Fully Funded Research Fellowship from The Arab Council for the Social Sciences 2021

The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is pleased to launch the sixth cycle of its Early Career Fellows Program (ECFP). This 12-month fellowship program aims at enabling early career researchers, up to three years out of the PhD, to pursue their research and publishing plans, become part of Arab research networks, and plan a research career in the Arab region.

The Early Career Fellows Program aims at targeting scholars in the social sciences, particularly in the fields of political science, economics, sociology, anthropology, education, demography, media and cultural studies, among others. For this cycle, we particularly encourage applications from the humanities, including applications covering literature, cultural studies, history, philosophy and arts.

• The fellowships will provide 12 months of full support (living expenses plus research expenses) with a total stipend ranging between $20,000 and $36,000. The total amount  depends on the respective price levels in the proposed country/countries where the fellow will be residing during his/her fellowship as well as whether or not the fellow will have other sources of income during the fellowship period. If shortlisted, applicants will be asked to provide a budget estimating the costs of living, the costs of research; and indicate whether or not they will have any other sources of funding and/or income during the period of the fellowship.
• Travel funding at an average of $900 for each fellow will also be provided for those seeking affiliation with an institution outside their home country or country of residence.

Applicants are eligible if they:

1. Are citizens or nationals of an Arab country: including full-time and long-term residents of an Arab State, and those who do not have citizenship, as in the case of stateless refugees. Arab scholars residing outside the region at the time of application would be eligible, however only if they hold an Arab citizenship and are not in a tenure-track position and/or do not have access to research resources from their institution and/or country of residence. All fellows, including those residing outside the region at the time of their application, will be expected to spend the period of their fellowship in the Arab region.
2. Are junior scholars: This program targets scholars who are 0-3 years out of a PhD program in the social sciences (obtained from within or outside the Arab region). Applicants should have obtained their PhDs at the time of application.
3. Show high quality academic credentials: Applicants are expected to submit a proposal (10-15 pages) that builds on their PhD dissertation. Proposals that are not based on or not related closely to the applicant’s PhD dissertation will not be considered eligible. The proposal should highlight the applicant’s academic credentials and outline a compelling research problem. The applicant is also expected to provide a publications plan as well as a 3-year career plan.
4. Provide proof of support by a proposed mentor and institution: Applicants should provide a letter at the time of application from an academic mentor based in an institution in the Arab region in which he/she expresses willingness to provide administrative and academic support and supervision to the prospective fellow during the period of his/her fellowship. In addition, applicants should provide a letter from the hosting institution addressed to the Arab Council for the Social Sciences expressing the institution’s willingness to host the applicant during the time of fellowship.

Terms of the Fellowship:

1. Accepted applicants are expected to provide a well-thought financial plan before signing the contract.
2. The fellow will be expected to attend and present their research at two events (i.e. workshops, research forum and/or conference) organized by the ACSS during the term of the fellowship. Expenses of participation in such events will be covered separately by the ACSS.
3. Each fellow will be requested to contribute an abstract concerning their project for the ACSS website.
4. Each fellow will be requested to write one working paper in Arabic to appear as a prepublication in the ACSS Working Paper Series. The working paper must be submitted to the ACSS before completing the fellowship. 

Please see the guidelines for the Working Paper Series here.

Required documents

• A detailed CV.
• A one-page cover letter.
• A proof of nationality or residence in the Arab region.
• A project proposal (10-15 pages): detailing the activities that the fellow intends to undertake during the fellowship period.
• A letter from a mentor based in an academic institution in the region, who expresses his/her willingness to supervise and mentor the applicant during his/her proposed fellowship period.
• A detailed CV of the proposed mentor.
• An official letter from a hosting institution addressed to the Arab Council for the Social Sciences expressing the institution’s willingness to host the applicant during the time of fellowship.

Please note that all submitted proposals will be checked on a plagiarism detection software.

About The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS):

The Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is a regional, independent, non-profit organization dedicated to strengthening social science research and knowledge production in the Arab world. By supporting researchers and academic/research institutions, the ACSS aims to contribute to the creation, dissemination, validation and utilization of social science research and to enrich public debate about the challenges facing Arab societies. The ACSS also aims to enhance the role of social science in Arab public life and inform public policy in the region.

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