What are the main international security fellowships? I know of Belfer at Harvard, Cisac at Stanford, Mershon (OSU), and the grand strategy fellowship at Yale. Olin has apparently been discontinued. Are there others?
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has a post-doc fellowship in transatlantic relations-- 18 months split into six months spent in three think tanks, with at least one segment in Europe
i was notified I received one of the smith richardson fellowships a week or so back also. colleague who applied has heard nothing though. perhaps they're only contacting successful candidates? i'm sure they must have received a truckload of applications...
The fellowship attributed to Carnegie above is actually sponsored by a consortium of thinktanks in Europe and the United States, and it is called the Transatlantic Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Relations. More information on it can be found at http://www.swp-berlin.org/de/projekte/projekt.php?id=6422. Applications are due on February 15.
Are postdocs in the US limited to those who already have a PhD, or are they also given to those who are close to completing their PhD (i.e., will defend the same year as the postdoc)? If so, what is the difference between a predoc and postdoc?
look at each individual program's description. Some are very clear that candidates either must have completed the PhD (and the award of the postdoc will be rescinded if the student is not done by the time the program begins) or the candidate cannot have completed the PhD (in the case of some pre-docs). Others (like Belfer) are willing to turn pre-docs into post-docs midyear upon official completion of the degree. If a program's online materials are not clear on this point, send an e-mail to the proper admin person to inquire.
My two cents: If you win an award that is either exclusively pre- or post-doc, then of course "date of completion" can be a somewhat elastic concept. If you have an estimated time of completion in November 2008 and win a pre-doc, put off your defense date for a few months. If you have the same estimated time of completion and win a post-doc, you better start working around the clock from now til August. Don't be dishonest with anyone -- if you have a dissertation that really will not be acceptable until next spring, then you are not ready to apply for post-docs. At the same time, I think it is a well-understood fact that a dissertation's ideal completion date does not align perfectly with the academic calendar. I certainly have seen people defend not-fully-ripe dissertations in order to accept post-docs.
8:44 is right. The best thing to do is ask-- not just the person in charge of the fellowship, but anyone you know who is currently holding it or has done so recently. Places vary.
Don't forget the other party that needs to be consulted here: your committee. Some chairs will be sympathetic and help you hurry/delay so the defense is timed right; others won't. Worth thinking about before you promise anyone anything.
In response to a couple of posts about TAPIR - the trans-atlantic post-doctoral fellowship in international relations (source for information: current TAPIR fellows): the low-down is that this is not an academic fellowship. If you aren't interested in pursuing an academic career, then this could be interesting for you; it is think-tank designed and run, and many of the institutes involved in the consortium will not be sympathetic to you doing "academic" research. Most are policy-oriented. If you have even tentative plans for an academic career, it's not a good choice. Plus, it does not include health insurance and offers almost no administrative support. In short: if you are really interested in working in the think-tank/policy consulting world and you have some alternative source of health insurance (such as through an alumni association), then this is actually a pretty neat opportunity. In general, though, this is not what most Americans expect when they hear the words "post-doc". (and this one is a strict post-doc - you must have the Ph.D. in hand by the end of September).
In response to all the people asking about other IR pre-docs and post-docs, I believe there is something at UVA's Miller Center, and a lot of schools post fellowship opportunities on APSA's eJobs site. There is also the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann fellowship (not just for IR) and the US Institute for Peace fellowship. And one last note: don't complain. We IR types have a lot more pre-/post-doc opportunities than my buddies in American politics :)
Does anyone know about the Alexander Hamilton Center Fellowship at NYU-- wondering whether there were many applicants, how quickly they decide, etc.... Any information at all would be greatly appreciated!
Simple answer, no. Some of them are very clear that it is hard to get back to the States after going down South. Place is run differently and a different style of scholarship is expected.
Some Comparativists who have been down South (at CIDE, I haven't heard of ITAM to be honest) for a while managed to come back to the US (and are now employed at pretty good universities).
There is a rumor and some empirical evidence to suggest that being in the geographic area of cambridge and attending schools such as Harvard, MIT, and possibly Tufts, gives you an advantage when applying for belfer fellowships. In addition, those who have spent time at Belfer in one form or another seem to publish in IS quite easily. One of the most obvious reasons is exposure and interaction with some of the faculty who will make these decisions. For example, many Harvard students, quite naturally, have affiliations or pre-docs with belfer. Perhaps someone could shed some light on this for others who go to schools outside of this social network. Is there some truth to these perceptions (or mis-)?
It's not shocking that Belfer always has fellows from Harvard and MIT (so does Olin). They are two of the best international security programs so they naturally produce qualified candidates. There are almost always people at Belfer and Olin from Stanford, Columbia, and Chicago too, and often Georgetown. (And often even if a person does not currently go to one of these schools-- if you look at their undergrad it was at one of these places.)
These programs tend to produce people who have the sorts of interests that are appealing to Belfer. It' snot a conspiracy, just a selection effect.
