I. Doctoral-Level Application Guidelines

The purpose of these fellowships is to produce new knowledge and ways of thinking in the fields of conflict, peace and social transformations. The Program on Global Security and Cooperation believes that this new knowledge will best be generated through collaboration between academics and practitioners, and between individuals from different countries. The fellowship supports training and research activities designed to create new skills and stimulate interaction between individuals working in different institutional and national environments. The objective of the fellowship program is to produce a cohort of innovative thinkers and decision-makers in the field of security studies who have integrated knowledge from academic and practical settings, and to encourage innovative policies and practices in this area.

As part of the application process, applicants should design their own collaborative training and research program. Collaboration means working within an institution and developing new relationships that facilitate innovative training and research; it does not mean a joint application. Below is an explanation of the two types of collaboration open to applicants:

• Cross-institutional Collaboration between scholars and practitioners; involves training at a nongovernmental, multilateral, or relevant private organization in any location.
• International Collaboration between scholars; involves training at an academic institution outside your home country.

Eligibility

NOTE: THESE ARE DOCTORAL LEVEL GUIDELINES. THERE ARE DIFFERENT GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSIONAL LEVEL APPLICANTS.
There are no citizenship, residency, or nationality requirements. At the doctoral student level:

• Applicants must be enrolled in a PhD program, and
• Complete all requirements for the doctoral degree except the dissertation by June 1, 2001.

Terms

• Fellowships begin in 2001.
• Doctoral fellowships are for 2 years in length. The time spent on training and research is flexible and will depend on the length of the training period. Minimum training time (including optional preparation period) is 1 year.
• Fellows are responsible for selecting and arranging their host institutions for training and research.
• International collaboration requires scholars to leave their home country for training, Cross-Institutional collaboration does not mandate travel. There are no geographical restrictions on the location of research, in the field or otherwise.
• Doctoral level awards support projects up to US $19,000 per year.
• Fellows are required to devote full time to their fellowships, which may not be held concurrently with other awards and fellowships.
• Fellows are required to submit progress reports, attend two SSRC conferences and participate in other fellowship activities during their tenure.
• The fellowship does not provide tuition support for applicants pursuing professional degrees.

II. Application Materials

To apply for these fellowships, you must submit the following:

 Application Form (A) (THREE COPIES)
 Information Form (B) (THREE COPIES)
 Personal Information Form (C) (THREE COPIES)
 Reference Forms (D)
THREE (3) letters of reference are required for each applicant. Referees may be academic professionals, employers, supervisors, or work associates.  Letters must be sealed with the referee’s signature over the seal and included in the same envelope with your application.
 Language Competence Evaluation Form (E)
If you are not a native speaker of English and did not complete undergraduate or postgraduate studies at an English-speaking university, and/or if you are proposing to do field research in a language other than your native tongue, you will need to have a certified instructor assess your language ability.
 Proposal and Bibliography  - see Proposal Instructions (THREE COPIES)
 Curriculum Vitae/ Resume (THREE COPIES)
Each applicant should include a CV, of no-more than three pages, specifying: current address and contact information; personal and professional experience relevant to conflict and peace processes; education; professional positions and responsibilities; languages and level of proficiency in each; and recent publications
 Writing Sample  (for example: published article, report, chapter of dissertation, etc.)
 Transcripts
Official transcripts from all your colleges, professional schools and/or universities are required. The Registrar should seal the transcript in an envelope, sign across the seal and then return it to you. If the University will not release the transcript to you, please make a note of this in your application and have the official transcripts sent to the Program on Global Security & Cooperation.
 Acknowledgement/ Verification of Materials Card
Please write your address on the front of this card. This card will be sent to you when we receive your application. If you are using a downloaded version of the form, please include a self-addressed postcard.

III. General Application Instructions

The original and THREE COPIES of the application forms A-D,
The original and THREE COPIES of the proposal,
The original and THREE COPIES of the CV,
Originals only of: the recommendations, the Language Evaluation Form, the writing sample, the transcript and the verification card.
 

