The Freiburg Institute for Advanced Studies (FRIAS) is the University of Freiburg’s research college. It provides time, space, and funding for high-level research. FRIAS is dedicated to interdisciplinary research across a wide variety of topics and welcomes scholars from all countries and disciplines.
Are you Postdoc or an established researcher? Explore your opportunities at FRIAS.
How can we help? Find the right contact person for your specific inquiry.
Founded in 2007, FRIAS is a central academic institution of the University of Freiburg, deeply integrated into the university’s structure. FRIAS fosters connections between the University of Freiburg and the global academic community, encouraging partnerships and research collaborations that enhance the university’s international presence. With its funding programmes, FRIAS provides a space and forum for scholars from diverse fields to research and collaborate, promoting new perspectives on critical scientific and societal challenges.
FRIAS offers time-limited research residencies in Freiburg, welcoming both established researchers and promising early-career scholars (with a minimum of a completed PhD) from all disciplines, based in Freiburg, Europe, and beyond. To support collaborative initiatives, FRIAS also funds group research projects that bring together interdisciplinary teams, encouraging innovative approaches to research topics and questions across all fields.
Research at FRIAS is driven by funding programmes and is conducted on a temporary basis. Unrestricted by fixed themes or specific research fields, FRIAS is open to ideas from all academic disciplines. At its core are the individual research projects of FRIAS fellows, complemented by collaborative research group projects. Most recently, FRIAS launched the Freiburg Postdoctoral Academy, which focuses on supporting early-career researchers and is closely integrated with the University of Freiburg’s primary research areas.
FRIAS offers a diverse selection of events and lecture series for Fellows, university members, and the wider public. Find your highlight and be part of it.
Learn more about the latest stories and developments at FRIAS and discover our media library.
Elmira Akhmetova’s (Alexander von Humboldt Fellow 2021-23) book “Muslim Women in Science, Past and Present” was published in February by Cambridge University Press.
Felicitas Opwis (FRESCO Fellow 2021-25) published a book called “Ethics and Legal Analogy (Qiyas) in 5th/11th Century Legal Theory“. Since January, she has also been appointed “Sultan Qaboos Bin Said Professor of Arabic Language and Culture” at Georgetown University.
Niels Grüne (Marie S. Curie FCFP Fellow 2015/16) successfully completed his habilitation process in October 2024 with the study “‚Verkäufer in Rebus publicis‘. Korruption als politisches Argument und Konfliktfeld in der Frühen Neuzeit,” which is partly based on the work he did at FRIAS. He was also promoted to Associate Professor of Modern History at Innsbruck University in November 2024.
Learn more about what we have to offer.
