STIAS Iso Lomso Fellowship — 2028 First Semester

The Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) is accepting applications for the Iso Lomso Fellowship advertised for the first semester of 2028. The programme supports African researchers who have completed a doctorate and postdoctoral research, helping them develop a longer-term research programme while retaining their African institutional affiliation.

If you are applying from Nigeria, citizenship alone is not enough: your institutional affiliation, research experience, age and availability for residency all matter. The deadline is 15 February 2027. Before assessing your eligibility, clarify the conflicting wording on the call year, doctoral qualification window and age limit.

Opportunity Summary

About the Opportunity

Iso Lomso provides time and an interdisciplinary environment for emerging researchers to develop their own research programme. Your first residency must take place at STIAS, followed by one or two further residencies at STIAS or abroad. This is not a continuous three-year stay: outside supported residencies, you are expected to continue your regular academic duties at your home institution.

Selection considers academic excellence, originality, innovation, interdisciplinary potential, relevance to African scholarship and feasibility. Your proposal should therefore explain both the knowledge your project will produce and why the planned research can realistically be completed.

STIAS does not provide experimental facilities or fund fieldwork during residency. Predominantly experimental or fieldwork-based projects are generally considered only where that work has funding from the home institution or another institution. Such proposals must identify the existing funding and distinguish the work to be undertaken during STIAS residencies.

Funding and Benefits

• A three-year affiliation supporting the development of your research programme through funded residencies, rather than continuous funding for three years away from home.
• During STIAS residencies, an economy return air ticket where applicable, or on-road return reimbursement for South Africa-based Fellows where applicable.
• Accommodation, preferably within walking distance of the Institute, and an individual office equipped with a computer, monitor and access to a shared printer.
• A monthly living stipend, Stellenbosch University library access, high-speed internet and daily lunch through the Fellows programme. Stipend amounts are not stated.
• A childcare subsidy for Fellows accompanied by young children while in residence. The amount and detailed conditions are not stated.

Who Can Apply?

• You must be a national of an African country and maintain an affiliation with a research or higher education institution in an African country for the foreseeable future.
• You must hold a doctorate from a recognised higher education institution anywhere in the world. Detailed criteria specify the preceding eight years measured from 1 January of the call year, but the introductory description says seven years. Confirm which applies.
• You must have completed a postdoctoral fellowship or conducted an equivalent post-PhD research programme.
• Detailed criteria allow applicants who are not more than 42 on 1 January of the call year, while the fellowship selector says under 42. Seek clarification if this affects you.
• You must be able to begin your first STIAS residency within the first year after fellowship commencement.
• Application documents must be completed in English.

What Nigerian Applicants Should Know

• Nigerian citizenship meets the African-nationality condition. Living in Nigeria alone does not establish eligibility, and citizenship does not replace the institutional affiliation or research requirements.
• An affiliation at a Nigerian research or higher education institution can meet the African-institution condition. You must expect to retain an eligible African affiliation.
• This is a residential opportunity, not an advertised remote fellowship from Nigeria. Confirm feasible travel and institutional release arrangements before committing to dates.
• Visa sponsorship, immigration assistance and work-permission arrangements are not stated. Verify applicable entry and residence requirements separately; funded travel does not establish immigration permission.
• A doctorate must come from a recognised higher education institution, but the recognition assessment procedure is not specified. Separate Nigerian professional-registration requirements are not addressed.

Required Documents

• A three-to-four-page research pre-proposal covering your current work, problem statement and aim, existing literature and sources, theoretical background, methods, significance for African scholarship, provisional residency timetable, additional activities and proposed outputs.

How to Apply

1. 1. Resolve eligibility uncertainties first. The heading advertises the 2028 first semester, but the selection guidance calls the October 2026–February 2027 window the 2027 Call. Ask STIAS which call year governs age and doctorate calculations; do not automatically use 2028.
2. 2. Build your pre-proposal around a specific research problem. Explain what is already known, what your project adds and how your methods answer the question. Make its relevance to African scholarship explicit rather than relying on the research location alone.
3. 3. Prepare a provisional timetable showing proposed residencies, research activities and outputs. You may identify desired conference attendance, a partner residency or a workshop, but these additional sponsorship interventions require an application and are not guaranteed.
4. 4. Use the dedicated Iso Lomso application route. Review its current requirements before submitting: the supplied information does not establish the complete document list, file formats or every application field.
5. 5. Submit by 15 February 2027 after checking the applicable closing time. Selection guidance says decisions are usually completed by the end of May and announced during June of the call year; confirm how that schedule applies to this advertised cycle.

Visit the official application page

Application Tips

Optional preparation advice: discuss possible residency periods with your department before proposing dates. Consider teaching, supervision and other commitments so that your timetable is credible. A staff replacement subsidy is something your home institution may apply for, not an automatic payment to you.

Hypothetical example: if your project uses interviews collected in Nigeria, explain which separately funded activities produce the data and which residency activities involve analysis or writing. Do not budget on STIAS paying for fieldwork.

Final submission check: confirm the applicable call year, age rule and doctorate window; check that your English pre-proposal is three to four pages; and ensure your research question, methods, timeline and outputs agree. Verify any additional document requirements and the deadline time on the official application page. Do not assume the document lists for STIAS Individual or Team Fellowships apply to Iso Lomso.

Information checked 9 November 2026.