Fellowships

The Descartes Centre offers fellowships to promote intellectual exchange and collaboration in the history and/or the philosophy of the sciences and the humanities.

Two kinds of fellowships are available:
 

  • A Junior Fellow conducts research at Utrecht University and/or at Dutch museums or archives, and presents the results of his/her work at one of the colloquia of the Descartes Centre.
  • A Senior Fellow not only conducts research but also contributes actively to the Descartes Centre by means of public lectures, research seminars and/or teaching.

Candidates should have a clear affinity with the history and/or the philosophy of the sciences and the humanities, as shown by their list of publications and research proposal. Furthermore, the application should demonstrate an existing or potential collaboration with one or more members of the Descartes Centre, a collaboration that is supported by a corresponding letter of recommendation.

Fellows are expected to participate in the activities of the Descartes Centre whenever possible. The start and end date of a fellowship should make such involvement practically feasible. The months of July and August are basically excluded.

Fellowships are available for up to three months. The earliest starting date of a Fellowship is at least six months after it was awarded at the end of March. Starting in the same year is therefore only possible from 1 October.

Senior Fellows can have their costs (housing, transportation etc.) compensated for with a maximum of €3000 per month; for Junior Fellows the maximum compensation is €2000. The permanent home address of the fellow should be outside of the Netherlands.

Procedure

Candidates are invited to supply us with:
 

  • a completed application form
  • a curriculum vitae
  • a list of publications (no longer than 2 pages)
  • a research proposal of 750 words max.
  • Senior Fellows should include an outline of the public lecture(s), research seminar(s) or other teaching activities that they propose to engage in while residing in Utrecht
  • a letter of recommendation by at least one of the members of the Descartes Centre

Deadline for application: 1 March 2025.

Please submit your application by email via infodescartescentre@uu.nl.

Previous fellows

An overview of fellows from previous years is available on our Dutch website.

Logo podcast WWACT - Guillermo Pupo Pernet

For an more extensive impression of the Descartes Centre Fellowships, listen to the podcast on Spotify or Apple Podcast, by Guillermo Pupo Pernet, with the centre’s director, Paul Ziche.