Additionally, once people go to Belfer, they get great colleagues specializing in their area and a year of paid research with no obligations-- it's no surprise they can publish in IS. Yes, it probably helps to occasionally run into Sean Lynn Jones or Steve Miller in the hallway and get a sense of what interests them, but at the end of the day it's a peer reviewed journal. It goes out blind to reviewers who decide what gets published. Whether you're at Belfer or not, if you go to a top school and spend a year working on an article and getting good feedback, you're likely to be published.
All this said, there is definitely a social network in Cambridge. But what else is new? Academia is all about networks.... People on Mass Ave. know each other. But bear in mind, this can help as much as hurt. There is no love lost between the Harvard government department and the kennedy School-- it is not clear a glowing letter from faculty members at the former is a boon to your credibility with the latter. For every harvard kid who gets a slot at belfer, others get shut out. I think a lot of this is a wash.
Re Belfer fellowship applications, does anyone know if the applications specified for ISP fellowships may be looked at by the MTA selection committee as it is under the wider ISP program?
well as someone who's at one of the Cambridge schools, I can confirm Belfer is quite a "clubby" fellowship. Olin and Belfer for example have an almost incestuous relationship and regularly "exchange" fellows. Also I've been reliably informed that the heads of both institutes (and no they're not necessarily who you think they are) do trust each other's recommendations a lot. That being said, Belfer gets a ton of applications for its fellowships and a lot of them are excellent--so something else has to up the criteria. (and no I'm not a bitter graduate student Belfer-reject. Just sayin')
Olin's current group of fellows is its last though, right? (As in, there won't be any more opportunity for "exchanges" between it and Belfer.)
This seems to drastically reduce the possibility that anyone could plan on being in Boston for a couple years, both funded. I've heard that Belfer will let you keep the affiliation for a second year, but that there's basically no chance of getting funded for a second one. Does anyone have any info on that?
(I'd be delighted to get to spend even just one year funded in Boston of course, but the possibility of two makes the uprooting involved in any move seem much less unattractive!)
Are there any other places where extending one's affiliation *and* funding are an option? Or is the best one can hope for in this regard getting a one-year fellowship at Belfer or CISAC or something, then trying to stay for a second with money from USIP for instance (as in, any fellowship you can use anywhere, rather than one that requires you to be in residence).
--I don't think Belfer has issued notifications yet, but will do so soon. One thing to keep in mind is that various programs operate on different schedules. For example, in the past ISP fellows have been notified before those who are joint with more than one program.
--I think rejections typically come via snail mail and acceptances via e-mail.
3:33, do you have a source on Brookings? Have you/has someone you know received an acceptance (and, if so, by what form and when)? A rejection? Thanks for any info.
Re Smith Richardson: Matthew Scmidt http://www1.georgetown.edu/departments/government/44466.html and Walter Ladwig (Oxford) both received awards. There has to be a lot more out there!
It might be worth thinking about Oxford and Cambridge college Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs). These are multi-year post-docs. The terms and conditions, as well as the subjects that they are offered in, differ quite substantially, but many of them are excellent. They are also increasingly open to those with US PhDs. For example, the "International Studies" JRF at Pembroke College, Cambridge, elicited numerous high-quality US applicants this year. Note, though, that most of the competitions are open in terms of subject matter, so political scientists will be going head to head with people doing a whole range of other subjects. Oxford in particular is now a great place to do mainstream US political science.
Gonzalo Paz from George Washington University received a Smith Richardson award. It's on their site: http://www.gwu.edu/~psc/graduate/index.shtml
I heard they received close to 175 applications for the 20+ awards, so it was a tough first-year competition. (source: e-mail received by a colleague who did not receive the award)
Interviews for fellowships with the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University are being conducted this week. Decisions are apparently imminent.
re: "wiki info." if you google something like "acls mellon notification" you will come across some wikis from last year. e.g. : http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/pre-doctoral_fellowships
Has anyone heard from the other Brookings programs? In particular, has anyone heard from the Global Econ and Dev program? If so, how did you hear--e-mail, snail mail etc.?
I spoke to someone at Belfer who said that some people in ISP had received offers but all acceptances/rejections had not been sent out because they were waiting to go down the list--some people may have more than one offer and are still deciding where to go.
"Has anyone heard from the other Brookings programs? In particular, has anyone heard from the Global Econ and Dev program? If so, how did you hear--e-mail, snail mail etc.?"
I haven't heard yet from the Global Econ and Dev program, although I am out of the reach of snail mail so if that's how they are doing things then I have no clue. It seems like email is much more likely though.
i read OSU mershon's e-mail they sent in Jan. about receiving my application, and they said notifications would come in late spring. does this mean may/june? when have notifications come in the past? thanks!
Any information about the status of any of the following would be most welcome:
- yale's program on order, conflict and violence - miller center at uva - usip - cisac (we know that some have heard, but have all acceptances gone out? rejections?) - belfer isp and/or icp (again, we know at least some isp/icp joint offers are out, but are all their offers out? anything from isp on its own?)
I concur with 9:38am. I called Belfer and was given the same information. I was also categorically told (without any hints or info from me) to stop reading the IR rumor mill because they are "only rumors". *blush*
The ISP/Religion in International Affairs fellowship offers were initially conveyed by Prof. Toft making phone calls. Email notifications went out next, and letters were mailed.
