Rijksmuseum Fellowship Programme

The Rijksmuseum is the national museum of the Netherlands, telling the story of 800 years of Dutch history, from 1200 to now.

The purpose of the Fellowship Programme is to encourage and support scholarly investigation, and to contribute to academic discourses while strengthening bonds between the museum and universities. The programme enables highly talented candidates to base part of their research at the Rijksmuseum, and offers access to the museum’s expertise, collections, library and laboratories. Furthermore, it facilitates opportunities for Fellows to engage in workshops and excursions to encourage exchange of knowledge – both amongst themselves and the broader museum audience.

Johan Huizinga Fellowship

This Fellowship offers early career scholars the opportunity to conduct historical research into objects in the Rijksmuseum collection. Candidates are invited to submit a research proposal that draws on these objects as subject material and as sources of historical information. The Johan Huizinga Fellowship is primarily intended for candidates whose focus is on the historical role and symbolic meaning of objects, on material culture or the societal context in which these artifacts were used. A member of the museum’s curatorial staff will be acting as advisor to the Fellow.

Fellowship stipends are awarded to help support a Fellow’s study and research efforts during the tenure of the appointment. The stipend of €39,000 for MA graduate/PhD Fellows or €45,000 for postdoctoral Fellows (subject to taxes and deductions) is for a period of twelve month.

Eligibility

• The Johan Huizinga Fellowship is open to MA graduates, as well as PhD students and post-doctoral candidates. MA Graduate/PhD Fellows are those who have completed their MA degree or whose proposal is embedded in the research plans of their forthcoming PhD dissertation, postdoctoral Fellows must have completed their PhD dissertation and obtained a PhD-degree on the date of application.
• Fellowships are open to candidates of all nationalities and with varied specialisms. They may include researchers specialising in the fields of general history, cultural historical studies or art history.
• Candidates should have proven research capabilities, academic credentials and excellent command of the English language – both written and spoken. Proficiency in the Dutch language is strongly recommended in regard to consulting primary and secondary research sources.

Migelien Gerritzen Fellowship

The Migelien Gerritzen Fellowship welcomes proposals for conservation and scientific research that make use of the Rijksmuseum’s collection and resources. This Fellowship enables early career scholars to conduct conservation and scientific research on art works and historical artefacts. Focus should be the Rijksmuseum collection or ideation that has been initiated at the Rijksmuseum. A suitable project might entail technical research into objects in the Rijksmuseum’s collection or analytical techniques, preventive conservation, or treatment methodologies. This fellowship enables candidates to collaborate with conservators, curators and scientists active at the Rijksmuseum. A member of the museum’s scientific staff will be acting as advisor to the Fellow.

Fellowship stipends are awarded to help support a Fellow’s study and research efforts during the tenure of their appointment. The stipend of €39,000 for MA graduate/PhD Fellows or €45,000 for postdoctoral Fellows (subject to taxes and deductions) is for a period of twelve month.

Eligibility

• The Migelien Gerritzen Fellowship is open to MA graduates, as well as PhD students and post-doctoral candidates. MA Graduate/PhD Fellows are those who have completed their MA degree or whose proposal is embedded in the research plans of their forthcoming PhD dissertation, postdoctoral Fellows must have completed their PhD dissertation and obtained a PhD-degree on the date of application.
• Fellowships are open to candidates of all nationalities and with varied specialisms. They may include conservators and scientists.
• Candidates should have proven research capabilities, academic credentials and excellent command of the English language – both written and spoken. Proficiency in a second language (ideally Dutch or German) is preferred but not required.

Conrad Whelan 42 Fellowship

The Conrad Whelan 42 Fellowship at the Rijksmuseum welcomes outstanding PhD and postdoctoral candidates working on the art and cultural history of the Low Countries whose principal concern is object-based research. This Fellowship focuses on the Netherlands as an international intersection of art, artists, artistic ideas and materials. In recent decades, art and cultural historical studies have seen an upsurge in the scholarly attention paid to wide themes such as mobility, cultural networks, shared cultural heritage and globalization. The Rijksmuseum has actively contributed to this development, and international interfaces with Netherlandish art have been central to its collection and exhibition policy in the past decades. The Conrad Whelan 42 Fellowship is in keeping with these themes, and aims to stimulate high-quality, object-based research, focusing on the Low Countries as a centre of international cultural exchange at large. A member of the museum’s curatorial or scientific staff will be acting as advisor to each Fellow.

Fellowship stipends are awarded to help support a Fellow’s study and research efforts during the tenure of the appointment. The stipend of €39,000 for PhD Fellows or €45,000 for postdoctoral Fellows (subject to taxes and deductions) is for a period of twelve months.

Eligibility

• The Conrad Whelan 42 Fellowship is open to PhD students and postdoctoral candidates. PhD Fellows are those whose proposal is embedded in the research plans of their forthcoming PhD dissertation, postdoctoral Fellows must have completed their dissertation and obtained a PhD degree on the date of application.
• Fellowships are open to candidates of all nationalities and with varied specialisms. They may include researchers specializing in the fields of art history, cultural history or related studies.
• Candidates should have proven research capabilities, academic credentials and excellent command of the English language – both written and spoken. Proficiency in a second language (ideally Dutch or German) is preferred but not required.