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GWU-WWC Faculty Fellowship Program in Asian Policy Studies

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars and the Elliott School of International Affairs of The George Washington University are pleased to announce the third annual fellowship competition for recently tenured faculty members in Asian studies. Selected applicants will spend a semester each at the Wilson Center and the Elliott School to explore the policy implications of their research.

Sponsoring Institutions

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars is Washington's only independent, wide-ranging, non-partisan institute for advanced research where vital current issues and their historical and cultural backgrounds are explored through research and dialogue. Created by the Congress of the United States as the nation's official memorial to its 28th president, the Center seeks to commemorate through its residential fellowship program both the scholarly depth and the public concerns of Woodrow Wilson.

The Elliott School is The George Washington University's professional school of international affairs, and one of the foremost schools of international affairs in the nation. With a permanent faculty of 37 and an affiliated faculty of over 100, it educates 1,000 undergraduates and 500 graduate and mid-career students annually for a broad range of international affairs-related careers in the private and non-profit sectors and in government. Its curriculum is multidisciplinary, concentrating in history, international economics and business, politics, foreign languages, science, and technology, while its Washington location ensures a policy-oriented research agenda.

Financial support for this program is provided through the generosity of the Henry Luce Foundation, Inc.

Eligibility

This competition is open to recently tenured faculty at American institutions who specialize in modern East Asia and who are interested in pursuing research topics that will help bridge the gap between the academy and the world of policymaking.

Applicants must have received tenure within the past seven years.

Purpose

The underlying assumption behind this fellowship program is that policy-relevant research will contribute to the creation of better-informed policy. By bringing promising academic Asia specialists to Washington at an early stage in their careers, the sponsoring institutions hope to encourage these scholars to undertake a career-long agenda of policy-related Asia research.

Length of Appointment and Responsibilities

These fellowships are for one academic year, September-May. Successful applicants will spend one semester at the Wilson Center and the other at the Elliott School. The next fellowships competition will be for the academic year beginning late September 2003.

Fellows are expected to carry out a full schedule of rigorous research and writing on Asia-related subjects with relevance to contemporary policy issues.

While resident at the Wilson Center, fellows will also be expected to participate in at least one workshop, seminar, or conference organized by the Center's Asia Program. During their semester at the Elliott School, fellows will lead a one-credit capstone policy project. Capstone policy projects are exercises in which second-year graduate students, working in teams, analyze a major international problem, forecast developments abroad, or produce recommendations on key international policy issues, and then share their findings through a combination of written and oral presentations.

Fellows should be prepared to interact with policymakers in Washington, with members of the broader Washington community of scholars and analysts, and with Wilson Center and Elliott School staff who have similar interests.

Stipend

The sponsoring institutions seek to ensure that the stipend provided by this fellowship, together with other sources of support (e.g., grants or sabbatical allowances), will approximate the fellow's regular academic salary. It is assumed that in the vast majority of cases, applicants will be participating in these fellowships during their sabbatical year, and will be able to count on substantial financial support from their academic institutions. The sponsoring institutions will also pay a portion of health insurance premiums and provide a modest allowance for travel or relocation expenses.

Procedure and Deadline for Applications

Applicants should submit:

  • a cover letter clearly stating that the applicant is applying for a GWU-WWC Asian Policy Studies Faculty Fellowship, stipulating the academic year for which a fellowship is being sought, and providing complete contact information (mailing address, home and office phone numbers, fax number, and email address).
  • a brief (3-5 single-spaced pages) description of the applicant's proposed research project, its scholarly contribution, and its policy relevance. Project descriptions should include:
    • a detailed explanation of the research topic;
    • discussion of the project's originality;
    • discussion of the methods, approaches, sources, and materials to be used, and, where appropriate, the importance of Washington-area resources;
    • discussion of the importance of the project as well as its relevance to contemporary Asia-related policy issues.

  • a financial information form. Copies of the required form may be downloaded from the bottom of this form (PDF: 55 KB).
  • a personal C.V. C.V.'s should note the date when tenure was received or is expected. Successful applicants will be asked to provide confirmation of tenure date.

In addition, applicants should request that two letters of reference be sent to the address below by the application deadline. Reference letters should address the quality of the research proposal; the significance of the proposed research; the capabilities and achievements of the applicant; the applicant's interest in conducting policy-relevant research; and the relevance of the project to contemporary Asia-related policy issues.

Application letters should be mailed to the following address:

Asia Program
Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars
One Woodrow Wilson Plaza
1300 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20004-3027

Fellowship applications for the academic year beginning September 2003 must be received no later than January 15, 2003. Decisions on appointment will be made in March 2003.

Applications submitted via fax machine or electronic mail cannot be considered.

Asian Policy Studies Fellows for 2001 - 2002

Jie Chen, Old Dominion University, "Popular Support for China's Current Political Regime"

James Millward, Georgetown University, "A Concise History of Xinjiang"

Lawrence Reardon, University of New Hampshire, "Debating the 'Opening' of China's Coastal and Interior Economies"

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