A quick plea that if someone gets an offer from ISP this week, to post a comment immediately to let the rest of us know that they have been contacting peole. The reason I ask is because Belfer is known to be notoriously slow at sending out rejections--typically they have taken up to a month in the past to mail rejection letters. So please, if you get an offer, put us out of our misery. Thanks!
Dear EVERYONE! There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about these fellowships. Don't ruin this blog because by posting false information about when/if people heard about fellowships just so you can laugh at others. Get a life and a hobby.
Does anyone know the rate of acceptance to pre/post-docs? i.e., how many applications to ISP, CISAC, etc.?
For some reason, I don't really understand how there can be so many applicants: there are maybe 30 "decent" Phd programs in the country, and in each of these maybe 1-2 people who specialize in International Security AND who are close to finishing. So in total, that would be a max of 60 people maybe... But I have the feeling there are way more (maybe from abroad?)
These fellowships are not limited to people studying International Security at top US universities. While in smaller number, there are sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and even literary theorists who apply from both the US and abroad. There are also students of US Foreign Policy and political theory. In any given year, there are probably at least 500 people in the US and abroad who would be qualified for one of these fellowships.
I received a rejection letter via snail mail from ACLS regarding the ACLS/Mellon dissertation completion grant. According to the letter, there were 899 applications and 65 awards.
Knowing all of these stats helps me keep things in perspective. That Belfer and CISAC apparently take just 2 or 4 percent of all applicants suggests the vast number of us, qualified though we may be, had better find something else to do.
Has anyone heard anything from the Miller Center? Does anyone know when in April they have let people know in the past? Like can I anticipate a decision soon, or do I have weeks left to wait this one out?
Also does anyone have a sense of whether that fellowship is broadening its selection criteria beyond APD or is it still very focused on that?
has anyone actually received a rejection from Belfer ISP? i applied to 6postdocs, and have received rejections from all (Mershon the most recent) except Belfer ISP. Is this a sign of "wait-listed", or are they just holding off all rejections until the end?
7:29 : what were the 6 you applied to? I still have no answer from CISAC, Miller or ISP, but am starting to think it just means I was rejected and the rejection will come later in the mail...
to 6:32. rejections from cisac (snail mail), mershon, princeton security studies, yale (via e-mail). the last one was outside of political science and the U.S.
It may be a bit early to ask for a post mortem on the pre-doc front, but as someone anticipating going though the process next year, I would be very interested in any advice or insight that could be gleaned from the board's collective wisdom.
In particular, I am wondering if there is a sense of what really matters in the selection process? To give a tangible example, there is a guy in the year ahead of me in my department (non-top 10) who failed to secure a pre-doc at Belfer (ISP) despite having previously published in International Security. A scan of the current and past pre-docs suggests that few of them had a significant publication under their belt before taking up their post.
This raises a question: among the nexus of scholarly ability, department reputation, advisor, and "sexiness" of the dissertation project, what matters the most? For most applicants, the department, advisor, and dissertation topic are relatively fixed, so the main thing under your control is scholarly ability, as may be indicated by significant publications. However, without concluding too much from a single case, if that latter factor cannot "overcome" the others, is the process relatively pre-determined? Can outsiders "crash the party" and win a competitive posting?
Any insights and/or feedback would be much appreciated.
I'm increasingly disillusioned. I tend to doubt that things that could suggest scholarly ability, like publication record, really matters that much to CISAC and Belfer. Partially this is because of their 'book rather than article' orientation, and partly because they are so driven by networks. Don't forget that they have all sorts of bases for arguing equivalent scholarly ability for mulitiples of the number of people they have, so arguably the fix--in terms of advisors' reputations and relationships and relationships between departmetns--is in. And frankly, the fact that they are willing to give people successive fellowships (Olin-Belfer-CISAC-Kroc-etc all are perfectly willing to give people who have had one of the other fellowships a futher shot, just look at the recipient bios) further distorts the process, since it brings the same relationships again into focus, and particularly a quid-pro-quo relationship among the main places.
Do we actually know who got most of these slots? The only names posted here were from a link to the MIT page awhile ago for Belfer and Brookings. And those 2 folks both seemed reasonably qualified (including articles in major security journals), if young. So let the dust settle and more names show up before post mortem-ing.
Got my reject letter from CISAC today. Well, the truth is that there are plenty of talented folks out there, and not everyone can get to sit at the dinner table all at once.
Regarding the previous post on "who you know," it definitely is that. but that's the nature of the game, I suppose. It's a good reminder that when it doubt, network.
To fellow student anxiously awaiting news from AAUW: do you know *where* on the site they are posting this info? I just had a look and couldn't find it. Any ideas?
I assume I didn't get it since I am guessing they would probably contact awardees before posting on-line, but hey until I get the rejection hope is still alive.
re: aauw notification. the recipients are now posted here: http://www.aauw.org/education/ fga/fellowships_grants/upload/ 2008_09-Award-list-for-web.pdf
there is also a link from the front page of the web site.
