Theeikones Centerat theUniversity of Baselin Switzerland has announced the opening of applications for theNOMIS Fellowship, each lasting one year and starting onSeptember 1, 2026, for outstanding researchers in the humanities, social sciences, and natural sciences.
Since its establishment in 2005,eikoneshas served as a distinguished platform for graduate and postdoctoral research on images. The center focuses on the interdisciplinary study of images as tools of human knowledge and cultural practices, exploring their functions and impact throughout history and into the present from analytical and empirical perspectives.
Goals of the NOMIS Fellowship
The NOMIS Fellowship supports pioneering research projects that explore how images function as models or paradigms in scientific and aesthetic contexts. The fellowship emphasizes a fundamental understanding of how images are used to represent and interpret complex structures, and their role in learning and knowledge processes across experimental and aesthetic domains.
Relevant topics may include, for example:
- The history and theory of imaging techniques in the natural sciences.
- Ideologies and stereotypes influencing social and political discourse.
- The formation and dissolution of visual patterns, character types, and styles in the arts.
Research projects should be grounded in a clearly defined academic field and address the relationship between the applicant's discipline and image studies.
Fellowship Details
- Host Institution:eikones Center– University of Basel, Switzerland.
- Funding Type:Fully funded (includes a generous monthly salary, travel and conference support, and access to advanced academic infrastructure).
- Fellowship Duration:One year (from September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027).
- Location:eikones Center, University of Basel – Switzerland.
- Application Deadline:September 1, 2025.
- Number of Fellowships Available:3 only.
- Application Language:English or German.
Provided Funding and Support
The fellowship offers researchers the opportunity to pursue their projects without teaching or administrative responsibilities, and includes:
- A generous monthly salary.
- Travel expense coverage.
- Financial support for conference participation.
- Access to excellent academic infrastructure.
- Full-time research residency ateikonesin Basel.
- Participation in select institutional academic events.
Applicants will be selected based on academic achievements, quality of the proposed research project, and its relevance to the theme of images as models of knowledge. Priority will be given to outstanding early-career researchers with innovative approaches.
Who Can Apply?
- Applicants must hold aPh.D. degree.
- Applicants must have previously published either abook (e.g., dissertation)orthree peer-reviewed journal articles or book chapters.
- Researchers fromall academic fieldsare welcome to apply, as long as their project relates to images as models or instruments of knowledge.
- Applications can be submitted inEnglish or German.
How to Apply
Applicants must prepare the following documents:
- Cover Letter
- Curriculum Vitae (CV)
- Contact information for two academic referees(no reference letters required)
- Copy of Ph.D. diploma
- Detailed project description(2–3 pages plus references)
- Writing sample of published work(approximately 20 pages)
Then:
- Applications must be submitted through theUniversity of Basel's online job portal
- Onlytwo filesshould be uploaded:
- A singlePDF filecontaining all documents from items 1 to 6, uploaded under the field “Resume”
- A separate file with thecover letter only, uploaded under the field “Cover Letter”
- Applications that do not follow this format or are submitted afterSeptember 1, 2025, willnotbe considered.
Note:Shortlisted candidates will be contacted for personal interviews.