The International Olympic Committee, through its Olympic Studies Centre (OSC), has opened a new call for applications for its 2027 Research Scholarship Programme, an initiative aimed at doctoral students and early-career academics whose work focuses on the study of the Olympic Movement. The programme once again places the value of knowledge at the centre, presenting it as a tool to understand Olympism beyond competition by encouraging research into its history, ideals, the role of athletes, and the impact the Olympic Games have had on contemporary culture and society.

The scholarship represents not only financial support, but also a concrete opportunity to deepen the academic analysis of one of the most influential social and cultural phenomena of the last century. Since 1999, the programme has enabled more than 148 researchers from around the world to develop projects linked to the Olympic universe, in many cases with direct access to the historical archives of the IOC in Lausanne, an invaluable resource for those seeking to study Olympism through a critical, interdisciplinary and human lens.

An academic boost to study Olympism in all its dimensions

The new edition of the programme is aimed at postgraduate students currently enrolled in doctoral programmes in the humanities and social sciences whose research includes Olympism, the Olympic Movement or the Olympic Games as one of its central axes. This confirms the IOC’s intention to continue promoting a broad academic reading of the Olympic phenomenon, understanding that its scope goes beyond sport and connects with historical, political, cultural and social processes that continue to shape the contemporary world.

The call is also open to academic staff members and postdoctoral fellows who completed their doctorate — or an equivalent highest-level degree, including master’s degrees depending on the field — in 2024 or later. In doing so, the programme extends its reach to a new generation of researchers beginning to consolidate their careers and finding in Olympism a fertile space to explore urgent questions around representation, identity, diplomacy, memory, gender, power and social transformation.

Access to archives, academic networks and new research opportunities

One of the programme’s main attractions is the opportunity to work with the resources of the IOC’s Olympic Studies Centre in Lausanne, where specialised collections, primary sources and the organisation’s historical archives are preserved. For those researching Olympism, access to this material is far more than a consultation opportunity: it is a chance to connect the present of sport with its institutional roots, its historical tensions and the narratives that have shaped the Olympic ideal over time.

Applications must be submitted by Tuesday, 22 September 2026, the deadline set by the OSC to receive files and official documentation. The process also includes online information sessions to guide prospective applicants, while evaluation will be carried out by a committee made up of internationally recognised academic experts and representatives of the Olympic Studies Centre itself. In parallel, the IOC also confirmed that in October 2026 it will open the call for its 2027–2029 Advanced Olympic Research Grant Programme, aimed at established researchers seeking to deepen work in priority areas from the humanities and social sciences.