Opportunity
We are happy to announce that the Watson Institute’s Pre-Dissertation Fellowship is seeking applications for 2025-2026. The fellowship is for a period of one year and applicants should keep in mind that they are expected to stay active in the program beyond their fellowship year. The fellowships are supported by the Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs.
The goal of the Watson PhD Fellow program is to provide support for graduate training and research in the area of development, governance and security.
Eligibility: Students in their 1st or 2nd year of a PhD program in Anthropology, Sociology, Political Science, History and Economics are eligible to apply for a full year of support (stipend, health fees, and tuition) 1) a research interest in development, governance or security broadly defined and 2) an interest in acquiring and using interdisciplinary skills and knowledge.
Requirements: in addition to completing the requirements for normal progress in their home department, Fellows are expected to complete all the requirements of the Watson Institute’s Pre-Dissertation Fellowship. The requirements are as follows:
-During the year-long appointment, fellowship recipients will be required to TA for 1 semester of an IAPA Foundations course in Development, Governance, or Security and will receive a fellowship in the other semester.
-Recipients in this program will have to take a graduate level course in IAPA or a Graduate Affairs Committee approved course in one of the five core departments (outside the applicants home department) that focuses on development, governance, and security.
-Fellowships will also include access to up to $5K in research/travel money, and require participation in academic programming. This funding has a separate application process, the details of which can be found here.
For applicants to the Pre-Dissertation Fellowship [UFUNDS]
Application: In order to apply, please submit the following items:
1) A recent CV.
2) A statement of 500-750 words explaining your interest in the program, the relationship of your research to one or more of the core Watson themes of development, governance and security and how your research would benefit from the program.
3) A copy of your internal Brown transcript.
4) A sample of a relevant research paper, conference paper, published paper or book chapter.
5) 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 Interim Director, Patrick Heller at Patrick_Heller@brown.edu.
Applications are due by March 10 and decisions will be made by March 31.