Research Fellowship Programme | NLSIU Bengaluru | Apply by 30 June 2026
NLSIU was established in 1987 to be a pioneer in legal education. Over the last three decades the University has evolved as an innovative leader in law, social sciences, humanities, and public policy education and research in India. It has also been ranked first among the law universities in the National Institute Ranking Framework (NIRF) for the last seven years.
The NLSIU Research Fellowships Programme, commencing AY 2025-26, will build and expand on the Academic Fellowship (AF) programme launched in AY 2021-22. The AF programme has successfully graduated three cohorts into academic positions and PhDs around the world.
The new Research Fellowships will contribute to the creation of original knowledge in law, social sciences, public policy, and cognate disciplines with a focus on the grand challenges mentioned earlier. The programme will contribute to a robust research community and intellectual life on the University campus. The programme includes fellowships of varying duration and scope that will be offered annually to researchers with different levels of academic and professional experience.
The programme includes the following fellowships:
1. The Graduate Research Fellowships provide support to exceptional young scholars to pursue research and writing in an area of their interest related to law, social sciences, public policy, and/or allied disciplines.
2. Up to ten (10) Fellows will be supported at any given point in time each AY. These include short-term fellowships (3–6 months) as well as long-term fellowships (1–2 years). The fellowship will be open to candidates with a graduate degree in law or postgraduate degree in social sciences, public policy, and/or allied disciplines.
3. Short-term Fellows (3–6 months) will be expected to:
✔ Publish 1-3 (depending on the duration of the fellowship) short-form pieces, such as blog articles, opinion pieces, and policy briefs for the NLS Forum/Blog;
✔ Submit an abstract for a research article (for 5–6 month fellowships);
✔ Present at a faculty seminar or research colloquium;
✔ Assist with and/or conduct research for an ongoing project under the supervision of the project in-charge, provided such assistance shall not be more than 20% of a Fellow’s time per month
4. Long-term Fellows (1–2 years) will be expected to:
✔ Publish at least 1 peer-reviewed journal article each year;
✔ Publish 4-6 (depending on the fellowship) short-form pieces, such as blog articles, opinion pieces, policy briefs, and/or commentaries to be published on the NLS Scholarship Repository;
✔ Present at a faculty seminar or research colloquium;
✔ Assist with and/or conduct research for an ongoing project under the supervision of the project in-charge, provided such assistance shall not be more than 20% of a Fellow’s time per month;
✔ Teach one elective course in their field of research each academic year (subject to the approval of the Academic Review Committee);
✔ Fellows will need to show satisfactory progress to be eligible for the second year of the fellowship.
5. All Fellows will get an opportunity to be part of NLSIU’s rich intellectual environment, participate in its workshops and seminars, avail of its extensive library and digital resources, and publish widely, including for NLS platforms (NLSIU blogs, peer-reviewed journals, and website).
6. All positions will be based out of NLSIU campus in Bangalore. Remote positions may be considered in exceptional cases.
7. The Fellows will be guided by faculty members working in their area of interest to ensure a meaningful and rewarding experience.
8. Remuneration is between Rs. 55,000 to 65,000 per month for the Graduate Research Fellowship.
1. The University will offer up to five (5) post-doctoral fellowships each academic year, starting from AY 2025–26. The Fellowship will support candidates for up to 2 years to develop their scholarly research towards publication.
2. Applicants who have been awarded a PhD degree in law, social sciences, public policy, or allied disciplines in the past 3 years and have not held a post-doctoral position at any other University will be eligible to apply for these positions.
3. The Fellows will be expected to:
✔ Submit a draft of a book manuscript to a publisher;
✔ Publish 1 peer review article per year;
✔ Publish at least 2 short-form pieces each year for the NLS Scholarship Repository;
✔ Teach 1 elective course per academic year in their field of research (subject to the approval of the Academic Review Committee).
4. Post-Doctoral Fellows are encouraged to collaborate with faculty members to deliver guest lectures for any of the existing courses (core or elective) and undertake collaborative research projects.
5. Fellows will need to show satisfactory progress to be eligible for the second year of the Fellowship. They will secure a 10% increase in the fellowship amount subject to satisfactory performance.
6. Remuneration is between Rs. 1,00,000 to Rs. 1,50,000 for the NLSIU Postdoctoral Research Fellowship.
1. The University will offer five (5) University Research Fellowships at any given point in time. The Fellowship will be for a duration of 3 months to 2 years.
2. Appointments to the University Research Fellowships will be made by invitation and by an open application process.
3. The University Research Fellowship will engage leading experts in their area of specialization with a significant publication record. The Fellowship provides an opportunity for scholars to further expand their research, produce critical scholarship, foster collaborations, and contribute to designing/strengthening research programmes at NLSIU.
4. The University Research Fellows must have a recognized PhD degree, at least 10 years of teaching, and a demonstrable record of publications, including solo-authored books and articles in well-recognized/top-ranking academic journals.
5. University Research Fellows will be expected to:
✔ Publish 1 peer-reviewed journal article a year (for fellowships that are more than a year);
✔ Publish 1 –6 (depending on the duration of the fellowship) short-form pieces, such as blog
articles, opinion pieces, commentaries and policy briefs for the NLS Scholarship Repository;
✔ Teach 1 elective course in their field of research each academic year (subject to the approval of the Academic Review Committee);
✔ Scholars will be be expected to:
– Contribute to designing/conducting research workshops at NLSIU;
– Strengthen various research activities on campus through feedback, evaluation, and participating in strategy meets;
– Coordinate building relationships with scholars from their home institution and NLSIU;
– Design/promote exchange programmes for faculty and students with their home institutions.
6. Fellows are ordinarily expected to be on campus during their fellowship period. The University may on a case-to-case basis offer flexibility for presence on campus.
7. The University encourages collaborations (teaching and research) between the University Research Fellows and faculty at NLSIU.
8. Remuneration is between Rs 1,70,000 to Rs 2,00,000 for University Research Fellowship.
Applications will be accepted on a rolling basis with three rounds of review.
For any queries, please write to recruitment@nls.ac.in or researchfellowships@nls.ac.in
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