Just a question out of curiosity--are we, as graduate students, actually expected to live on 20k for 12 months? (This is a laughable amount if one's school is in a major city.) How willing are pre-doc people to allow grad students to supplement these awards with other grants? Or is the expectation that we should take on debt?
most predocs expect you to not work during the predoc period. most of the apps i filled out specifically stated this. you can ask for special permission to teach a class for example, but where i live, (major city) adjuncting doesn't get much $1700 a semester so it is not like it would pay the bills. that's the irony of grad school, and probably why a lot of people don't finish, how ya gonna pay the bills?
Does anyone have (or know anyone who has) experience trying to defer pre-docs? Is this something that's done/that can be done? Thanks for any information.
Hi. As a future post-doc applicant, I have a question for the group about word limits on application essays. Do you think that institutions take these extremely seriously (i.e. will kill your application if you exceed) or are they general guides?
On the same vein, I had a similar question for journal articles as well...when a journal lists its word limits do they tend to be set in stone or are they general guides? Anyone have experience with submitting a significantly longer article to a top-10 journal?
First, wrt fellowship applications, having both applied and evaluated applications, my impression is exceeding the word limits by a significant amount rarely offers much benefit. Those evaluating the applications already have a lot to read without somebody writing more than necessary. When I was evaluating applications, I was mostly annoyed when somebody felt as if they couldn't possibly summarize their research in the reasonable, suggested word length. Annoyed is not what you want a selection committee to be.
Second, wrt journal articles, there are some journals that simply won't send stuff out for review that is exceedingly long. I had a manuscript accepted at a top-tier journal that was only slightly above there recommended word lengths. Nonetheless, their first direction to me after the manuscript was accepted was to cut the piece by 20%. Editors, both journal and book editors, habitually think everything is too long (and they're often right).
216 comments:
1 – 200 of 216 Newer› Newest»so which are the major postdocs in the US? and are any of them for more than one year?
What are the main international security fellowships? I know of Belfer at Harvard, Cisac at Stanford, Mershon (OSU), and the grand strategy fellowship at Yale. Olin has apparently been discontinued. Are there others?
I believe Dartmouth's Dickey Center has or will have post doc opportunities. Check the web.
did anyone hear from Smith Richardson?
Regarding the Smith Richardson Fellowship, I know of someone who received a congrats email about a week ago
To 4:59, that's odd. SRF said they have not notified people yet.
The Carnegie Endowment for International Peace has a post-doc fellowship in transatlantic relations-- 18 months split into six months spent in three think tanks, with at least one segment in Europe
i was notified I received one of the smith richardson fellowships a week or so back also. colleague who applied has heard nothing though. perhaps they're only contacting successful candidates? i'm sure they must have received a truckload of applications...
Yeah I have two friends who heard (favorably) about SRF in the last week or two.
They must have received a lot of apps. Does anyone know what the people were working on and what schools they attend?
The fellowship attributed to Carnegie above is actually sponsored by a consortium of thinktanks in Europe and the United States, and it is called the Transatlantic Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Relations. More information on it can be found at http://www.swp-berlin.org/de/projekte/projekt.php?id=6422. Applications are due on February 15.
Smith Richardson sent rejection letters by regular mail.
Source: friend who received one yesterday.
There seem to be more security post-docs available than pre-docs.
1. Is this true?
2. Other than Belfer, Brookings, CISAC, the Miller Center at UVA, and USIP, what is there by way of pre-docs?
Any information would be much appreciated.
Are postdocs in the US limited to those who already have a PhD, or are they also given to those who are close to completing their PhD (i.e., will defend the same year as the postdoc)? If so, what is the difference between a predoc and postdoc?
re. 9:18pm (pre-/post-doc distinction):
look at each individual program's description. Some are very clear that candidates either must have completed the PhD (and the award of the postdoc will be rescinded if the student is not done by the time the program begins) or the candidate cannot have completed the PhD (in the case of some pre-docs). Others (like Belfer) are willing to turn pre-docs into post-docs midyear upon official completion of the degree. If a program's online materials are not clear on this point, send an e-mail to the proper admin person to inquire.
My two cents: If you win an award that is either exclusively pre- or post-doc, then of course "date of completion" can be a somewhat elastic concept. If you have an estimated time of completion in November 2008 and win a pre-doc, put off your defense date for a few months. If you have the same estimated time of completion and win a post-doc, you better start working around the clock from now til August. Don't be dishonest with anyone -- if you have a dissertation that really will not be acceptable until next spring, then you are not ready to apply for post-docs. At the same time, I think it is a well-understood fact that a dissertation's ideal completion date does not align perfectly with the academic calendar. I certainly have seen people defend not-fully-ripe dissertations in order to accept post-docs.
8:44 is right. The best thing to do is ask-- not just the person in charge of the fellowship, but anyone you know who is currently holding it or has done so recently. Places vary.
Don't forget the other party that needs to be consulted here: your committee. Some chairs will be sympathetic and help you hurry/delay so the defense is timed right; others won't. Worth thinking about before you promise anyone anything.
Does anyone know how many people usually apply for Belfer and CISAC fellowships?
