Deadline: March 19, 2025
Applications are open for the Columbia Global Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program 2025-2026. The Columbia Global Emerging Scholars Fellowship Program provides opportunities for early-career scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who hold refugee status or have been forcibly displaced. Through the program, year-long fellowships are awarded to support emerging displaced scholars through a Columbia Global Center, where they receive ongoing support to enhance their research capabilities, broaden their professional networks, and advance toward a successful career in academia.
This year’s program, which will begin in September 2025, will support approximately 10 scholars, each of whom will be hosted in one of three Columbia Global Centers: in Amman, Nairobi, or Santiago. Scholars will apply to only one of the three Global Centers, based on the region in which they currently reside.
Support mechanisms for fellows will include the following:
- Linking fellows to academics, practitioners, and experts across the Columbia Global Center network.
- Matching each fellow with a Columbia University faculty member who will provide mentorship, advice, and support.
- Providing access to online courses at Columbia University and customized training workshops to build the academic capacity of incoming fellows.
- Facilitating hands-on learning opportunities in program planning and implementation.
- Assisting fellows in convening roundtable discussions, conferences, and/or talks in their respective subject areas.
- Enabling fellows to embark on their academic pursuits in a safe environment.
- Highlighting fellows’ publications and other intellectual endeavors by disseminating their work and facilitating exchange through the Global Center network and Columbia University at large.
Benefits
Scholars receive the following:
- Hosting and workspace at one of the Columbia Global Centers (Amman, Nairobi, or Santiago).
- A stipend.
- Dedicated mentorship from esteemed Columbia faculty.
- A small research/travel fund to support their scholarly endeavors.
- Training that meets their academic needs in areas such as academic writing.
- Access to a broad selection of online courses.
- Full integration into the vibrant life of one of the Columbia Global Centers.
- Inclusion in an alumni network.
Eligibility
Eligible candidates are scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who have been forcibly uprooted from their home countries and respective academic institutions. They could be postdoctoral scholars in the early stages of their careers or Ph.D. candidates who have had their education disrupted. Creative writers, artists, curators, and scholars working on interdisciplinary projects are encouraged to apply.
- Applicant must be displaced.
- Must have a Ph.D. in the humanities (with rare exceptions, candidates with a non-terminal M.A. or who were on track to get a PhD may be considered).
- Must be based in the region of the Global Center to which they wish to apply (Sub-Saharan Africa for Nairobi; Middle East or North Africa for Amman; Latin America or the Caribbean for Santiago).
- Must demonstrate at least an intermediate level of English language proficiency.
- Must have received their highest academic degree within the last 12 years. Exceptions to this timeline will be considered to accommodate career-specific trajectories or other circumstances.
- While it is preferred that fellows remain in person at the relevant Columbia Global Center for the duration of the fellowship, there is a minimum in-person requirement of six months if it is not feasible for the fellow to remain in person due to immigration, family-related, or other circumstances.
- Researchers working on interdisciplinary research projects are welcome to apply.
- Fellows are expected to participate in scholarly presentations, workshops, and roundtable discussions. Through the Global Center, they will be connected to a global network of academics and scholars from Columbia University and beyond.
Selection Criteria
The fellowship is intended to support scholars whose research was interrupted due to displacement, and who have not yet had the opportunity to realize the scope and output of their intellectual interests. Key selection criteria include the following:
- The overall substance and feasibility of the proposed academic research.
- The quality of the specific plan for accomplishing the proposed work in a one-year time frame.
- The candidate’s academic trajectory prior to their displacement.
- The quality and depth of the applicant’s previous work.
- The potential for research advancement.
Application
Applicants for the fellowship program starting in September 2025 must submit the following via Submittable by March 19, 2025 at 11:59 EDT:
- A curriculum vitae that includes academic credentials and professional experience.
- A personal statement (500 words maximum) that describes the applicant’s motivation for applying to this program, intellectual trajectory and career goals, and the reason for and impact of displacement on the applicant’s career.
- A proposal (600 words maximum) describing the applicant’s field of interest; a detailed plan that describes the academic work (by month or quarter) that will be undertaken during the 12-month fellowship; and the broader potential significance of the applicant’s work.
- One writing sample/publication
- Letter of recommendation from an academic colleague who is familiar with the applicant’s previous work
- Note that this letter must be submitted by the recommender via the Submittable platform.
- Copies of academic transcripts
For more information, visit Columbia Global Emerging Scholars Fellowship.
