RESEARCH OPPORTUNITIES IN THE UNITED STATES
FOR SCHOLARS IN THE HUMANITIES AND SOCIAL SCIENCES

A Program of the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER) in conjunction with the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS and Supported by a Grant from the Carnegie Corporation of New York

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:

The National Council for Eurasian and East European Research is pleased to announce the competition for the Carnegie Research Fellowship Program in the United States for the 2014-2015 academic year. Scholars of the humanities and social sciences from eligible regions may apply for individual, non-degree research opportunities at universities and institutes in the United States. This competition selects university faculty, researchers, advanced graduate students, and scholars in the social sciences and humanities from Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine. All fellows will conduct research on specific topics in the social sciences and humanities, write a 15-to-30-page academic paper upon the fellow’s return home, and deliver lectures with the goal of contributing to the further development of higher education and scholarship in their regions. The Carnegie Research Fellowship Program (CRFP) is administered by the National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER) in collaboration with the American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS (American Councils). Participants in the CRFP will conduct research in the United States for four months.

Participants in the CRFP will receive the following: 1) round-trip airfare from their home cities to their host universities in the United States; 2) a pre-departure orientation, and an orientation program in either Seattle or Washington D.C.; 3) a monthly stipend; 4) health insurance; and 5) access to libraries and archives, and alumni activities. Additionally, all CRFP scholars will be eligible for a scholar development fund to aid in purchasing books, technology, and other research tools, or to attend a conference and become affiliated with professional groups in the United States.

Awards for this program are contingent upon the availability of funding from the Carnegie Corporation of New York.

DEADLINE FOR RECEIPT OF APPLICATIONS: April 30, 2014.
Applications must be received by 5pm local time at the Tbilisi office.

ELIGIBILITY:

Individuals who are eligible to participate in CRFP:

• Citizens of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Moldova and Ukraine.
• Applicants whose proposals relate to the themes chosen by one of the Centers for Advanced Study and Education (CASE) in their region or country:
• Theme for applicants from Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine:
CASE at the European Humanities University – Social Transformations in the Western Eurasia Border Region–Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine

• Theme for the Caucasus Research Resource Centers (Baku, Yerevan, Tbilisi):
The South Caucasus: Life in Transition

• Advanced graduate students, university faculty, and scholars at any stage in their careers who have not recently conducted research projects at U.S. institutions.

• Scholars who hold an equivalent of “Kandidatskaya” degree or higher, or who are working towards a “Kandidatskaya” degree at the time of application.

• Scholars who have a level of proficiency in written and spoken English that is sufficient to conduct independent research and engage colleagues.

• Scholars who have publications (advanced graduate students may cite papers presented at academic conferences) in a particular field.

• Scholars who are able to receive and maintain a United States J-1 visa.

• Scholars who are able to begin the CRFP in the United States in September 2014 or January 2015.

Note: NCEEER and the American Councils do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, national or ethnic origin, handicap, or disability.

Individuals NOT eligible:

• Spouses of U.S. citizens or spouses of citizens of countries other than the countries specified.

• Individuals who have applied for an immigrant visa to any country, or who have requested political asylum in any country (this includes individuals who hold or have applied for a U.S. “green card” or who have applied to the U.S. Diversity Immigrant Visa Lottery).

• Employees of NCEEER, the American Councils, and CRRC, their spouses, children, and grandchildren are not eligible to participate in any NCEEER/American Councils/CRRC-administered competition.

The CRFP provides no financial support for the family members or dependents of program participants.

All CRFP participants may be required to return to their home countries for at least two (2) calendar years upon completion of the program in the United States. No requests for visa extensions, waivers, or transfers will be granted under any circumstances.

