Programs

Two Indigenous women on stage in conversation
Robin Wall Kimmerer, author of the New York Times bestselling book Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants in conversation with local author Diane Wilson on stage at Northrop.

The Institute for Advanced Study ignites innovative research and discovery in the sciences, humanities, and the arts. The IAS is a site and a community dedicated to public and intellectual exchanges across the fields of human endeavor. The IAS core programs include our residential fellowships for faculty and graduate students, year-long research and creative collaboratives, incubator program, journal of public scholarship, and public event series.

Residential Fellows

IAS Residential Fellows comprise faculty, graduate students, and community fellows who spend a semester or year in residence at the IAS. Together, our fellows constitute a supportive interdisciplinary intellectual community in which fellows work intensively on their own research and creative projects and meet regularly to discuss their work and exchange ideas. We support several different fellowships, including:

Research and Creative Collaboratives

The IAS supports interdisciplinary research and collaboration and launches new projects through our Research and Creative Collaboratives program. Participants are awarded up to $12,000 annually to pursue intellectual and creative activity that bridges disciplines and communities.

Incubator

The IAS actively recruits a cohort of promising, early-stage, interdisciplinary projects seeking external funding and ensures their success by providing ongoing, holistic administrative support to funded projects. Incubator program participants receive a range of assistance, including feedback on concept and budget development, fundraising support, financial assistance, and communications support. Learn more about how to join the Incubator program, or explore our library of supported projects.

Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place, and Community

Open Rivers: Rethinking Water, Place & Community is an open-access digital journal of public scholarship that provides a forum for critical conversations about the interconnections between ecological and social systems. Water is the lens through which we investigate the challenges of climate change, struggles for environmental justice, and the ways we know and relate to the natural world. Open Rivers is published by the IAS and the University of Minnesota Libraries.

Public Events

Public events presented by the Institute for Advanced Study bring together scholars, artists, activists, and community leaders to discuss the most pressing issues of our time, and welcome both campus and community members. Our ongoing (In)Justice Series explores different visions for what justice might look like. The IAS also co-sponsors the Decolonization Roundtable, which offers a safe place to test new ideas on the topic of decolonization and its impacts. The IAS also occasionally co-sponsors other events.