Does anyone know how many people usually apply for Belfer and CISAC fellowships?
In response to a couple of posts about TAPIR - the trans-atlantic post-doctoral fellowship in international relations (source for information: current TAPIR fellows): the low-down is that this is not an academic fellowship. If you aren't interested in pursuing an academic career, then this could be interesting for you; it is think-tank designed and run, and many of the institutes involved in the consortium will not be sympathetic to you doing "academic" research. Most are policy-oriented. If you have even tentative plans for an academic career, it's not a good choice. Plus, it does not include health insurance and offers almost no administrative support. In short: if you are really interested in working in the think-tank/policy consulting world and you have some alternative source of health insurance (such as through an alumni association), then this is actually a pretty neat opportunity. In general, though, this is not what most Americans expect when they hear the words "post-doc". (and this one is a strict post-doc - you must have the Ph.D. in hand by the end of September).
In response to all the people asking about other IR pre-docs and post-docs, I believe there is something at UVA's Miller Center, and a lot of schools post fellowship opportunities on APSA's eJobs site. There is also the Dolores Zohrab Liebmann fellowship (not just for IR) and the US Institute for Peace fellowship. And one last note: don't complain. We IR types have a lot more pre-/post-doc opportunities than my buddies in American politics :)
Any word on the Institute for Global Governance at Princeton?
When will Belfer fellowships be announced?
Does anyone know about the Alexander Hamilton Center Fellowship at NYU-- wondering whether there were many applicants, how quickly they decide, etc....
Any information at all would be greatly appreciated!
What is the story with ITAM? Is this a good choice for an academic career?
Simple answer, no. Some of them are very clear that it is hard to get back to the States after going down South. Place is run differently and a different style of scholarship is expected.
Some Comparativists who have been down South (at CIDE, I haven't heard of ITAM to be honest) for a while managed to come back to the US (and are now employed at pretty good universities).
Has anyone had acknowledgement of their Miller Center application being received?
Rejections from the Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance at Princeton are out.
On Belfer, I'm pretty sure I was told early March when I dropped my stuff off.
Has anyone acknowledged the Niehaus center post-doc? And any info on when they sent the rejection letters?
Agnes Scott has hired.
Anyone know when Brookings is supposed to make decisions about the pre-doc fellowships?
UBC Killam post-doc notifications are out
There is a rumor and some empirical evidence to suggest that being in the geographic area of cambridge and attending schools such as Harvard, MIT, and possibly Tufts, gives you an advantage when applying for belfer fellowships. In addition, those who have spent time at Belfer in one form or another seem to publish in IS quite easily. One of the most obvious reasons is exposure and interaction with some of the faculty who will make these decisions. For example, many Harvard students, quite naturally, have affiliations or pre-docs with belfer. Perhaps someone could shed some light on this for others who go to schools outside of this social network. Is there some truth to these perceptions (or mis-)?
It's not shocking that Belfer always has fellows from Harvard and MIT (so does Olin). They are two of the best international security programs so they naturally produce qualified candidates. There are almost always people at Belfer and Olin from Stanford, Columbia, and Chicago too, and often Georgetown. (And often even if a person does not currently go to one of these schools-- if you look at their undergrad it was at one of these places.)
These programs tend to produce people who have the sorts of interests that are appealing to Belfer. It' snot a conspiracy, just a selection effect.
Additionally, once people go to Belfer, they get great colleagues specializing in their area and a year of paid research with no obligations-- it's no surprise they can publish in IS. Yes, it probably helps to occasionally run into Sean Lynn Jones or Steve Miller in the hallway and get a sense of what interests them, but at the end of the day it's a peer reviewed journal. It goes out blind to reviewers who decide what gets published. Whether you're at Belfer or not, if you go to a top school and spend a year working on an article and getting good feedback, you're likely to be published.
All this said, there is definitely a social network in Cambridge. But what else is new? Academia is all about networks.... People on Mass Ave. know each other. But bear in mind, this can help as much as hurt. There is no love lost between the Harvard government department and the kennedy School-- it is not clear a glowing letter from faculty members at the former is a boon to your credibility with the latter. For every harvard kid who gets a slot at belfer, others get shut out. I think a lot of this is a wash.
wow, social interactions are significant huh?
Re Belfer fellowship applications, does anyone know if the applications specified for ISP fellowships may be looked at by the MTA selection committee as it is under the wider ISP program?
Has anyone heard any news re Belfer apps?
well as someone who's at one of the Cambridge schools, I can confirm Belfer is quite a "clubby" fellowship. Olin and Belfer for example have an almost incestuous relationship and regularly "exchange" fellows. Also I've been reliably informed that the heads of both institutes (and no they're not necessarily who you think they are) do trust each other's recommendations a lot. That being said, Belfer gets a ton of applications for its fellowships and a lot of them are excellent--so something else has to up the criteria. (and no I'm not a bitter graduate student Belfer-reject. Just sayin')
What about the converse? Is publishing in IS the gateway to Belfer?
Any idea when we should expect the results from:
- CISAC
- Yale's OCV
- Belfer
- Virginia's Miller Center
Maybe recipients from previous years could let us know when they received their notification.
