Call for Proposals: Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies
Request for Research Proposals in Advanced German and European Studies
The Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies, established in
1986 at the Freie Universitaet Berlin and in the United States at the Social
Science Research Council, promotes a new generation of young North American
scholars with specialized knowledge of modern and contemporary German and
European affairs. The Program supports anthropologists, economists,
political scientists, sociologists, and all scholars in germane social
science and cultural studies fields, including historians working on the
period since the mid-19th century.
Fellowships are awarded for doctoral dissertation field research as well as
postdoctoral research leading to completion of a monograph. The Program
offers a stimulating academic environment that integrates research
opportunities with intellectual and cultural interaction. An essential part
of the Program is the bi-weekly seminar, which brings together the North
American fellows and leading German scholars. Fellows have access to
Berlin's broader intellectual community and extensive libraries.
Fellows are selected by an international, interdisciplinary advisory
committee of scholars and work closely with colleagues and senior scholars
at all three major Berlin universities: Freie Universitaet Berlin, Humboldt
Universitaet, and Technische Universitaet and many of the capital's
advanced study institutions, including Max Planck Institutes, the
Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, and the Wissenschaftszentrum Berlin.
Funds from the Volkswagen Stiftung created the Program in 1986. Since 1993,
the Freie Universitaet Berlin has funded the program with additional support
from the Halle Foundation. The National Endowment for the Humanities now
supports select postdoctoral fellows and the Program's North American
promotion and transatlantic selection processes.
Although the Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies remains
one program, it now has two components distinguished by their eligibility
criteria.
Eligibility and Terms
The Berlin Program Fellowship
The program accepts applications from U.S. and Canadian nationals or
permanent residents who are full-time graduate students in the social
sciences and humanities and who have completed all coursework required for
the Ph.D. Also eligible are U.S. and Canadian Ph.D.s who have received
their doctorates within the past two calendar years.
The Berlin Program Fellowship stipends are EUR 1100 per month for fellows
working on a dissertation project and EUR 1400 per month for fellows working
on a postdoctoral research project. The Program offers fellows EUR 130 per
month for each accompanying child and EUR 130 per month as spousal support
if the spouse is not working or is on a fellowship. The Program provides
one round-trip airfare for the fellow between the fellow's residence at the
time of award and Berlin. Awards provide between ten and twelve months of
research support. In addition, funds for intra-European research travel may
be granted upon request.
SSRC and National Endowment for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship
The SSRC National Endowment for the Humanities Postdoctoral fellowship
competition is open to Ph.D.s at all levels who are performing research in
the germane social sciences, humanities and cultural studies. Applicants
must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. All applicants eligible for
the NEH award must fill out the application for the Freie Universitaet
Berlin SSRC Fellowship and will be considered in this same applicant pool as
other applicants. Recipients of this award will also participate in the
bi-weekly seminars at the Freie Universitaet Berlin.
The SSRC National Endowment for the Humanities Postdoctoral award allows for
a stipend of $30,000 to be used for living and research expenses during
each fellow's stay in Berlin (between 10-12 months).
Criteria for Selection
Applications should exhibit a grounding in the methods and theories of a
particular discipline, but must also be of demonstrable cross-disciplinary
interest. Applicants should specify why an extended period of field-based
research in Berlin is critical to the successful completion of their
proposed research project. The research design of proposals should be
realistic in scope, clearly formulated, and responsive to theoretical and
methodological concerns. Applicants should show an appropriate level of
training and skill to undertake the proposed field research, including
evidence of language fluency adequate to complete the project and
participate in the seminar at the Freie Universitaet Berlin which is
conducted in German. All applications will be reviewed by both German and
American scholars who serve on independent selection committees. The final
selection meeting takes place with representatives of both committees
present.
Applications sent by fax or received after the deadline will not be
accepted. All materials must be typed or computer-printed according to
application instructions. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a
single application packet consisting of completed application forms, a
proposal, three letters of reference, language evaluation(s), and graduate
school transcripts. Proposals should be no longer than 2,500 words or ten
pages, followed by a one or two-page bibliography or bibliographic essay.
Application Receipt Deadline
December 1, 2003
ANNOUNCEMENT OF AWARDS
March 2004
COMMENCEMENT OF FELLOWSHIPS
All fellowships begin in either October (Wintersemester) of the year of
selection or the next April (Sommersemester), with exact dates following the
Berlin academic calendar.
For further information & application materials, contact:
Berlin Program
Social Science Research Council
810 Seventh Avenue, 31st Floor
New York NY 10019 USA
212 377-2700 telephone
212 377-2727 fax
[log in to unmask] e-mail
<http://www.ssrc.org />web
To download an application, go to <http://www.ssrc.org/fellowships/berlin/>
In the administration of their programs, the Freie Universitaet Berlin and
the Social Science Research Council do not discriminate on the basis of age,
color, creed, disability, gender, marital status, national origin, race or
sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable laws.
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