• All documents must be submitted together in one envelope. Documents cannot be returned.
• Do not staple the application.
• Do not refer to attachments.
• FAX applications will not be accepted.
•  All applications must be received by Friday, January 12, 2001

IV. Announcement of Awards

The 2001 Fellowships on Conflict, Peace and Social Transformations will be announced during June 2001. A list of fellows will be published on the web site (ssrc.org).
 

V.  Proposal Instructions – Doctoral Level

The proposal consists of Part 1: Research Project, Part 2: Training Program, and Part 3: Bibliography. Parts 1 and 2 should be typewritten in a font no smaller than 12 points, including notes, with margins no smaller than one inch, on single-sided, double-spaced pages and should not exceed 3000 words. Part 3 (the bibliography) should not exceed two single-sided, single-spaced pages.

Proposals should be thorough and written in non-technical prose. For suggestions on proposal writing, visit our website (www.ssrc.org) and look for The Art of Writing Proposals, a short guide by Adam Przeworski and Frank Salomon.

Although English is preferred, proposals may be submitted in other languages. In the case of proposals not written in English, the applicant is responsible for providing a high quality translation in English. Applicants should beware that translation errors or misinterpretations may render the proposal far less competitive than it would be otherwise.

Proposals will be returned if they do not meet these specifications.
 

I. Research Project

1. Description. Provide a description of your overall topic.
2. Problem. Specify the central problem your project addresses.  What are the crucial research questions, puzzles, or hypotheses?
3. Methodology. Describe the data sources and/or knowledge to be drawn on to address your central problem. Where do you intend to look for this data/knowledge? What are the methods and research operations you will undertake to collect, analyze, or interpret that data/knowledge. “Do not just tell what you mean to achieve, tell how you will spend your time while doing it…a methodology is not just a list of research tasks but an argument as to why these tasks add up to the best attack on the problem…Be as specific as you possibly can about the activities you plan to undertake to collect information, about the techniques you will use to analyze it, and about the test of validity to which you commit yourself.” (The Art of Writing Proposals)
4. Context. Set your research question in the context of existing work or research in the topic area (if any). “Help your reader understand where the problem intersects the main…debates in your field and show how this inquiry puts established ideas to the test or offers new ones.” (ibid)
5. Impact. Specify how the proposed research will contribute to knowledge, understanding, policies or practices in the field of conflict and peace.

Issues you should think about:
 

• Bridging of different bodies of knowledge and theory produced by researchers working on security issues in varying countries and organizations (like NGOs);
• Utilizing the knowledge generated by multilateral organizations, NGOs, and other practitioners to evaluate and rethink longer-term strategies as well as to build new theory;
• Analyzing the underlying political, economic, and cultural conditions of conflict, insecurity, and peace and addressing relevant social transformations;
• Rethinking inherited models of the state and governance that are inadequate for understanding the complex security contexts in which more than one type of actor operates within or across borders, whether they are public organizations like UN agencies or private organizations like NGOs and corporations; and
• Making connections between different dimensions of conflict and insecurity, such as the environment, migration, infectious diseases, gender, weapons proliferation, war, food supply, biodiversity, global finance, economic inequality, ethnicity and nationalism.

II. Training Program

Issues you should think about:
 

• Nature of Training Activities. Fellows are asked to work with individuals and institutions in new contexts and, in this way, will be able to gain new insights, data, theory, research methods, or modes of inquiry that can strengthen their research projects. Training is obtained through collaboration that forges new links to researchers, institutions, networks, or bodies of knowledge. Research, which should be enhanced by these collaborative training experiences, is pursued through inquiry, data gathering, and analysis.

• Preparation Period (optional).  In some cases fellows may lack the skills, knowledge, or contacts to begin a collaboration immediately. If you think you need to prepare for the fellowship, you may propose an initial period of preparation, in a relevant institution, prior to the commencement of your collaborative training program. This preparation period should be spelled out in this section of the proposal. Even if you are unsure of your preferred training institution, indicate the kinds of experiences and skills that you need in order to conduct your proposed research.

III. Bibliography