Thanks!
Belfer notifications went out last year as early as Feb 20. CISAC was the second week in March.
Olin's current group of fellows is its last though, right? (As in, there won't be any more opportunity for "exchanges" between it and Belfer.)
This seems to drastically reduce the possibility that anyone could plan on being in Boston for a couple years, both funded. I've heard that Belfer will let you keep the affiliation for a second year, but that there's basically no chance of getting funded for a second one. Does anyone have any info on that?
(I'd be delighted to get to spend even just one year funded in Boston of course, but the possibility of two makes the uprooting involved in any move seem much less unattractive!)
Are there any other places where extending one's affiliation *and* funding are an option? Or is the best one can hope for in this regard getting a one-year fellowship at Belfer or CISAC or something, then trying to stay for a second with money from USIP for instance (as in, any fellowship you can use anywhere, rather than one that requires you to be in residence).
Thanks in advance for any information.
There are some 2-yr post-docs in Canada. I can't remember where. I think UBC has one. I'd rather spend 2yrs in DC than Boston......
Still nothing from Belfer?
7:42
Looking back at my confirmation e-mail they said March for the contact period.
Did Belfer send out rejections via e-mail or snail mail last year?
I think you're thinking of UBC's Killam postdoc:
http://www.grad.ubc.ca/awards/index.asp?menu=015,000,000,000
Anybody else getting antsy? So, to echo some already-asked but not-yet-answered questions in the hope of eliciting responses:
Still nothing from Belfer?
And, did Belfer send out rejections via email or snail mail? What about acceptances? And what about CISAC - how do they communicate with applicants?
Thanks!
Brookings Research Fellowships have been awarded.
Re 1:38:
--I don't think Belfer has issued notifications yet, but will do so soon. One thing to keep in mind is that various programs operate on different schedules. For example, in the past ISP fellows have been notified before those who are joint with more than one program.
--I think rejections typically come via snail mail and acceptances via e-mail.
1:38:
Nothing yet from Belfer. CISAC calls candidates to make offers.
3:33, do you have a source on Brookings? Have you/has someone you know received an acceptance (and, if so, by what form and when)? A rejection? Thanks for any info.
Which Brookings fellowships have been decided and how did they contact people?
Apparently, Belfer (ISP) would be decided by March end.
(Source: second hand from a candidate who had emailed them since s/he had a competing offer).
Brookings Foreign Policy fellowships have been awarded, and at least some rejections sent via email. (source: I received said rejection last night.)
Any word on the Princeton International Security Post-doc?
Princeton International Security Postdocs are out. I know somebody who received an offer.
Any idea when the Princeton decision was released? How was it communicated, and from whom?
i heard belfer are out. is it true?
Only the Belfer Center's joint International Security Program/Intrastate Conflict Program decisions have been announced
Only the initial Belfer joint ICP/ISP offers are out, not ISP.
Does anyone know how Belfer's wait-list functions? Do they contact those wait-listed immediately, or only once an offer is available?
does the belfer IRIA (religion) give out awards?
who got the smith richardson awards? does anyone want to publish the awards?
Excuse the ignorance, but in ref to previous comment, there are wait lists with the Belfer fellowships?
Re Smith Richardson:
Matthew Scmidt http://www1.georgetown.edu/departments/government/44466.html
and
Walter Ladwig (Oxford) both received awards. There has to be a lot more out there!
It might be worth thinking about Oxford and Cambridge college Junior Research Fellowships (JRFs). These are multi-year post-docs. The terms and conditions, as well as the subjects that they are offered in, differ quite substantially, but many of them are excellent. They are also increasingly open to those with US PhDs. For example, the "International Studies" JRF at Pembroke College, Cambridge, elicited numerous high-quality US applicants this year. Note, though, that most of the competitions are open in terms of subject matter, so political scientists will be going head to head with people doing a whole range of other subjects. Oxford in particular is now a great place to do mainstream US political science.
Gonzalo Paz from George Washington University received a Smith Richardson award. It's on their site: http://www.gwu.edu/~psc/graduate/index.shtml
I heard they received close to 175 applications for the 20+ awards, so it was a tough first-year competition. (source: e-mail received by a colleague who did not receive the award)
Llewelyn Hughes at MIT won an SRF grant. Source: MIT newsletter
http://web.mit.edu/CIS/spotlightarchive07_08.html
Regarding the Belfer Center's International Security Program and its joint fellowships, alternates are notified when someone declines an offer.
RIIA does offer fellowships, see the ISP Fellowship page.
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/46/international_security.html?page_id=25
They say they do on their website:
http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/project/57/religion_in_international_affairs.html?page_id=121
anything from CISAC or Yale's OCV program?
cisac has not made decisions yet... supposedly final meeting is later this week or early next.
more fellowship info-
for brookings, belfer, SRF:
http://web.mit.edu/ssp
for SRF:
http://www.polisci.wisc.edu/tjdb/CV%20Andrew%20Reiter.pdf
i heard cisac's meeting is this thursday.
Are the Belfer ICP offers out already?
