While every POIR Ph.D. student is provided with full funding for five years, we encourage students to seek additional funding outside of the university. For certain external fellowships, the USC Graduate School will provide a top-off of up to $10,000 in additional funding as an encouragement for applying for Ph.D. external fellowships. Students should consult with their advisor and the Graduate Studies staff for more information.
 
Please visit the USC Graduate School for information on external fellowships and the USC Fellowships and Awards Database.
 
At the beginning of each semester, the USC Graduate School hosts an External Fellowship Bootcamp.
 

  • Application deadline: September 10, 2023
     
    The CWAR Institute uses innovative and collaborative approaches to train next generation Cold War historians in archival research methodologies. The institute has two goals: to stimulate original scholarship on the interplay between soft and hard power in the cold and hot wars between 1945 and 1991, and to demonstrate the power of cooperative scholarship through innovative archival practices.
     
    The two-semester long CWAR Institute fellowship program trains M.A. and Ph.D. level students through a combination of online seminars, discussions, and in-person research experience at Cold War archives and culminates in conferences and publications. Competitively selected applicants will join the institute as CWAR Fellows to hone critical research skills in historical and archival methodologies, further their own research agendas in Cold War history, improve their communication and presentation skills, and develop a network of supportive professional contacts.
     
    The CWAR Institute builds on the success of the Cold War Archives Research Fellowship previously organized by the European Institute at Columbia University and the Summer Institute on Conducting Archival Research (SICAR) previously organized by the Wilson Center and The George Washington University.
     
    All application materials should be submitted to coldwar@wilsoncenter.org by the deadline. For more information on applying, please visit the Wilson Center website.

  • Application deadline: September 25, 2023
     
    The Witteveen Memorial Fellowship in Law and Humanities aims to promote research and teaching in law and rhetoric, narrative, image, performance, sound, and/or culture. The fellowship enables a junior scholar (PhD or postdoc level) to share and develop their research in the field of law and humanities during a residency at Tilburg Law School for one month in the period February-May, 2024.
     
    We expect the Fellow to participate actively in the academic life of Tilburg Law School by presenting their research in a research seminar and by teaching a guest class to students. Past Fellows have also introduced film screenings, have organized a reading of their play with students, have read their poetry, and have given a lecture performance, in addition to participating in various research seminars.
     
    Scholars who are in the final stages of their PhD research or who obtained their PhD in the field of law and humanities within the last five years are eligible.
     
    We invite you to apply online for this position by September 25, 2023. Candidates must submit a CV including a list of publications, a writing sample (article or chapter), a research statement explaining how their research relates to law and humanities, and one letter of recommendation.

  • Application deadline: October 26, 2023
     
    The Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans is a $90,000 fellowship for immigrants and children of immigrants going to graduate school in the United States. We are looking for the 30 most promising New Americans who will go on to make a significant contribution to US society, culture, or their academic field. If you will be a college senior this fall, a college graduate who is applying to graduate school this fall, or someone in the first or second year of a graduate program you’ll be in during the 2024-2025 academic year, consider applying.
     
    Eligibility:

    • You must be under age 30 as of the application deadline.
    • You must be planning to be or enrolled full-time in a graduate program for the 2024-2025 academic year.
    • In addition to Green Card holders, naturalized citizens, and children of immigrants, individuals with refugee or asylum status, and immigrants who have graduated high school or college in the United States regardless of status (including DACA) are eligible to apply.

    The USC Graduate School invites potential applicants to attend a one-hour information session to give an overview of the program, the selection process, and the application.
     
    When: Wednesday, September 6, 2023 at 12pm (PDT)
     
    Attendees must register for this webinar in advance.

  • Application Deadline: November 28, 2023
     
    USIP seeks applications from Ph.D. candidates with high-quality, policy relevant research that will deepen understanding about conflict management, peacebuilding and other applicable security-related studies. USIP strongly prefers applications closely related to the USIP Issue Areas and/or research priorities of the Minerva Research Initiative.
     
    USIP funds up to 18 Peace Scholars for a 10-month, non-residential fellowship. Peace Scholars receive stipends of up to $20,000 paid directly to the individual in three tranches. Peace Scholar awards may not be deferred.
     
    Peace Scholars are required to participate in an annual workshop, in-person in Washington, D.C. in Fall 2024. The Peace Scholar is required to submit a copy of their completed and committee approved dissertation to USIP at PeaceScholarFellows@usip.org.
     
