Institute of Advanced Study (Durham)
Coordinates: 54°46′28″N 1°34′30″W / 54.77444°N 1.57500°W
The Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) is an interdisciplinary research centre of Durham University. The IAS - set up to mark Durham's 175th anniversary - is intended to attract scholars and public figures from across the world to collaborate on 'agenda-setting research'. It is housed in the Grade I listed Bishop Cosins Hall on Palace Green, Durham, within the Durham UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Institute accepted its first fellows in January 2006 and was formally inaugurated into the university in October that year.
The goal of the IAS, in the university's own words, is to 'gather the world's finest scholars and non-academics' to 'address themes of global significance'. Fellows selected by the university advance their own research, engage with academic departments, deliver public lectures and seminars, and contribute to studying the research theme selected for that year.
The activity of the IAS is based around research themes across the Sciences, Social Sciences and Humanities. These themes, chosen to provide a broad interdisciplinary appeal, are designed to be complex and potentially controversial. Each theme of the IAS's research is published a year in advance. For the inaugural theme in 2006-2007 the university selected the "Legacy of Darwin" as a way of exploring the impact of Darwinian thought on multiple academic subjects. The theme for the 2017/18 fellowships is the concept of 'Structure'.
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