Van Oostrom grants

1. Education: financial contribution for young humanities scholars – young lecturers, temporary lecturers and assistant professors (max. 7 years after PhD date) affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University, to finance educational activities that fall outside the regular framework.
   • This includes: specific (one-off) activities or products resulting from education (educational innovation products, public products, exhibitions, magazines, films, etc.);
   • projects combining education and research;
   • requests for student assistance with educational projects as described above.
2. Research: financial contribution for young humanities scholars – early career researchers max. 7 years after their PhD date and (external) PhD students - affiliated with the Faculty of Humanities at Utrecht University to enable them to take the next professional step, such as concrete (one-off) items such as: costs for illustrations in a publication or translation costs/checking of translations of publications;
   • costs for illustrations in a publication or translation costs/checking translations of publications;
   • a public product following a recent scientific publication to increase the social impact of research;
   • new interdisciplinary collaborations (e.g. study day, pilot projects in preparation for a larger application);
   • funding for fieldwork; external PhD students may apply for conference costs if no other financial resources are available for this purpose;
   • regular PhD students may apply for conference costs in addition to the costs they are reimbursed for by their research institute;
   • when applying for a contribution to conference costs, the presentation of a paper is mandatory.

The amount awarded depends on the candidate's financial situation, plans and needs. The maximum grant that can be applied for is €5,000. The maximum duration of a project is two years. Ask your Operations Coordinator to check your budget and obtain a WBS number for your project. Please note that you must include multiple quotes if you wish to hire an external contractor for your project.

• Brief explanation of your project and its context (maximum 300 words), including a reflection on your own development as a result of this grant;
• A statement that the proposal has been submitted to and approved by the research director/education director (depending on whether the application applies to research or education) on [date]. The director of education/research director has assessed whether the project (a) fits within the research/education of the research institute/department and (b) cannot be funded through other channels within the research institute/department;
• Budget: income and expenditure, any personal contribution (Excel format);
• A curriculum vitae;
• In the case of extra-curricular activities, also a clear description of the target student group.

Applications can be submitted twice a year.

• Round 3: 13 April – 8 May 2026
• Round 6: 2 – 27 November 2026

Submit your application on time through the Fund Portal. Before submitting your application, carefully read the fund's criteria and ensure that these are incorporated into your application.

The spending advisory committee of the Friends of Utrecht Humanities Fund decides on the allocation of grants. When prioritising the applications received, the assessment committee will also consider the diversity of the grants in relation to the diversity of the faculty, both in terms of subject matter (the entire breadth of the humanities) and the type of questions (education, research, interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement, outreach, impact, etc.).

You will receive notification within seven weeks of the closing date. You will also be notified if your application is unsuccessful. Questions about the award will be handled by the University Fund office.

Please note: this is a guaranteed grant. You claim the costs for your project from your department using the WBS number provided by your controller. Please also upload your supporting documents for the costs incurred to the Fund Portal. This will enable your department to invoice the fund for the costs incurred at the end of your project. 

If you are awarded a Van Oostrom grant from the Friends of Utrecht Humanities Fund, you must mention this in your publication/final product/description of your public product/PR for your project, etc. You will also receive an invitation to meet with Frits van Oostrom (a suitable time will be determined in consultation). At the end of the project, a financial report must be submitted to Sjoer Bergervoet: s.a.bergervoet@uu.nl.