In order to fulfill the
doctoral requirement of nine months of fieldwork abroad, most
students need to seek external funding. The nature of such funding
proposals varies in accordance with the region within which fieldwork
is to be pursued. However, in general, proposals must be filed
an entire calendar year prior to the time at which the student
plans to engage in fieldwork. Since many, if not most, relevant
fellowships require applications to be submitted anywhere from
mid-summer to December, the summer and fall of one’s final
year of course work is the optimal time to first submit fieldwork
funding proposals.
The success of such proposals
is in large part determined by the research plan as expressed
in the proposal, and the student’s prior fieldwork experience
in the region (and consequently extent of contacts, etc.). Thus
it is imperative that proposals be prepared well in advance
of the due date, so that relevant faculty can give critical
feedback for the final revision. In addition, a student is highly
encouraged to use summers or a semester to do preliminary exploration
on site during their studies. Most fellowship committees will
have a formal rating sheet which their evaluators use in giving
a point total to each application. Thus for each criteria they
give a number - ranging from outstanding to unacceptable - and
then the total for all criteria together constitutes the applicant’s
score. Thus it is important to say things specified as important
in application procedures even if they seem obvious, because
otherwise you will get a zero on that criteria.
For example, one technical review
sheet has:
-The justification for
overseas field research, and preparations to establish appropriate
and sufficient research contacts and affiliations abroad. Give
score and comments.
-The applicant’s plans
to share the results of the research in progress and a copy
of the dissertation with scholars and officials of the host
country or countries. Give score and comments.
-The guidance and supervision
of the dissertation advisor or committee at all stages of
the project, including guidance in developing the project,
understanding research conditions abroad, and acquianting
the applicant with research in the field. Give score and comments.
And so forth....
For research in India, three most
important fellowship opportunities are from the American
Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS, aiis@uchicago.edu,
http://humanities.uchicago.edu/orgs/aiis/hp.htm
), the Fulbright-Hayes, and Fullbright IIE. AIIS
applications are generally due in mid-summer, and the other
two in early fall. The two Fulbright programs are also available
in Nepal. In China, the central funding agency is the Committee
for Scholarly Communication with China (CSCC). For more
anthropological studies, there are various funding agencies
dedicated to the social sciences.
In addition, there are various
less known fellowships, and it is important to pursue such opportunities
in addition to the more mainstream options. For example, The
Rock Foundation (2905 Springhurst Steet; Yorktown Heights,
NY 10598; Tel. 914-962-4208; fax 914-962-0038) has offered several
fellwships for PHD students and dissertators majoring in Buddhist
Studies. The Foundation is dedicated to the study of Buddhism
in general and Chinese Buddhism in particular in the US. They
support three dissertators and seven PHD students. The Fellowship
administrator is Henry Chang (hychang@watson.ibm.com).
The dissertation fellowship come with a stipend of $10,000 for
PHD candidates who complete all doctorate requirements except
the dissertation. Pre-dissertation research fellowship comes
with a stipend of $5,000. The fellowship is renewable. Selection
is based on scholastic standing, a recent scholastic paper (Buddhism
related), religious commitment, and financial need.
The Social Science Research
Council (SSRC) is another funding possibility for students
with an anthropological interest.
International Dissertation Field Research Fellowship Program:
this provides support for humanists and social scientists to
conduct dissertation field research in all areas and regions
of the world. The program is administered by the Social Science
Research Council in partnership with the American Council
of Learned Societies. Funds are provided by the Andrew
W. Mellon Foundation. The fellowships enable doctoral candidates
to use their knowledge of distinctive areas, cultures, languages,
economics, polities, and historical experiences, in combination
with their disciplinary training, to address issues that transcend
their disciplines or area specializations.
The program is open to full-time graduate students in the
humanities and social sciences - regardless of citizenship -
enrolled in doctoral programs in the United States. Applicants
must have completed all Ph.D. requirements except the field
research component by the time the fellowship begins or by December
of that year, whichever comes first. In exceptional circumstances
the candidate may propose less than nine months of field work,
but no award will be given for less than six months of field
work.
The IDFR program helps promising young scholars launch their
careers with substantive knowledge about societies, cultures,
economies, and/or polities outside the United States. It promotes
scholarship that treats place and setting in relation to broader
phenomena as well as particular histories and cultures. The
proposed research will be assessed in terms of the probability
that it can inform debates that go beyond the specific topic
and place chosen for study. Applications should exhibit a grounding
in the methods and theories of a particular discipline or sub-discipline,
but also must demonstrate cross-disciplinary interest. Deadline
is usually in November. For more information, contact International
Dissertation Field Research Program (IDRF), Social Science Research
Council, 810 Seventh Avenue, 31st floor, NY NY 10019. Tel 212-377-2700;
fax 212-377-2727; email idrf@ssrc.org;
WEB: http://www.ssrc.org.
The South Asia Program of the Social Science Research Council
offers support for graduate research and training in the humanities
and social sciences on South Asia. These consists of "Pre-dissertation
Fellowships" and "Dissertation Field Research Fellowships".
The former are designed to support field trips for preliminary
dissertation field activities, such as investigating potential
research sites and research materials, development of language
skills, and establishing local research contacts. It includes
short-term (three month) fellowships designed for students to
explore the feasibility of dissertation topics and field sites
as well as scholarly resources (maximum award $5,000), and long-term
fellowships (nine months, maximum award $11,000) for language
study.
The latter are available for up to twelve months of doctoral
dissertation field research in Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan,
or Sri Lanka in the social sciences and humanities. The maximum
award is $15,000. For applications (deadline usually in November)
and further information, contact South Asia Program, Social
Science Research Council, 810 Seventh Avenue, New York NY 10019;
212-377-2700; fax 212-377-2727; WEB: http://www.ssrc.org
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