CARNEGIE CORPORATION OF NEW YORK:

The Carnegie Corporation of New York was created by Andrew Carnegie in 1911 to promote “the advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding.” As a grant making foundation, the Corporation seeks to carry out Carnegie’s vision of philanthropy, which he said should aim “to do real and permanent good in this world.”  The focal areas of the Corporation’s work have evolved over time, adapting to changing circumstances. Current program directions have been designed to correspond with the Corporation’s historic mission and legacy.  Currently, the Corporation makes grants in the areas of education, international peace and security, international development and in strengthening U.S. democracy.

ADMINISTERING ORGANIZATIONS:

National Council for Eurasian and East European Research (NCEEER)

Founded in 1978, National Council for Eurasian and East European Research is a not-for-profit academic body whose purpose is to encourage and sustain high-quality research on Eastern Europe and the NIS in the social sciences and the humanities. Over the past twenty years, NCEEER has awarded grants and research contracts to thousands of U.S. scholars and institutions working at the forefront of academic research on the region. NCEEER’s outstanding network of scholars and institutions within the academic and social science community will enhance opportunities for Russian scholars and researchers to identify and engage the “best and the brightest” among American colleagues within their disciplines.

American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS

Founded in 1974, American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS is a private, not-for-profit professional association and exchange organization dedicated to academic cooperation with the NIS in the areas of research, faculty training, language study, and curriculum and materials development. American Councils programs offer U.S. and foreign students and faculty opportunities for serious research and study in the former Soviet Union.

Caucasus Research Resource Centers: CRRC

The Caucasus Research Resource Centers program (CRRC) is a network of resource and training centers established in the capital cities of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia with the goal of strengthening social science research and public policy analysis in the South Caucasus.

A partnership between the Carnegie Corporation of New York and the Eurasia Partnership Foundation (EPF), the program’s outcomes are to increase the accessibility of high-quality research resources, to strengthen capacity and, to increase the dialogue and collaboration between social science researchers and policy practitioners.

Since the opening of the Centers in 2003, CRRC has become a nexus of activity for the South Caucasus social science community by providing open access to fundamental literature, data, and professional training for social science researchers. The centers will make it easier for researchers to pursue original work, to base their research on actual transition data, and to participate in the growing domestic policy research community.

Direct and indirect CRRC beneficiaries include social science researchers, faculty members from academic institutions, policy practitioners and other professionals from non-governmental, private, and public sectors.

SUBMISSION OF APPLICATIONS AND PROJECT TIMELINE:

All applicants must submit the completed applications and all supporting materials electronically to apply@nceeer.org by the deadline date of April 30, 2014. Make sure your recommendations, passport copy and signed privacy policy be sent scanned. Applications should ARRIVE in the office by 5pm on April 30 (local time of the Tbilisi office).

Scholars should also retain a copy of the application for their records, as applications will not be returned. Successful applicants will be notified and in-person interviews conducted in Kyiv and Tbilisi in early June 2014 by multi-national committees. The semi-finalists will be notified by telephone and/or by email by NCEEER/the American Councils about their interviews. All applicants will be notified of the results in due course.

All applications to the CRFP will be reviewed and evaluated by a multi-national group of specialists in the field who will provide written assessments of each proposal’s viability, need for access to U.S. resources, and potential contribution to the discipline in the applicant’s home country. A multi-national committee will interview each semi-finalist in English in order to discuss each applicant’s research project and how that project will benefit the applicant’s profession in his or her home country after returning from the United States, including possible benefits to the CASEs in which applicants have participated. Based on the evaluation of the written application and the results of the interview, finalists and alternate candidates will be selected by a panel of American specialists in the United States.  Fellows will begin their programs in the United States in September 2014 or January 2015. Dates for fellowships and all placements will be determined by NCEEER or ACTR/ACCELS.

Note:  No application will be returned to the applicant after the end of the competition. CRFP reserves the right to verify all of the information indicated in the application.  In the event that there is a discrepancy, or information is found to be false, the application will immediately be declared invalid and the applicant ineligible.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS

Please read all instructions and information carefully before completing the application.