There are no sole ICP fellowships at the Belfer Center--all ICP fellowships are joint with ISP.
re: 7:33, the MIT link above lists someone who got an ICP predoc, so at least the first round of offers must be out.
Does anyone know the status of the Miller center or USIP fellowships?
re: 5:25 - The Miller Center's application says notification is in April; USIP's says June.
Has anyone heard from Newcombe, ACLS or AAUW for diss completion grants?
Based on wiki info from last year, ACLS and AAUW didn't get back to people until mid-April.
The remaining Belfer ISP and joint ISP fellowships should be announced by the end of March.
Have the Earth Institute fellowship offers been announced?
What's the "wiki info"? How does one get access to that? Thanks.
Interviews for fellowships with the Committee on Global Thought at Columbia University are being conducted this week. Decisions are apparently imminent.
Source: candidate who was interviewed
re: "wiki info." if you google something like "acls mellon notification" you will come across some wikis from last year. e.g. :
http://wikihost.org/wikis/academe/wiki/pre-doctoral_fellowships
has anyone heard back on pre-doc applications (positive or negative) from cisac or belfer's isp or mta groups? the wait is killing me...
I'm still waiting myself...best of luck to us all...
Has anyone heard from the other Brookings programs? In particular, has anyone heard from the Global Econ and Dev program? If so, how did you hear--e-mail, snail mail etc.?
I spoke to someone at Belfer who said that some people in ISP had received offers but all acceptances/rejections had not been sent out because they were waiting to go down the list--some people may have more than one offer and are still deciding where to go.
when is mershon coming out?
is there only one?
So, has anyone received a rejection from Belfer ISP?
Belfer Center ISP offers are not out yet
just got a rejection via email from CDDRL (at stanford). Congrats to those who were more fortunate!
received rejection today from Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies and its Project on International Security Studies
Newcombe finalists have been decided. Good luck to finalists! Source: rejection e-mail received this morning.
"Has anyone heard from the other Brookings programs? In particular, has anyone heard from the Global Econ and Dev program? If so, how did you hear--e-mail, snail mail etc.?"
I haven't heard yet from the Global Econ and Dev program, although I am out of the reach of snail mail so if that's how they are doing things then I have no clue. It seems like email is much more likely though.
Anyone received an offer from An Wang Fellowship at Harvard? Thanks.
Shorenstein Postdoc at Stanford posted their new fellows on their webpage. looks like they went for non-political scientists this year.
any word on CISAC? earlier post mentioned a decision would be made end of last week/early this week.
Princeton NCGG fellows anounced.
some have heard from cisac-
11:53: how are people hearing from cisac? (e-mail?) and were these acceptances or rejections? thanks!
Who's going to Niehaus-Princeton?
Re-7:34Am - where have the Niehaus fellows been announced?
are UBC's Killam postdocs announced yet? was 19 feb's notification an accept or reject?
UBC Killam offers were made approx. three weeks ago.
i read OSU mershon's e-mail they sent in Jan. about receiving my application, and they said notifications would come in late spring. does this mean may/june? when have notifications come in the past? thanks!
Any information about the status of any of the following would be most welcome:
- yale's program on order, conflict and violence
- miller center at uva
- usip
- cisac (we know that some have heard, but have all acceptances gone out? rejections?)
- belfer isp and/or icp (again, we know at least some isp/icp joint offers are out, but are all their offers out? anything from isp on its own?)
thank you!
Brookings Global Econ and Dev fellowships have been announced. If anyone has info on who got it I would like to know...
So: rejection e-mail received on Saturday to ruin your weekend
11:53 says CISAC notifications are out. Anyone else heard about that? I have nothing, personally (neither acceptance nor rejection...)
I still haven't heard from CISAC...will keep my fingers crossed and hope for the best...
Regarding the Belfer Center:
ISP/ICP has begun contacting the alternate list.
ISP/Religion in International Affairs first round offers are out.
ISP, ISP/MTA, and ISP/WAPPP are not out.
There are no sole ICP fellowships.
I concur with 9:38am. I called Belfer and was given the same information. I was also categorically told (without any hints or info from me) to stop reading the IR rumor mill because they are "only rumors". *blush*
Still no word from CISAC
How were the Belfer ISP/Religion offers sent out? (phone, email, snail mail?)
I heard all the CISAC awardees were abducted by Berkeley hippies, so CISAC now has to re-award everything. Go figure!
The ISP/Religion in International Affairs fellowship offers were initially conveyed by Prof. Toft making phone calls. Email notifications went out next, and letters were mailed.
ISP/MTA offers are out by email. Source: I received one.
ok so ISP offers are not out. Does anyone have any info on WHEN they are supposed to be out?
Not all ISP or ISP/MTA offers have been made yet! From an authoritative source.
Some CISAC rejections are out (I got an email)
Has anyone received a rejection yet from regarding the ISP fellowships?
All the ISP/MTA first round offers are out.
A quick plea that if someone gets an offer from ISP this week, to post a comment immediately to let the rest of us know that they have been contacting peole. The reason I ask is because Belfer is known to be notoriously slow at sending out rejections--typically they have taken up to a month in the past to mail rejection letters. So please, if you get an offer, put us out of our misery. Thanks!
