The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is an interdisciplinary research centre of

Durham University , mottoeng = Her foundations are upon the holy hills (Psalm 87:1) , established = (university status) , type = Public , academic_staff = 1,830 (2020) , administrative_staff = 2,640 (2018/19) , chancellor = Sir Thomas Allen , vice_chan ...

. The IAS - set up to mark Durham's 175th anniversary - is intended to attract scholars and public figures from across the world to collaborate on 'agenda-setting research'. It is housed in the

Grade II* listed In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

Bishop Cosin's Hall Bishop Cosin's Hall was a college of the University of Durham, opened in 1851 as the university's third college and named after 17th century Bishop of Durham John Cosin. It closed in 1864 due to a fall in student recruitment at the university ...

, an early 18th century building on

Palace Green Palace Green is an area of grass in the centre of Durham, England, flanked by Durham Cathedral and Durham Castle. The Cathedral and Castle together form a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although initially not part of the site itself, Palace Green ...

, Durham, within the Durham

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

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. The Institute accepted its first

fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

s in January 2006 and was formally inaugurated into the university in October that year.

Mission

The goal of the IAS, in the university's own words, is to 'offer world-leading researchers a unique space for transformative reflection in and beyond individual disciplines'. Fellows selected by the university advance their own research, engage with academic departments, deliver public lectures and seminars, and contribute to research projects across the university. IAS activity is based around research projects across the

Sciences Science is a systematic endeavor that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Science may be as old as the human species, and some of the earliest archeological evidence for ...

Social Sciences Social science is one of the branches of science, devoted to the study of societies and the relationships among individuals within those societies. The term was formerly used to refer to the field of sociology, the original "science of soci ...

and

Humanities Humanities are academic disciplines that study aspects of human society and culture. In the Renaissance, the term contrasted with divinity and referred to what is now called classics, the main area of secular study in universities at the t ...

. These projects are chosen to provide an interdisciplinary perspective on important questions. Each theme of the IAS's research is published a year in advance. For the inaugural theme in 2006-2007 the university selected the "Legacy of Darwin" as a way of exploring the impact of Darwinian thought on multiple academic subjects. The theme for the 2017/18 fellowships is the concept of 'Structure'.

Publications

The institute publishes the

e-journal An academic journal or scholarly journal is a periodical publication in which scholarship relating to a particular academic discipline is published. Academic journals serve as permanent and transparent forums for the presentation, scrutiny, and d ...

'Insights'. Articles are contributed by fellows and designed to reflect the thinking developed during their time at Durham. These papers take the form of

thought experiment A thought experiment is a hypothetical situation in which a hypothesis, theory, or principle is laid out for the purpose of thinking through its consequences. History The ancient Greek ''deiknymi'' (), or thought experiment, "was the most anci ...

s, summaries of research findings, theoretical statements, original reviews, and 'occasionally more fully worked treatises'. The IAS is also responsible for 'Kaleidoscope', a multidisciplinary

open access Open access (OA) is a set of principles and a range of practices through which research outputs are distributed online, free of access charges or other barriers. With open access strictly defined (according to the 2001 definition), or libre op ...

peer-reviewed Peer review is the evaluation of work by one or more people with similar competencies as the producers of the work (peers). It functions as a form of self-regulation by qualified members of a profession within the relevant field. Peer review ...

journal edited by postgraduate researchers. Each volume reflects the annual theme of the IAS.

Fellowships

The IAS offers

ships to UK and international scholars. The Fellowships each last three months, with two cohorts of 10 participants joining in January and October. Applicants may be from any academic discipline or professional background, though preference is given to those applying from overseas. Each fellow becomes a member of one of the university's colleges. As well as accommodation, college membership also entails inclusion with the Senior Common Room and access to formal dinners and events. Every IAS Fellow, regardless of college affiliation, also receives honorary membership of the

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies ...

Senior Common Room and the right to take occasional meals at the college. Apart from the fellowships offered by the IAS, fellowships of approximately a term are offered by some of the colleges, with the potential to become an IAS affiliate: * Collingwood College - Collingwood College Fellowships * Grey College - Sidney Holgate Research Fellowship, Alan Richards Mathematics Fellowships, and the Winifred Jean Stubbs Fellowship for

Oriental Studies Oriental studies is the academic field that studies Near Eastern and Far Eastern societies and cultures, languages, peoples, history and archaeology. In recent years, the subject has often been turned into the newer terms of Middle Eastern studi ...

and theology *

Hatfield College , motto_English = Either the first or with the first , scarf = , named_for = Thomas Hatfield , established = , senior_tutor = , master = Ann MacLarnon (2017–) , undergraduates = 1010 (2017/18) , postgradu ...

- Visiting Research Fellowship * St Aidan's College - St Aidan's College Fellowship * St Chad's College - The

Traidcraft Traidcraft is a UK-based Fairtrade organisation, established in 1979. The organisation has two components: a public limited company called Traidcraft plc, which sells fairly traded products in the United Kingdom; and a development charity c ...

Fellowship, Senior Research Fellowships, Durham Cathedral Artist in Residence and the Alan Richardson Fellowship * St John’s College - St John's College Visiting Fellowship and the Ruth Etchells Fellowship * St Mary’s College *

Trevelyan College , motto_English = Truth more readily than falsehood , scarf = , named_for = George Macaulay Trevelyan , namesake = George Macaulay Trevelyan , established = 1966 , principal = Adekunle Adeyeye , vice_principal = I ...

- The Trevelyan Fellowship and the Sir William Luce Fellowship in Middle Eastern Studies. *

- Leonard Slater Fellowship and the Pemberton Fellowship *

Van Mildert College Van Mildert College (known colloquially as Mildert) is a college of Durham University in England. Founded in 1965, it takes its name from William Van Mildert, Prince-Bishop of Durham from 1826 to 1836 and a leading figure in the University's 1832 ...

Arthur Prowse Lieutenant Colonel William Arthur Prowse (1907– 14 July 1981) was a British physicist and academic administrator. He was the founding Master of Van Mildert College, Durham. Prowse matriculated at Hatfield College, Durham and graduated with a de ...

Fellowship & the Arnold Bradshaw Fellowship

Directorate

The IAS is run by four directors nominally appointed by the

Vice-Chancellor A chancellor is a leader of a college or university, usually either the executive or ceremonial head of the university or of a university campus within a university system. In most Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth and former Commonwealth n ...

of the university. The directors are responsible for the academic calendar and research events of the IAS. Three of the directors are responsible for maintaining links with the IAS and are thus named after the relevant faculty.

Advisory Council

The advisory council works alongside the directors. It meets once a year to develop the academic calendar of the IAS and aid in its promotion through members acting as ambassadors to the IAS and advising on new research themes. The council consists of representatives from Durham University, and from other universities from across Britain and overseas.

References

External links

IAS homepageTHS Article on IAS
{{University of Durham 2006 establishments in England Durham University Research institutes in County Durham Multidisciplinary research institutes