About ViCAS
The Vienna Centre for Advanced Studies (ViCAS) at the University of Vienna supports ambitious research and fosters interdisciplinary exchange across cultures and academic traditions.
Located in the historic Hofburg palace in the heart of Vienna, ViCAS brings together outstanding mid-career and advanced researchers from around the world. Here, our fellows are given something increasingly rare: time and space to think, and a community of peers with whom to exchange ideas.
At ViCAS, scholars pursue deep, undisturbed research while becoming part of an international intellectual community. Through conversations, collaborations, and shared experiences, our fellows are enabled to develop new perspectives and create connections that reach beyond disciplinary, institutional, and national boundaries.
A Space of Resonance
The guiding idea behind ViCAS is resonance.
Borrowed from the language of music, resonance describes the way one sound amplifies another. At ViCAS, intellectual exchange resonates in much the same way. When researchers from different disciplines, cultures, and intellectual traditions encounter one another, new questions emerge and unexpected insights can take shape.
Resonance also captures our wider ambition: We hope that the work that begins at ViCAS will resonate beyond the Centre, finding cadence in future research and echoing in broader intellectual and societal debates.
At ViCAS, our goal is to create the conditions for these encounters and the discoveries they make possible.
A Global Community of Scholars
ViCAS welcomes outstanding international scholars from all academic disciplines who share a commitment to intellectual exchange.
In the 2026–27 academic year, ViCAS hosts its inaugural cohort of 19 fellows for nine months. From 2027 onwards, ViCAS will welcome fellows for residency durations of four or nine months.
As an in-residence programme, ViCAS encourages fellows to spend their fellowship at the Centre and to contribute to its vibrant academic life.
Jura Soyfer-Saal
Research and Exchange
At its core, ViCAS provides fellows with the time and space to reflect upon and advance their own research.
Alongside this independent work, our Centre hosts a programme of formal and informal activities designed to encourage dialogue and collaboration. Weekly colloquia, discussion forums, shared lunches, and daily “intermezzo” coffee breaks provide opportunities for fellows to connect and exchange ideas.
Fellows are also strongly encouraged to engage with the University of Vienna’s wider academic community, and to contribute their own events and activities.
Connected to the University of Vienna
One of our Centre's primary aims is to foster meaningful connections between visiting fellows and researchers across the University's twenty faculties and centres.
Through various events, organised for as well as initiated by the fellows, fellows will be able to contribute to the University's intellectual life while benefiting from one of Europe’s most diverse research environments.
The Vienna Advantage
Beyond providing access to a world-class research university and its reputation as one of the world’s most liveable cities, Vienna boasts a rich intellectual tradition and one of the world's most concentrated ecosystems of international organisations, offering fellows a uniquely stimulating environment in which research can flourish and new ideas can emerge.
The Hofburg palace's Michaelertrakt
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The ViCAS Centre
ViCAS is located within the historic Hofburg palace at Michaelerplatz in central Vienna. Click for a brief history and more information on the ViCAS site.
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Our Leadership
ViCAS is led by four professors and one Vice Rector from the University of Vienna.
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Administration
Meet the ViCAS administrative staff.