Each year, IAST invites applications for post-doctoral Research Fellowships, which offer candidates an opportunity to devote themselves full-time to their research at the start of their careers. Fellows are provided with office space, computer facilities, and a two-year contract renewable for a third year.
We welcome applications from researchers in a wide range of disciplines in the social and behavioral sciences, including anthropology, economics, evolutionary biology, history, mathematics, philosophy, political science, psychology, and sociology. Motivated applications from outside these disciplines will also be considered.
We seek candidates with a strong research background in their discipline but open to engaging in interdisciplinarity. Successful applicants must demonstrate an interest in and a commitment to at least one of the other disciplines of IAST. All research interests relevant to studying human behavior and organization are welcome. However, interests that complement and enhance those already developed at IAST — particularly those in line with one of the Research Teams — will be given special consideration. These interests include (to cite a few):
• In anthropology: cooperation and conflict, life history theory, human development and plasticity, health and infectious disease, aging, demography, diet and nutrition, global health, evolutionary medicine, and genetics.
• In evolutionary biology: evolutionary theory, social evolution, major evolutionary transitions, and behavioral ecology.
• In history: quantitative economic history (cliometrics), empirical political economy in history, qualitative economics, and social history.
• In political science: public opinion and public policies, political economy, political institutions, development, experimental political science, and studies of networks and their impact on individual and collective action.
• In psychology: artificial intelligence ethics, cumulative culture, human-machine cooperation, machine behavior, moral character, moral dilemmas, social credit, social learning, and social preferences.
• In sociology: analytical sociology, social networks, social mobility, inequality and social stratification, polarization and social influence, and environmental sociology.
What do we expect from our Research Fellows?
IAST is an institution that fosters communication between disciplines and interdisciplinary research. Key components of this process are exposure to presentations and participation in discussions. Research Fellows are, therefore, expected to regularly attend seminars, institutional social events, and our annual retreat. If required, they should also be able to contribute to our summer school in quantitative social sciences.
Who is eligible?
Eligible applicants for 2025 must be active researchers who have completed or will complete their PhD after December 2021 and before September 2025 (if the PhD is expected to be completed between October and December of 2025, the start of the fellowship will be postponed accordingly). Motivated applications will be considered from candidates whose PhDs were completed in 2021 or earlier; if applicable, please explain your reasons in your cover letter. Researchers who are either tenure-track or tenured at their present institution should not apply for this research fellowship.
IAST supports equality, diversity, and inclusion. We encourage applications from members of underrepresented groups in academia, including citizens from the Global South.
How do I apply?
To apply for a Research Fellowship, please send your application (before November 15, 2024) by clicking on the link below:
https://www.iast.fr/postdoctoral-fellowship-2025-2026
Each application should include (only in English):
- CV.
- Cover Letter (not to exceed two single-spaced pages). This should include a statement addressing current research and future plans.
- At least two writing samples (e.g., published peer-reviewed journal articles, working papers, book chapters).
- Contact information (i.e., name, title, email) of at least three references willing to provide a letter on your behalf. Note that your references will automatically receive an email notification from IAST once you submit your application. Just in case, please ask your references to check their spam folders. The deadline for submitting recommendation letters is November 30, 2024.
Tentative Recruitment Timeline
Zoom interviews will likely occur from mid-January until early February. Recruitment committee decisions will not be made until around mid-March 2025.