FELLOWSHIPS
The International Security Program (ISP)
Program Director: Steven E. Miller; Faculty Chair: Stephen M. Walt
ISP offers both predoctoral and advanced research fellowships for one year, with a possibility for renewal. Applications for research fellowships are welcome from recent recipients of the Ph.D. or equivalent degree, university faculty members, and employees of government, military, international, humanitarian, and private research institutions who have appropriate professional experience. Applicants for predoctoral fellowships must have passed general examinations prior to appointment. ISP seeks applications from political scientists, lawyers, economists, those in the natural sciences, and others of diverse disciplinary backgrounds. ISP also encourages applications from women, minorities, and citizens of all countries.
Fellows are expected to devote some portion of their time to collaborative endeavors, as arranged by the appropriate program or project director. Research fellows are also expected to complete a book, monograph, or other significant publication during their period of residence. Predoctoral research fellows are expected to contribute to the Center's research activities, as well as work on—and ideally complete—their doctoral dissertations.
Research interests: U.S. defense and foreign policy; Russian security policy; nuclear proliferation; managing nuclear technology and materials; the political economy of the Russian nuclear complex; chemical and biological weapons proliferation, control, and countermeasures; terrorism; regional security, especially the Russian periphery, Asia, and the Middle East; internal and ethnic conflict; transatlantic relations; democracy and democratization as a factor in international politics.
Religion in International Affairs (RIIA)
Director: Monica Duffy Toft
ISP Fellowships are also available to top graduate students through the Initiative on Religion in International Affairs. The goal of this initiative is to integrate a sophisticated understanding of religion with international affairs in policymaking and scholarship.
ISP also offers joint fellowships with:
Project on Managing the Atom (MTA)
Executive Director: Martin B. Malin
Areas of interest: Addressing the risks posed by nuclear weapons and weapons-usable materials; assessing the future of civilian nuclear power; and strengthening democratic management of both through improved access to information, broader public participation, and more effective regulation and oversight.
The Intrastate Conflict Program (ICP)
Program Director: Robert I. Rotberg
Areas of interest: All aspects of conflict within states; ethnic, religious, and linguistic conflict; peacekeeping and peace building; conlfict prevention in general; conflict resolution, especially in divided states; all aspects of state failure and the prevention of state failure. The Intrastate Conflict Program has current and continuing particular concerns with Burma, Cyprus, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Sri Lanka, the Sudan, Zimbabwe, and other vulnerable states.
Women and Public Policy Program (WAPPP)
Faculty Chair: Iris Bohnet
One postdoctoral residential fellowship is available each academic year for scholarship in security affairs with a particular focus on issues relating to gender. For more information, visit the WAPPP website.
Note to applicants: If you are either applying for a joint fellowship or to more than one program or project, you will need to submit one application per program or project.
If you are interested in additional Belfer Center fellowships, please click here.
STIPEND INFORMATION
ISP offers ten-month stipends of 34,000 USD to postdoctoral research fellows and 20,000 USD to predoctoral research fellows, with health insurance. Only a limited number of fellowships are available, so interested candidates are encouraged to apply for other sources of funding. All applicants should indicate clearly whether they are seeking full or partial funding from ISP, and indicate other potential funding sources. Nonstipendiary appointments are also offered. In most cases, office space and supplies, computers with LAN and Internet connections, and access to Harvard University libraries and other facilities will be provided.
APPLICATION PROCEDURES
Each applicant should submit as one complete packet:
- A completed one page application (click to download the application PDF).
- A 3–5 page double-spaced statement that proposes a major research project or dissertation prospectus, indicates at the top of the page that the application is being directed to ISP, and includes its relevance to ISP's research interests. For joint applications, the statement should clearly indicate at the top of the page the specific program or project to which the application is being directed.
- A curriculum vitae;
- Three sealed letters of recommendation (not emails) attesting to the applicant's professional competence;
- A short writing sample pertinent to the application (please do not send books or lengthy manuscripts);
- Predoctoral candidates must also provide a sealed graduate school transcript. There is no physical application to complete: the steps above constitute the application process.
The applicant is responsible for collecting all materials, including letters of recommendation and transcripts, and submitting them as one packet to the Center. Materials submitted will not be returned to the applicant. Emailed materials will not be accepted, unless specifically indicated by the Program Director.
The application deadline is January 15, 2010.
CONTACT INFORMATION
Fellowship Coordinator Telephone: 617-495-8806
Email: bcsia_fellowships@hks.harvard.edu
Mailing address:
Fellowship Coordinator
Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs
79 John F. Kennedy Street, Mailbox 53
Cambridge, MA 02138
