Scholarships

!! N.B. Due to maintenance work, the NIA guest rooms will be closed from September 1st to Sunday October 19th, 2025.
In combination with the regular summer closure, this means that no grant applications can be made for the period August 1st – October 19th, 2025!!

 

Regulations for grants at the NIA per 12 December 2024. (Last update: 26 February 2025)

 

The Netherlands Institute at Athens awards a number of grants for study stays in Athens. Students, graduates, PhD students and recent PhDs connected to the VU University, the Universities of Amsterdam, Leiden, Utrecht, Groningen and the Radboud University Nijmegen are eligible for these grants. Those who already receive payment or a grant for their research, or those who have previously been awarded the same type of grant from the NIA within the past five years (accommodation allowance excepted), are in principle ineligible for these grants.

The research in question should be connected to Greece, and the stay in Athens should clearly add value to the research. In reviewing the applications, the quality of the proposal (research questions and work plan) and study results will be evaluated. We use the criteria stated in the document that you can find here. We strongly advise you to read these criteria carefully before sending your application.
Please note that each applicant should have discussed their application with their main supervisor whose signed letter of support with full contact details needs to be provided. This letter should be sent, by separate email, at the same time as the online-application before the end of the deadline. Failure to provide  the foresaid letter of support will lead to the rejection of the application.

The following four grants are available:

  1. Stipend for PhD students and recent PhDs

There are a maximum of two stipends available annually. The research should result in a scholarly publication and/or part of a dissertation or book. It is also possible to apply for the grant to realise the completion of your PhD. The stipend provides free accommodation at the NIA* for a period of up to three months, a monthly allowance of 700 Euro, and travel expenses to a maximum of 200 Euro.

  1. Study grant for MA students or recent graduates

There are several study grants available annually for MA students, recent MA graduates, and recent BA/BSc graduates with their BA/BSc degree in hand. Individuals who finished their studies less recently and want to give impetus to their scholarly activity are also eligible for this grant. The study grant provides free accommodation at the NIA* for a period up to three months, a monthly allowance of 400 Euro, and travel expenses to a maximum of 200 Euro.
As far as the eligibility of recent BA/BSc graduates is concerned, they should already have obtained their BA/BSc-degree when applying.

  1. VVNIA-Goekoop Grant for research master’s students, PhD students and post-docs without a permanent position.

Every year, the VVNIA (Association of Friends of the NIA) makes up to two grants available for research in the field of Greek antiquity (archaeology, epigraphy, ancient history and philology, or a combination of these disciplines). The grant offers a free stay in one of the NIA’s guest rooms*, a monthly allowance of €400 and a travel allowance of up to €200. The maximum duration is three months. Grant recipients are expected to be or become a member of the VVNIA. More information about the VVNIA, membership and the naming of the Grant can be found on the website of the VVNIA.

  1. Accommodation allowance

This allowance provides a reduction of 4 Euro per day in the room rate (to a maximum of 200 Euro per calendar year).

* Accommodation at the NIA can be offered upon availability. For periods that there is no availability at the NIA guestrooms, Emmy Makri can provide you with the contact details of other Foreign Schools in proximity of the NIA so you can make arrangements for a stay, at your own expenses.

What we ask of the grant holder

All holders of a stipend, a study grant or a VVNIA-Goekoop grant will submit a report of their research to the NIA and VVNIA. In the Netherlands, they will be prepared to present their research at the participating universities, for which the NIA offers travel expenses, and at gatherings of the NIA and VVNIA. The holder grants permission to the NIA to mention their activities on social media and is willing to actively contribute to such publicity. They will mention the NIA in all publications and presentations based on or making use of the results of research supported by the grant. Especially holders of stipends are expected to partake actively in the academic activities conducted at the NIA (such as lectures, congresses and symposia) and membership of the VVNIA will be very much appreciated.
In order to receive a NIA grant, you are also requested to provide the NIA with copies or pdfs of all publications that resulted from your NIA-funded stay in Athens or Greece. These publications are an important asset for the NIA library as they will be entered in the online catalogue and will be made accessible through the Athens inter-library systems, thus   providing a wide spread of your published work.
Before leaving, all bursaries and grant holders are obliged to leave a report about their stay. This is either in the form of a blog text and/or a short contribution for our scientific journal Pharos. The NIA-director will inform you before you arrive on which type of report applies to your stay and grant and how this is expected to be delivered. You will be expected to contact Willem Ledeboer (NIA blog) and/or Kimberley van den Berg (Pharos) on the prompt delivery of your contribution.

N.B. Compliance with the guidelines regarding the delivery of texts for the NIA blog and (where applicable) Pharos are a condition for the full and final payment of awarded stipends, study grants and VVNIA Goekoop grants. This condition does not apply to the travel allowance that is part of the said stipends and grants. This will be paid upon arrival in Athens and upon submission of the required documentation (proof of purchase, boarding passes, etc.).

Please note that non-compliance with the above conditions will have a negative impact on any future applications for further NIA grants.

Application deadlines and procedure

Except for the accommodation allowance (which can be applied for at any time, but no later than two months before the proposed start of the grant), the following two application deadlines apply for all other grants:

1 February (23:59 Greek time, 22:59 CET)

15 September (23:59 Greek time, 22:59 CET)

You can apply using the online form below, sending the additional documents (the obligatory letter of support, and the ethical clearance if applicable) at the same time to us by email. You will receive confirmation that we have received your application as soon as possible. You will receive confirmation that your grant application has been awarded no later than six weeks after the aforementioned deadlines.

Grants awarded must be used within 1 year of their approval. Approved grants that are not used within this period will be annulled.

If you have any questions about our scholarship program, please contact the director of the NIA per email.

University Scholarships

Information about other scholarships that can possibly pay for a stay for study or research in Greece can be found – per university – on the following websites:

Sometimes faculties also have their own scholarship programs. For more information, please contact the foreign coordinator of your faculty.