The Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) has opened a second call for its Senior Fellowship for the financial year 2026-27. Online applications started on 21 October 2026 and the last date for online submission is 20 November 2026.
The fellowship pays Rs 45,000 per month plus a contingency grant of Rs 40,000 per year, and runs for two years with no extension. It is for Indian scholars who already hold a PhD and have published research to their name.
This page sets out the value, the eligibility rules, the affiliation requirement, the application process and the dates, taken from the ICSSR announcement and the official Senior Fellowship guidelines for 2026-27.
ICSSR Senior Fellowship 2026-27: quick facts
Quick facts2026-27
| Scholarship from | Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR), Ministry of Education, Government of India |
| Last date to apply | 20 November 2026 (online application; the window opened on 21 October 2026) |
| Official website | icssr.org – 2nd Call for ICSSR Senior Fellowship 2026-2027 |
What the Senior Fellowship pays
- Rs 45,000 per month as the fellowship amount.
- A contingency grant of Rs 40,000 per annum for research expenses.
- Duration of two years, and the guidelines state that no extension will be considered.
- The Senior Fellowship is a full-time research engagement – it is not meant to be held alongside a full teaching load without the salary-protection route.
Faculty who hold regular posts on UGC pay scales in public-funded universities, colleges or research institutes can be considered for salary protection in exceptionally meritorious cases, and that decision sits with ICSSR’s expert committees. Under salary protection a fellow gets salary and allowances as per rules plus the contingency grant, but special allowances such as children education allowance, medical reimbursement and LTC are not payable by ICSSR – the parent institution may pay them under its own rules.
ICSSR also pays leave salary and pension contribution (or the CPF and gratuity contribution) for the period of the fellowship, as per the rules of the parent institution.
Who is eligible
- You must be an Indian citizen.
- Your age must be not less than 45 years and not more than 70 years as on the last date of application.
- You must hold a PhD degree and, in ICSSR’s assessment, have the competence to conduct research in social sciences or allied disciplines.
- You need outstanding research publications – books published by reputed publishers and/or research papers in peer-reviewed journals with a high impact factor, at the time of application.
- You must affiliate yourself to a UGC-recognised university or deemed-to-be university, an Institute of National Importance as defined by the Ministry of Education or UGC, or an ICSSR research institute. Funds are disbursed through that affiliating or administering institution.
- Only one application is allowed under the Senior Fellowship scheme, though you may apply separately to another ICSSR scheme.
The guidelines add that the affiliating institution has to forward the applications of only those candidates who meet the minimum eligibility criteria defined in the detailed guidelines, so the institution’s endorsement is part of the process rather than a formality.
What you research: the 2026-27 thrust areas
The 2026-27 Senior Fellowship guidelines list a long set of priority areas across the social sciences. The list runs from entrepreneurship and start-ups and intergovernmental transfers and incentives, through public administration and grievance management, maritime affairs, borders and irregular migration, judicial reforms, ageing and care, gender and informal sectors, intersectional disability studies and social inclusion studies, to language preservation and documentation, knowledge traditions in Indian languages, heritage and conservation, and research methods for the social sciences – including data quality, ethics and reproducibility, and decolonisation of theories, disciplines and epistemologies.
Read the guidelines PDF before you write the proposal: the research proposal has to be submitted in the format attached to the application form, and that format is the only accepted structure.
How to apply, step by step
- Download and read the Senior Fellowship guidelines for 2026-27 (linked below) – eligibility, age window and the proposal format all sit there.
- Line up your affiliating institution first: a UGC-recognised university, deemed university, Institute of National Importance or ICSSR research institute that will administer the fellowship.
- Fill the online application on the ICSSR website. The window opened on 21 October 2026.
- Prepare the research proposal only in the format attached to the application form – do not attach a separate proposal or copies of your research papers.
- Write the proposal in Hindi or English; for Hindi use Unicode 8 (UTF-8) while filling the form.
- Submit before 20 November 2026 and make sure your institution forwards the application.
There is no application fee mentioned in the guidelines, and only one application per applicant is accepted under this scheme.
How the selection works
- Applications are evaluated by a panel of subject experts, and the process includes an interaction or presentation in multiple phases.
- The expert committee’s recommendations go to the relevant ICSSR committees for consent and approval.
- The list of selected applications is published on the ICSSR website.
- Selected candidates and their affiliating universities are informed individually through a provisional award letter that lists the documents and formalities needed to join.
After selection: joining and release of funds
- You must join within one month of the award letter by submitting all required documents through the affiliating institution; ICSSR may extend this in exceptional circumstances.
- The fellowship is sanctioned initially for one year from the date you join.
- Renewal for the second year depends on a satisfactory annual progress report and statement of account for the first year.
- First-year fellowship and contingency are released in two equal instalments – the second after a satisfactory six-monthly progress report and statement of account.
- Second-year funds come in three instalments, with the final instalment released after the final report.
Important dates for the 2026-27 second call
| Online applications open | 21 October 2026 |
| Last date for online submission | 20 November 2026 |
| Selection process | Expert panel evaluation with interaction or presentation, in multiple phases |
| Result | List of selected applications published on the ICSSR website |
| Joining | Within one month of the provisional award letter |
| Fellowship tenure | Two years, sanctioned one year at a time, no extension |
If you miss this window, watch the ICSSR announcements page – the Senior Fellowship is advertised through open advertisement on the ICSSR website and its social media, and this is the second call for the 2026-27 financial year.
Official links
- icssr.org – 2nd Call for ICSSR Senior Fellowship 2026-2027
- Guidelines for ICSSR Senior Fellowship 2026-27 (PDF)
- ICSSR website – announcements and results
Frequently asked questions
The online application window opened on 21 October 2026 and the last date for online submission is 20 November 2026, according to the ICSSR announcement for the second call for financial year 2026-27.
Rs 45,000 per month plus a contingency grant of Rs 40,000 per annum, for a duration of two years. The guidelines state that no extension of the fellowship will be considered.
The applicant must be an Indian citizen aged not less than 45 years and not more than 70 years as on the last date of application.
No. The eligibility conditions require a PhD degree along with outstanding research publications – books from reputed publishers and/or papers in peer-reviewed journals with high impact factor – at the time of application.
Yes. A fellow has to affiliate to a UGC-recognised university or deemed university, an Institute of National Importance, or an ICSSR research institute, and funds are disbursed through that institution. The institution forwards only applications that meet the minimum eligibility criteria.
Faculty with regular service on UGC pay scales in public-funded institutions may be considered for salary protection in exceptionally meritorious cases, decided by ICSSR’s expert committees. ICSSR also pays leave salary and pension or CPF and gratuity contribution as per the parent institution’s rules.
Related fellowships and hubs
Hub pages: Fellowships, National Scholarships, Post Graduation Scholarships.
Related posts: UGC NET JRF Fellowship, ICAR JRF/SRF PhD Fellowship, NIT Rourkela Visvesvaraya Post-Doctoral Fellowship.