Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS)

01/09/2026

“What brings you to the Collegium?”

HCAS Orientation Week opened with a social mixer where new and continuing fellows shared the many reasons that brought them to Helsinki: a monograph manuscript ready to be developed into a book, a colleague’s recommendation, the National Library’s extensive collection of Slavic literature, and so forth.

As the week continues, newcomers will get to know the Collegium and the academic community around them. And over the months ahead, we will come together each Tuesday to learn more about one another’s work and ideas.

Read about our current fellows and their research on our website. Link in the comments.

17/08/2026

The Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies (HCAS) invites applications for fixed-term appointments to begin in August 2027. We are seeking up to 15 Core Fellows and 1–2 Postdoctoral Fellows in the Arts.

Core Fellowships are open to scholars at all career stages (from postdoctoral researchers to full visiting professors), and range in duration from six months to three years, depending on the applicant’s career stage. The appointment of the Fellow in the Arts is for one year, and it is intended for individuals who either hold a doctoral degree in the arts or are engaged in artistic work and hold a doctoral degree in another academic field.

The Fall 2026 application period begins on 17 August 2026 and ends on 14 September 2026 at 23:59 local Helsinki time.

For more details, please visit our website:

Here you will find information on our application procedures

13/08/2026

Do you aspire to explore innovative solutions to challenges in health and sustainability? Consider applying for an interdisciplinary research program in one of the Institutes for Advanced Studies in Nordic countries!

• 5 fully funded fellowships
• Open to researchers from anywhere in the world and from different disciplines, including the humanities and social sciences
• For researchers with 2–10 years of experience after completion of the PhD
• Hosted across the Nordic Institutes for Advanced Studies
• Fellowship period: 1 September 2027–July 2029
• Application deadline: 1 October 2026

For more information, please visit: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-collegium-advanced-studies/apply/apply-nnf-ias-fellowship-health-and-sustainability-nordic-institutes-advanced-studies

11/08/2026

Kollegiumin tutkija Rob Boddice kertoo Helsingin Sanomien haastattelussa tutkimushankkeestaan. Boddicen monitieteinen hanke käsittelee paniikkia sosiologian, psykologian, lääketieteen ja taloustieteen näkökulmista.

Tutkija Rob Boddicen mukaan paniikki kytkeytyy yhteiskunnassa lähes kaikkeen.

10/08/2026

Little by little, the HCAS premises are coming back to life as fellows and admin staff return from summer vacations, conference trips, and fieldwork.

As we gear up for the upcoming semester and orientation week, join us for one more look back at our 25th anniversary celebrations with a selection of photo highlights.

Photos by Veikko Somerpuro and HCAS.

27/06/2026

As our honorary fellow James Mittelman pointed out earlier this month, "the fight for academic freedom is never over." Here's our director's view on why it matters.

See the full piece at the link in the comments.

26/06/2026

Yet more excellent news: HCAS Core Fellow Katja Kujanpää has received funding from the Emil Aaltonen Foundation (Emil Aaltosen Säätiö) for her project “Power, Authority, and the Formation of Early Christian Identity”!

The three-year project examines the authority of texts in a period when the Bible did not yet exist as a fixed canon. By investigating the relationship between authority and the construction of group identity in early Christian writings, the project analyzes textual authority and the strategies authors used to bolster it, while situating questions of authority within their broader social context.

The project will be hosted by the Faculty of Theology (Teologinen tiedekunta) at the University of Helsinki.

The Collegium warmly congratulates Katja on this achievement!

25/06/2026

We often emphasize that the Collegium is first and foremost a community, and yesterday’s celebration showed what this means in practice.

Many members of our community made time to come together and celebrate no fewer than three of our fellows, who recently received great news from the European Research Council, the Research Council of Finland, and the National Research Foundation of South Africa.

Successful applicants are often supported by a community that has their backs – one that discusses preliminary ideas, comments on draft applications, sets up mock interviews, acknowledges the efforts of those whose projects were not funded in this round, and, when good news arrives, celebrates.

Want to learn more about the funding awarded to Olesya Khanina, Jitka Štollová, and Kevin Durrheim? Read more in the news article linked in the comments.

23/06/2026

Call for applications now open: 5 fully funded fellowships in Health and Sustainability!

Do you have an idea for a research project that will explore innovative solutions to challenges in health and sustainability?

The NNF-IAS Fellowship Programme invites researchers from anywhere in the world to pursue transformative work on ‘Inequity in Health’ in an interdisciplinary setting across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden.

• 5 fully funded fellowships
• Hosted across the Nordic Institutes for Advanced Studies
• Fellowship period: 1 September 2027 – July 2029
• Application deadline: 1 October 2026

Apply now: https://www.helsinki.fi/en/helsinki-collegium-advanced-studies/apply-nnf-ias-fellowship-health-and-sustainability-nordic-institutes-advanced-studies

17/06/2026

“I don't know if there's a common ground for knowledge. I would say it's polyphonic. It's like a symphony that you're listening to when you're at the Collegium.”
– Kevin Durrheim, Erkko Professor 2025–26

For 25 years, the Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies has brought together scholars in the social sciences and humanities to think, argue, and exchange ideas. To celebrate this milestone, we are proud to share a new video featuring interviews with current fellows and alumni.

Reflecting on the idea of an institute for advanced study, the video shares insights into how being part of the Collegium has shaped our fellows’ work and, for some, even their scholarly identities.

With this, HCAS thanks all friends, colleagues, fellows, alumni, and supporters for the past academic year and weeks of celebrations.

We hope you enjoy the video and have a wonderful summer!

Anniversary video, first screened at the Helsinki Collegium for Adv...