (October–December), 5 months (October–February) or 6 months (January–June).
- Access to CEU facilities, including library resources.
Eligibility
- Scholars: a Ph.D. or equivalent in the social sciences or humanities at the time of application, plus publications in internationally recognised scholarly outlets.
- Ph.D. issued in 2018 or later ⇒ Junior track; earlier ⇒ Senior track.
- Artists: a relevant university degree and a comparably strong track record.
- Fluent English.
- All nationalities may apply; applicants who need a Hungarian visa may be assessed individually.
- Barred: former full-time CEU staff and students for 5 years, part-time/temporary CEU staff for 1 year, former IAS CEU fellows for 7 years; at most 3 applications within 5 years.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
Decoded from the official rules. A free account checks them against your passport, degree and age in seconds.
Education required
Bachelor · PhD
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Application process
- 1Choose the track (Junior, Senior or Artist) and length of stay.
- 2Prepare one PDF: letter of intent, abstract, project description, an essay on linking research, teaching and civic engagement amid rising illiberalism, and a CV (max. 5 pages); junior applicants also name two referees.
- 3Submit through CEU’s online application form by the deadline (11:59 p.m. CET last cycle); applications sent any other way are not considered.
Program timeline
Application deadline (2026/27 cycle; closed)
Sep 20, 2025
Successful candidates informed by this date
Mar 1, 2026
All other applicants notified
End of April 2026
Residency (full-year option)
October 2026–June 2027