FORMS: All forms must be completed in English and must be typewritten or hand-printed in black ink. All sections of the application must be completed; incomplete applications will not be considered. Write your full name on the upper right corner of each page of the application.

FAMILY: There are no provisions for family members to accompany scholars. No financial support, visas, or letters of support will be provided to accommodate the travel of family members of program participants.

MEDICAL FORMS: Finalists in the Carnegie Research Fellowship Program will be required to have a doctor complete a full medical form certifying that they are in good health. Medical forms are in English and will be sent to finalists together with the acceptance letter. Finalists who cannot provide completed medical forms certifying that they are in good health will not be awarded a grant.

SELECTION/PLACEMENT: All written applications will be reviewed and evaluated in the United States by selection panels of leading American scholars. NCEEER or American Councils will select semi-finalists. Multi-national committees will interview semi-finalists in Kyiv and Tbilisi. Placement will be arranged by NCEEER or the American Councils at U.S. institutions and universities that are appropriate for each scholar’s proposed research project.

RECOMMENDATIONS: Letters of recommendation will assist the U.S. selection committee in evaluating applications. Each applicant must submit two (2) letters of recommendation from colleagues, professors, or other qualified persons who are familiar with the applicant’s work. Each letter should be signed by the recommender and carry an official stamp. All recommendations not in English must be accompanied by an English translation. The translator should sign and print his/her name at the end of the translation. Confidentiality of letters of recommendation cannot be guaranteed.

RESEARCH PROPOSAL: All proposals must be typed or printed in English and must be four (4) to five (5) pages in length. The most important part of this application is the description of your proposed research.

In your research proposal, you should do the following:

• State your hypothesis concisely and completely.
• Describe your research objectives and how you plan to achieve them in the United States.
• Describe research work you have already conducted in this area and how it is related to the research you plan to undertake in the United States.
• Describe how you will use this research for the benefit of your field in your home country.
• Describe how you will share this research with colleagues in your home country, with particular emphasis on how you will inform one of the Centers for Advanced Study and Education of the nature and content of your work.
• Cite published research on your topic and colleagues whose research is in the same area.
• Indicate important U.S. colleagues, archives, libraries, and other resources you wish to use while in the United States.
• Clearly outline materials you need for your research that are not available in your home country.
• It is helpful, but not necessary, if you have an idea of where you would like to be placed in the United States, and have made contact with an American scholar at this institution. This information should be listed in your application and proposal.

RESUME: Please include a copy of your curriculum vitae (preferred) or resume in English.

In your resume, you should do the following:

• Include your contact information (address, phone, e-mail address, if any).
• Provide your educational background.
• List your professional and research experience.
• Indicate significant honors and accomplishments.
• Describe your skills and language knowledge.

PASSPORT: Please include a clear photocopy of your international travel passport (if available).

PRIVACY POLICY: Please sign and include the NCEEER privacy policy agreement. By submitting this application, you are agreeing to the terms of this privacy policy and authorizing NCEEER to utilize and distribute information in the manner described herein.

Please contact the American Councils/NCEEER office, if you have questions regarding the form of your letters of recommendation, research proposal, or resume.

NOTE: Please submit the required materials, as listed on the checklist on the last page of the application, to apply@nceeer.org. Keep the program description, eligibility requirements, and instruction information, along with a copy of all your application documents, for your records.

ADDRESSES:

Tbilisi, Georgia

American Councils for International Education (ACTR/ACCELS)/
Georgia Office
35a Chavchavadze Avenue
Tbilisi Georgia 0162
Tel: +995 32 229 21 06
Fax: +995 32 225 21 07
alexei@nceeer.org
www.nceeer.org

Washington, DC, U.S.A

NCEEER

910 17th Street NW, Suite 300

Washington, DC 20006

Tel: (202) 296-1677

E-mail: dana@nceeer.org

Website: http://www.nceeer.org/