Novo Nordisk Foundation Mads Øvlisen PhD and Postdoctoral grants

You can now apply for institutional hosting and commitment to possible enrolment at the Department of Arts and Cultural Studies (IKK) for the Novo Nordisk Foundation's Mads Øvlisen PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowships.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation's application deadline is expected in mid-January 2027, and the call is expected to be published in late October 2026. As the Novo Nordisk Foundation calls have not been published yet, changes in the below procedures may occur. Please read the website again before the submission deadline. 

By clicking on the relevant funding scheme below, you will be directed to the application procedure for obtaining hosting approval at IKK.

Deadline for applications for hosting and possible enrolment is Tuesday, 3 November 2026 at 2:00 PM (CET). Applications must be submitted to ikk-forsk@hum.ku.dk. Please note that late applications will be rejected. Applicants can expect to receive a decision no later than week 49.

Please note that IKK offers hosting/enrolment to only a limited number of applicants. See the information provided under each funding scheme.

Find the call and get more information on the Novo Nordisk Foundation website (press "Apply for funds" and choose "Art research" as "overall area"). Please ensure that you follow the instructions in the accompanying guidelines carefully.

Mads Øvlisen postdoc fellowships

The postdoctoral fellowships may be either art historical or practice-based. Applicants for artistic practice-based fellowships are generally encouraged to apply with employment at an artistic host institution, as IKK is unable to provide artistic peer feedback and/or offer studio or workshop facilities beyond standard office facilities.

Deadline for applying for hosting at the department is 3 November 2026 at 2 pm CET. If you wish to apply for a postdoc position based at IKK you need to apply for a hosting commitment.

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 to fill in a starting date for the project (either 1 September 2027 or 1 February 2028). 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.
  • 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 this template before submitting.

Assessment of applications

The decision on hosting approval is made by the Head of Department following a recommendation from an assessment committee consisting of representatives from Center for Practice-based Art Studies (PASS), Section for Art History, and Section for Modern Culture. Please note that only a limited number of candidates will be offered hosting. This year, hosting will be offered to a maximum of 10 postdoctoral applicants.

The committee will assess the applications based on:

  • The quality and originality of the project in terms of its topic, theoretical framework, and methodological approach.
  • The feasibility of the project.
  • The project's relevance to and alignment with the Department’s research profile.
  • The applicant’s qualifications, based on their CV and relevant degree certificates.
  • For projects involving external partners, an assessment of the partner institution’s capacity for and experience with research administration.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the Department’s research support officer. If your application is successful, you will also receive information about the subsequent stages of the application process.

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

The PhD fellowships may be either art historical or practice-based. Applicants for artistic practice-based fellowships are generally encouraged to apply with employment at an artistic host institution, as IKK is unable to provide artistic peer feedback and/or offer studio or workshop facilities beyond standard office facilities. 

Deadline for applying for hosting and commitment to possible enrolment at the department is 3 November 2026 at 2 pm CET.

If you wish to apply for a PhD position based on IKK you need to apply for a hosting commitment. (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 this template before submitting.

Assessment of applications

The decision on hosting approval is made by the Head of Department following a recommendation from an assessment committee consisting of representatives from Center for Practice-based Art Studies (PASS), Section for Art History, and Section for Modern Culture. Please note that only a limited number of candidates will be offered hosting. This year, hosting will be offered to a maximum of 12 PhD applicants with employment at IKK.

The committee will assess the applications based on:

  • The quality and originality of the project in terms of its topic, theoretical framework, and methodological approach.
  • The feasibility of the project.
  • The project's relevance to and alignment with the Department’s research profile.
  • The applicant’s qualifications, based on their CV and relevant degree certificates.
  • For projects involving external partners, an assessment of the partner institution’s capacity for and experience with research administration.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the Department’s research support officer. If your application is successful, you will also receive information about the subsequent stages of the application process.

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. 

PhD fellowships may be either art historical or practice-based. Applicants for artistic practice-based fellowships are generally encouraged to apply with employment at an artistic host institution, as IKK is unable to provide artistic peer feedback and/or offer studio or workshop facilities beyond standard office facilities. 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 3 November 2026 at 2 pm.

Assessment of applications

The decision on possible enrolment is made by the Head of Department following a recommendation from an assessment committee consisting of representatives from Center for Practice-based Art Studies (PASS), Section for Art History, and Section for Modern Culture. Please note that only a limited number of candidates will be offered hosting. This year, possible enrolment will be offered to a maximum of 8 PhD applicants with employment outside IKK.

The committee will assess the applications based on:

  • The quality and originality of the project in terms of its topic, theoretical framework, and methodological approach.
  • The feasibility of the project.
  • The project's relevance to and alignment with the Department’s research profile.
  • The applicant’s qualifications, based on their CV and relevant degree certificates.
  • For projects involving external partners, an assessment of the partner institution’s capacity for and experience with research administration.

Applicants will be notified of the outcome by the Department’s research support officer. If your application is successful, you will also receive information about the subsequent stages of the application process.

NOTE: All application budgets must include a tuition fee to cover for the PhD enrolment and education. If you are offered possible enrolment, you will receive more information on this.