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External shot of the front door leading into the institute of advanced study

The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is a home for growing big ideas. We support a broad and inclusive interdisciplinary community from across the full spectrum of Durham academics, where different perspectives are brought together to develop creative approaches to interesting and important problems. We are delighted to announce the launch of our call for Major Projects – an investment of ca. £40,000 - £61,000 per project in major interdisciplinary research ideas across the University.

The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is a home for growing big ideas.  We support a broad and inclusive interdisciplinary community from across the full spectrum of Durham academics, where different perspectives are brought together to develop creative approaches to interesting and important problems. 

We are now launching our call for Major Projects – an investment of ca. £40,000 - £61,000 per project in major interdisciplinary research ideas across the University. We are inviting applications for Major Projects which should be genuinely interdisciplinary, innovative and ambitious. Projects should ideally have both short- and longer-term objectives, and involve at least two departments and ideally involve collaboration across faculty boundaries.

See the timeline below.

  • Deadline for one-page initial outline proposals for 2024/25 Major Projects – midday Friday 13 January 2023;
  • Project PIs to attend the IAS on either Monday 16 January or Tuesday 17 January 2023 (morning) to discuss their project and ideas (please hold the dates);
  • Deadline for full project application including Fellowship nominations – midday 16 March 2023;
  • Project outcome announced to applicants – Monday 4 April 2023.

Full details and application and nomination forms are available here. 

Colleagues interested in developing project applications are welcome to contact the IAS Director, Professor Alex Easton (alexander.easton@durham.ac.uk) or any of the IAS Co-Directors: Professor Patrick Zuk, A&H (patrick.zuk@durham.ac.uk); Professor Nayanika Mookherjee, SSH, (nayanika.mookherjee@durham.ac.uk); Professor Karen Johnson, SCI (karen.johnson@durham.ac.uk); or Professor Gretchen Larsen, Business (gretchen.larsen@durham.ac.uk).

Enquiries can also be made to the IAS Manager, Linda Crowe (
ias.manager@durham.ac.uk).