Funding Opportunities 2008-2009

Dissertation Fellowship 2008-2009

The Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture at the University of Chicago invites applications for the 2008-2009 Dissertation Fellowship, which begins September 29, 2008 and ends June 30, 2009. Qualified Ph.D. candidates at the University of Chicago from all disciplines are encouraged to apply.

Description: The goal of the fellowship is to enable an outstanding doctoral student interested in the study of race and ethnicity to devote his or her full energies to the completion of the dissertation. The fellowship carries a stipend of $18,000 for the academic year, a $1000 travel and research budget, and will cover Advanced Residence tuition, fees, and Basic university student health insurance, if needed. The successful applicant will be provided with an office and use of a computer at the Center. The fellow will be expected to be in residence during the award year, present his or her work at one of the Reproduction of Race and Racial Ideologies Workshop meetings and to actively participate in the workshop and other activities sponsored by the Race Center. The fellow may not engage in any remunerative activity, including teaching either on or off campus, while holding the award, and will be ineligible for further internal University funding from any source, including teaching appointments, if the degree is not completed within six months of the end of the CSRPC fellowship tenure.

The Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture (CSRPC) at the University of Chicago is an interdisciplinary program dedicated to promoting engaged scholarship and debate around the concepts of race and ethnicity. We are especially interested in how these ideas and their structural and cultural manifestations impact and shape people's daily lives. Faculty affiliated with the Center recognize the significance of the black/white paradigm in the United States, however, we are committed to expanding the study of race and ethnicity beyond this framework. Broadly, our research program encourages the study of race and processes of racialization in comparative and transnational frameworks as well as work that highlights the intersection of race and ethnicity with other identities such as gender, class, sexuality and nationality, and interrogates social and identity cleavages within racialized communities.

Eligibility: University of Chicago doctoral students who have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. but the dissertation, including formal admission to candidacy, and expect to complete all field work by September 29, 2008 are eligible to apply. Any dissertation that has as its central focus issues related to race or racialized groups will be considered. Special consideration will be given to projects that attend to the intersection of race or ethnicity with other identities such as gender, class, sexuality, and nationality.

Application Process: The application should include the following:

  1. Formal letter of application describing the candidate's research interests (1-2 pages).
  2. Dissertation prospectus, which should already be approved by the dissertation committee. It should include an outline of the dissertation, the significance of the study, the research design, and the schedule for completion.
  3. Curriculum vitae.
  4. Two letters of recommendation under separate cover, including one from the dissertation supervisor.

Application Deadline: Complete applications must be received at the address below by March 14, 2008. Award will be announced in late May. For additional information call (773) 702-8063 or e-mail csrpc@uchicago.edu.

Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture
The University of Chicago
Attention: Dissertation Fellowship Selection Committee
5733 S. University
Chicago, Illinois 60637