The Ronin Institute For Independent Scholarship, sometimes referred to as The Ronin Institute, or RIIS, is an internationally recognized, non-profit free association of independent scholars and researchers, dedicated to fostering intellectual exploration beyond the conventional constraints of traditional academic institutions.
Seeking to innovate while striving to maintain rigorous enquiry and association, Ronin Institute seeks to explore cooperative and member owned models of association.
Ronin Institute provides a supportive, non-hierarchical community for scholars, researchers, and intellectuals who choose or require a path outside of standard university affiliation.
By offering a formal academic home—complete with the prestigious title of Ronin Scholar—we validate and empower high-quality, self-directed research across all disciplines, which is becoming increasingly hard to achieve and validate.
Our mission is to decouple the act of scholarship from dependence on institutional employment, thereby promoting intellectual freedom, innovation, and diverse perspectives in global knowledge creation.
A History of Independent Thought and Achievement
Established in 2011 by a collective of scholars committed to the principles of self-governance and intellectual autonomy, the Ronin Institute For Independent Scholarship initially operated as a legal entity registered in Montclair, NJ USA . It was founded in response to the growing challenges faced by researchers not in tenured academic structures.
The institute rapidly evolved from a grassroots initiative into a global academic community spanning multiple continents and disciplines.
Over the past decade, Ronin Scholars have collectively published hundreds of peer-reviewed articles, books, and influential works and a few of them managed to secure handful 3 million of dollars in external research grants from prestigious funding bodies.
Read the story of Ronin Institute here
New Beginnings for Independent Scholarship
This web page continues to represent Ronin Scholars as an indepedent research collective, seeking to find fiscal host for its Fellows.
Our primary aim is to experiment with new models of scholarship, and to continue to work towards rigorous, high-impact scholarship that not only can flourish independently but avoids association with malpractice.
The challenges for everone involved remain nonetheless.
The Challenges of Independent Scholarship
While the freedom of independent scholarship offers unparalleled opportunities for self-directed research, it presents unique and often substantial challenges that the Ronin Institute is specifically organized to address. Independent scholars frequently confront issues of professional isolation, struggling to maintain connections necessary for collaboration and peer review. More critically, they often face structural barriers related to obtaining institutional affiliation, which is prerequisite for securing research grants, accessing academic libraries and publishing platforms, and receiving professional validation.
The lack of a formal institutional base can also create difficulties in establishing credibility with potential employers, funding agencies, and collaborators.
By aiming to provide a formal academic identity and a vibrant, supportive ecosystem, the Ronin Institute directly mitigates these professional and administrative obstacles, allowing our scholars to focus entirely on their research and intellectual pursuits.
As of Jan 2026 RIIS Collective is
a) not affiliated with any legal entity in the USA with the same name
b) actively welcoming membership application from qualified or aspiring scholars/Fellows
c) seeking input on choice of logo, motto, governance structure, legal enity incorporation and fiscal hosting
JOIN by Applying Here
You may reach us by email : admin@ronin-institute.org