The application and selection process for the IASC Fellowships 2026 is coordinated by the (Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) in cooperation with IASC.
Applicants must fulfill the following criteria:
- PhD student/candidate or postdoctoral researcher (up to 5 years past terminal degree). Exceptions will be made only for the two Indigenous Fellowships that also accept applications from Master students and recent Master graduates (up to 3 years past graduation).
- Located at / affiliated with an institution in an IASC member country
- Able to commit to participating in the activities of one of the IASC Working Groups (WG) for at least from January 2026 until April 2027, and voluntarily for up to two more years until March 2029. (without dedicated travel funding).
- Able to attend the two upcoming ASSWs:
- ASSW 2026 from 25 March - 1 April 2026 in Aarhus, Denmark.
- ASSW 2027 from 12 - 20 April 2027 in Hakodate, Japan
- Have a good command of English
- The IASC Indigenous Fellowships are for someone who identifies as an Arctic Indigenous person themselves. Non-Indigenous people who study/work with Arctic Indigenous-related topics are not eligible.
If you are interested in these opportunities then please fill out the
Application Form (external link)
If you have problems accessing or submitting the form, please contact the IASC Secretariat at info@iasc.info
Application deadline is 20 October 2025 at 18:00 GMT. Late applications will not be considered. Successful applicants will be notified by December 2025. All other applicants will be informed about the outcome of their application in January 2026.
The selection of candidates is coordinated by the Association of Polar Early Career Scientists (APECS) and will only be based on the material you provide in the application form – so please be as specific as possible.
All applications will be reviewed in a blind review process with each application being reviewed by at least 2 independent reviewers. Applications will be reviewed according to multiple criteria including your research background and the quality of your statement of interest of why you would like to become an IASC Fellow. After this initial review process, top ranked candidates will be forwarded to the IASC Secretariat as well as the IASC Working Group Steering Groups, who will make the final decision on their Fellows.