Civil Society Scholar Awards from the Open Society Foundation

The Civil Society Scholar Awards (CSSA) fund international academic mobility for doctoral students and university faculty. The aim is to help them reach resources that strengthen socially engaged research and critical scholarship in their home country or region.

• Host: Open Society Foundation
• Level: Doctoral students and full-time faculty
• Study destination: Any approved institution or location
• Deadline: 15 February 2016
• Awards: Number not specified
• Funding: Up to $10,000 for doctoral students, up to $15,000 for faculty
• Duration: Projects between two and nine months

Any approved institution or location.

Applications are accepted in any subject area within the social sciences and humanities. Topics that receive particular attention include law, justice and governance; sustainable development and natural resource management; economic rights and empowerment of the poor; public health, social work and community development; new media law and policy; inclusive education; post-conflict studies; and human rights.

Ineligible fields are business administration, management training, computer science, finance or banking, marketing, engineering, hard sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, etc.), mathematics, medical sciences, and teaching English as a foreign language or language instruction.

Not specified.

You must be a citizen of one of these countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Kosovo, Laos, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, or Yemen.

Applicants who hold permanent resident status, dual citizenship, or asylum seeker status in Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, the Nordic Countries, or the United States are not eligible to apply.

The maximum funding request is $10,000 for doctoral students and $15,000 for faculty members. Your project should last between two and nine months.

The awards are open to the following academic populations from eligible countries (see above):

• doctoral students in eligible fields who are studying at accredited universities inside or outside their home country

• full-time faculty members teaching at universities in their home country

The awards support short-term, international academic projects. Examples include fieldwork (data collection), research visits to libraries, archives, or universities, course or curriculum development, and international research collaborations that lead to peer-reviewed publication.

Requests for first-year tuition fees are considered only when a clear need is shown by new doctoral students who have gained admission to universities outside their home country and will use the award for their first year of academic study.

Applicants are strongly advised to submit their application online. You may also submit a hard copy to one of the offices listed in the guidelines. The deadline is 15 February 2016.

Read the Civil Society Scholar Award Guidelines and visit the official website (link below) to get the application form and detailed instructions on how to apply.

This award suits doctoral students and full-time faculty who are citizens of the eligible countries and who need short-term international mobility to strengthen their research or teaching in the social sciences and humanities. It fits projects such as fieldwork, archive visits, curriculum development, or research collaborations that connect to social issues in the home country or region.

• Who can apply for the Civil Society Scholar Awards? Doctoral students in eligible fields studying at accredited universities inside or outside their home country, and full-time faculty members teaching at universities in their home country, who are citizens of the eligible countries.
• What does the award cover? It provides funding for short-term international academic projects, with a maximum of $10,000 for doctoral students and $15,000 for faculty members. The project should last between two and nine months.
• What is the deadline? The deadline is 15 February 2016.
• How do I apply? You are strongly advised to submit your application online. You may also submit a hard copy to one of the offices listed in the guidelines. Read the guidelines and visit the official website for the application form and detailed instructions.

• Read the official guidelines carefully before you start your application.
• Prepare your documents early, including proof of citizenship and enrollment or employment.
• Check whether your field of study is eligible and make sure your project fits the short-term international mobility focus.
• If you are requesting first-year tuition fees, provide clear evidence of need and admission to a university outside your home country.