GPD Year-long Fellowship

The goal of the GPD program is to provide support for graduate training and research in the area of development, broadly understood as the study of the complex interaction of markets, governance, social structures, and culture in societies undergoing rapid transformation. The program seeks to provide Fellows with interdisciplinary theoretical and methodological skills, the capacity to engage with research from other disciplines, and opportunities for per-dissertation fieldwork.

How to apply for a GPD fellowship for 2024-2025

Eligibility: all PhD students who are currently in their first, second or third year of PhD training in Anthropology, Economics, History, Political Science, or Sociology are eligible. All candidates must meet the following criteria: 1) a research interest in development broadly defined, 2) an interest in acquiring and using interdisciplinary skills and knowledge, and 3) a commitment to dissertation research that includes field-based research.

Requirements: in addition to completing the requirements for normal progress in their home department, Fellows are expected to complete all the requirements of the GPD program. The requirements are as follows:

All fellows must fulfill the following:

• IAPA 2000 (formerly, DEVL 2000), the foundational interdisciplinary course
• One module (short methods courses specifically designed for GPD)
• Attend the Graduate Program in Development hosted events

All fellows must also fulfill ONE of the following:

• One course outside their home department (not including IAPA 2000). These should be methods courses or substantive courses related to development.
• One additional module (short methods courses specifically designed for GPD)
• Traineeship: Working with a faculty member on a research project (roughly understood to be 10 hrs a week)

Fellows must take IAPA 2000 in their fellowship year (unless they have already taken it). Other requirements need not be completed during the fellowship year though they must be completed before dissertation work begins. All Fellows receive funding equivalent to standard department support and are eligible for summer field research support (see a separate call). Work space in the Watson Institute is available to all Fellows. During the course of the fellowship year, Fellows cannot accept RA or TA assignments and should be taking courses that advance their disciplinary or interdisciplinary training.

GPD offers 3-4 modules a year. These are short, non-credit courses offered at non-regular times that are designed to introduce trainees to different methods (spatial analysis, experiments, survey techniques and ethnography). Two to three modules are offered in May and one is offered in January.

Application: In order to apply, please submit the following items to the GPD administration by email to GPD@brown.edu by 5pm on Wednesday, April 3, 2024:

1) A recent CV.

2) A statement of 500-750 words explaining your interest in the program and how your research would benefit from the program.

3) A statement discussing your involvement in GPD activities so far

4) A copy of your internal Brown transcript.

Please submit separately: A letter of recommendation from a Brown faculty member who can speak to your research and the suitability of your research to this program. (The faculty member should submit this letter to GPD@brown.edu separately)

Applicants with questions should contact Hayden Reiss at GPD@brown.edu or the GPD director, Prerna Singh at Prerna_Singh@brown.edu

Decisions will be made in late April 2024.