Novo Nordisk Foundation. Art History Grants

The Novo Nordisk Foundation has announced the following calls for 2026. Deadline is medio January 2025. 

Follow the links below to see the in-house procedures for applying through the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies (IKK): 

Deadline for all housing applications is 11 November 2025 at 2 pm CET. All applications for housing and possible enrolment will be replied to no later than 24 November 2025.

NB: The Novo Nordisk Foundation has not published all calls yet. Therefore changes in the procedure may occur, so please read the website again before the deadline. Applications that are handed in after the in-house deadline may be rejected. 

Find the formal call and get more information on the Novo Nordisk Foundation website (press "Apply for funds" and choose "Art research" as "overall area"). Remember to read and follow the guidelines carefully. 

Mads Øvlisen postdoc fellowships

Deadline for applying for hosting at the department is 11 November 2025 at 2 pm CET. If you wish to apply for a postdoc position based at IKK you need to apply for a hosting commitment from the Head of Department.

In order to apply you must send the following documents to ikk-forsk@hum.ku.dk:

  • Application form to be hosted at IKK
  • A short project description of max. 2 pages (2400 characters). See the application form for inspiration on how to format your application. Remember that the description must include a clear and well-founded indication of 1 or 2 of the department's research clusters your project is relevant for. Find a description of the clusters on IKK's website.
  • CV and list of publications (max 2 pages of 2400 characters). NB: Application form, project description and CV must be submitted as one pdf).
  • Staffing plan in excel template. The plan provides a overview of your project employment that we use to make a salary budget for your application. Please note that the earliest possible starting date is 1 September 2026 or 1 February 2027 regardless of what is stated in the call.
  • Summary of Academic Employments in excel template. The summary is used to calculate your seniority and it is important that you state period and working hours for each employment - in estimates if you do not have the precise information. Please, do not PDF the templates before submitting.

The applications will be assessed by a committee at IKK with a view to the quality and originality in subject, theory and methodology of the projects, their relevance for and connection to the research within the department and the qualifications of the applicants. The committee submits their recommendations to the Head of Department who makes the selection of which candidates are offered housing. Note that not all applicants are offered housing.  

The research support officer will reply to your request no later than 24 November and, if positive, also with information on the next steps in the application process. 

Mads Øvlisen PhD Scholarships with enrolment at the PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities/IKK and employment at IKK

Deadline for applying for hosting commitment to possible enrolment at the department is 11 November 2025 a 2 pm CET.

If you wish to apply for a PhD position based on IKK you need to apply for a hosting commitment from the Head of Department. (PhD applicants applying with employmet outside IKK must follow a different procedure, see below).

In order to apply you must send the following documents to ikk-forsk@hum.ku.dk:

  • Application form for housing and commitment to possible enrolment (please also note which appendices you must include. NB: Form and attachments must be submitted as one pdf-binder with attachments in the succession specified in the form).
  • Summary of Academic Employments in excel template. The summary is used to calculate your seniority and it is important that you state period and working hours for each employment - in estimates if you do not have the precise information. Please, do not PDF the template before submitting it.

Applications for housing and commitment to possible enrollment are processed by an evaluation committee at IKK, which assesses the quality and originality of the projects' subject, theory and methodology; their relevance for and possible integration with the research done at the department along with the qualifications of the applicant. The committee recommends candidates to the Head of Department, who makes the selection.

The research support officer will reply to your request no later than 24 November and, if positive, also with information on the next steps in the application process. 

Please note that not all candidates are offered housing and that the final evaluation of the candidates eligibility for enrollment is made by the PhD school at the Faculty of Humanities if a grant is given.   

Mads Øvlisen PhD Scholarships with enrolment at the PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities/IKK and external employment in museums or art academies etc. 

If you wish to apply for a PhD and your employment is based outside IKK you must apply for commitment to possible enrollment at the PhD School at the Faculty of Humanities (PhD applicants with employment at IKK must follow a different procedure, see above).

To obtain a commitment to possible enrolment you must email the following documents to ikk-forsk@hum.ku.dk no later than 11 November 2025 at 2 pm.

Applications for commitment to possible enrolment are processed by a committee at IKK. Please note that the final evaluation of the candidates eligibility for enrollment is made by the PhD school at the Faculty of Humanities if a grant is given. In cases where the candidate has an educational background that does not give direct admission according to the PhD regulations, IKK will forward the submitted material to the PhD School at The Faculty of Humanities for an evaluation of the candidate's eligibility.  

The research support officer will reply to your request no later than 24 November. 

NOTE: In the application budget for Novo Nordisk Foundation you must fill in a tuition fee of DKK 225.000,- (DKK 75.000,-/year) in your application budget. Out of this, you can apply for DKK 36.000,- for travels in relation to your education.