    Special consideration will be given to proposed research in the following areas:

    • Strategic rivalry
    • Global shocks and fragility
    • The American approach to peacebuilding

    Applications from members of groups traditionally under-represented in the field of international relations, peace and conflict studies, security studies, and other related academic disciplines, as well as diplomacy and international policymaking, are strongly encouraged.
     
    To apply, candidates must first register in USIP’s competition management program Fluxx by November 16, 2023.
     
    For more information, see the Peace Scholar Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Please direct questions about usage of USIP’s online application system to PeaceScholarFellows@usip.org.

  • Application deadline: December 15, 2023
     
    CDDRL welcomes applications from pre-doctoral students at the write-up stage and from post-doctoral scholars working in any of the four program areas of democracy, development, evaluating the efficacy of democracy promotion, and rule of law.
     
    Fellows spend the academic year at Stanford University completing their projects, participating in seminars, and interacting with each other and the resident faculty and research staff. The Center facilities on the Stanford campus include offices and cubicles. Fellows have access to other Stanford libraries as well as exercise facilities.
     
    Pre-doctoral fellows receive stipends comparable to that awarded by the Stanford Graduate Fellowships program; the Center also pays non-matriculated student tuition for pre-doctoral fellows as required by Stanford University. Post-doctoral fellows receive salaries commensurate with experience and with consideration given to university-established minimums for a term period of 9 months. Healthcare and other benefits are also provided as required by Stanford University for both pre- and post doctoral fellows.
     
    Eligibility:

    • Pre-doctoral fellows must be enrolled currently in a doctoral program or equivalent through the time of intended residency at Stanford and must be at the dissertation write-up (post course work) phase of their doctoral program.
    • Post-doctoral fellows must have earned their Ph.D. within 3 years of the start of the fellowship, or plan to have successfully defended their Ph.D. dissertations by July 31, 2024.

    2024-2025 Gerhard Casper Fellow in Rule of Law
     
    In addition to our regular call for applications, CDDRL invites applications for the Gerhard Casper Fellow in Rule of Law for 2024-25. We welcome research on any aspect of rule of law, including judicial politics, criminal justice, and the politicization of judicial institutions. We are an interdisciplinary center; candidates from any relevant field (i.e. the social sciences, law) are welcome to apply.
     
    This is a 9-month, residential fellowship. The Gerhard Casper Fellow will be part of CDDRL’s larger cohort of pre- and postdoctoral fellows. Please apply through the regular CDDRL fellowship application process, and indicate that you would like to be considered for the Gerhard Casper Rule of Law Postdoctoral Fellowship.

  • Application deadline: January 8, 2024 at 11:59pm PST
     
    The Switzer Fellowship is a one-year fellowship for graduate students from diverse academic and personal backgrounds in New England and California whose career goals focus on environmental improvement. Switzer Fellows demonstrate leadership in their field, as well as commitment and competency to advance social equity as a fundamental part of their environmental problem-solving.
     
    The Switzer Fellowship includes:

    • A one-year $17,000 unrestricted cash award
    • Two multi-day leadership training and cohort-building retreats
    • Access to other Switzer Foundation grant programs and career support
    • Engagement with the Switzer Network, an active community of 700+ environmental leaders in the U.S. and around the world

    Fellowship applicants are evaluated based on their leadership and commitment to environmental problem-solving. Successful applicants also demonstrate commitment and competency to advance social equity as a fundamental part of their environmental problem-solving and clearly articulate how their environmental work affects human communities.
     
    The foundation selects Master’s- and Ph.D.-level candidates with a clear vision of how they will apply their skills and experience to practical environmental issues. Ph.D. applicants should have a well defined research focus and be clear about how their academic goals will contribute positive change to applied problems.

Spring 2024 USC Graduate School Fellowship Bootcamp for Advanced Ph.D. Students

 
The USC Graduate School Fellowship Boot Camp for Advanced PhDs is an intensive writing workshop in which participants will complete a proposal for a major fellowship, scholarship or award.
 
During boot camp, participants will be expected to attend all of the relevant group activities and to revise their proposals while not in sessions. Participants will also be expected to read and substantively comment on the work of others through a facilitated peer review process. An in-person meeting will be scheduled on Wednesday April 17 from 1:00pm – 4:30pm. Small groups will meet either virtually or in person on the afternoons of Wednesday April 24 and Wednesday May 1.
 
After completion of the Boot Camp, participants who submit a fellowship or award application in fall 2024 or spring 2025 may be eligible for a travel or research award of up to $1,000 from the Graduate School.
 
Students from any discipline may apply, although space is limited.
 
Applications are due on Friday, March 22, 2024 at 11:59pm.