I received a rejection from ISP after letting them know that I faced an urgent deadline from another institution.
So it seems that some CISAC rejections are out. I have received neither rejection nor offer. Has anyone else received anything? How about Yale's OCV?
Dear EVERYONE!
There is a tremendous amount of misinformation about these fellowships. Don't ruin this blog because by posting false information about when/if people heard about fellowships just so you can laugh at others. Get a life and a hobby.
I haven't received a rejection from CISAC yet. Does anyone know if that means anything?
At least 2 people from UCLA got CISAC offers. Source: prof in dept
just to let people know: I have applied to:
1. Yale's OCV
2. Virginia's Miller center
3. ISP
4. CISAC
and have received nothing (neither offer nor rejection) from any of them so far...
I received rejection letter from CISAC today
i got back from ISA last night to find a CISAC rejection in the snail mail ... Still nothing from ISP, Yale OCV, or Miller Center at UVa.
I got back from ISA today and found nothing in the mail from CISAC. Well, sooner or later I'll find out.
My CISAC rejection came via e-mail (followed by snail).
Beelfer's ISP said that applicants will hear back in March. Why can not get any information, either offer of objection? Any applicant get a notice?
I haven't gotten good OR bad news from CISAC. Do they send things out in waves?
Still nothing from either CISAC or Belfer here (neither offer nor rejection)...
I received a rejection by regular mail from CISAC. I have yet to receive anything from Belfer.
Re: CISAC: that probably means they are reviewing the files right now, and send rejections as the files pass through their hands...
i got my cisac rejection via snail mail today too. i didn't receive any e-mail, only snail mail. I haven't heard anything yet on Belfer ISP.
Does anyone know the rate of acceptance to pre/post-docs? i.e., how many applications to ISP, CISAC, etc.?
For some reason, I don't really understand how there can be so many applicants: there are maybe 30 "decent" Phd programs in the country, and in each of these maybe 1-2 people who specialize in International Security AND who are close to finishing. So in total, that would be a max of 60 people maybe... But I have the feeling there are way more (maybe from abroad?)
Regarding ISP, many applications are from abroad. Also, historians, lawyers, and scientists with an interest in policy apply.
As for "decent" Ph.D. programs with 1-2 top students, the applicant pool is not self-limiting in that way.
These fellowships are not limited to people studying International Security at top US universities. While in smaller number, there are sociologists, anthropologists, historians, and even literary theorists who apply from both the US and abroad. There are also students of US Foreign Policy and political theory. In any given year, there are probably at least 500 people in the US and abroad who would be qualified for one of these fellowships.
To 7:45 AM:
According to a current visiting fellow at CISAC I spoke to at ISA, they received ~300 applications for 4 positions.
regarding the number of applicants, from my program, which is a top 10 school, there were around 7-10 applicants for belfer and cisac.
I received a rejection letter via snail mail from ACLS regarding the ACLS/Mellon dissertation completion grant. According to the letter, there were 899 applications and 65 awards.
Only some ISP fellowships have been announced.
I also received that letter from ACLS, via snail mail, last week.
I was told that Belfer got over 200 applicants.
Knowing all of these stats helps me keep things in perspective. That Belfer and CISAC apparently take just 2 or 4 percent of all applicants suggests the vast number of us, qualified though we may be, had better find something else to do.
So, has anyone heard back from ISP yet?
any word on the dubai initiative? did anyone apply?
just got a 'no' e-mail from OCV/Yale.
I got a rejection from OCV too. Damn!
Also just got a rejection (email) from Yale's OCV... Congrats to those who got it.
Me too...got my "no" email from OCV.
Has anyone heard anything from the Miller Center? Does anyone know when in April they have let people know in the past? Like can I anticipate a decision soon, or do I have weeks left to wait this one out?
Also does anyone have a sense of whether that fellowship is broadening its selection criteria beyond APD or is it still very focused on that?
Does anyone know if the last Belfer ISP announcements have been made?
12:36 - Nothing yet from the Miller Center here. Not sure what you mean by "APD" though ...
just received a rejection letter by e-mail from Mershon
The last ISP offers have not been made.
has anyone actually received a rejection from Belfer ISP? i applied to 6postdocs, and have received rejections from all (Mershon the most recent) except Belfer ISP. Is this a sign of "wait-listed", or are they just holding off all rejections until the end?
7:29 : what were the 6 you applied to? I still have no answer from CISAC, Miller or ISP, but am starting to think it just means I was rejected and the rejection will come later in the mail...
to 6:32. rejections from cisac (snail mail), mershon, princeton security studies, yale (via e-mail). the last one was outside of political science and the U.S.
I know someone who received an acceptance from the Belfer Center's Dubai Initiative Program!
Source: My boyfriend's acceptance email
Rhodes College is contacting its short list for phone interviews. Source: candidate
received rejection from CISAC (snail mail).
Has anyone heard anything about the Watson Institute postdoc?
how hard is it for these places to send out rejection notices? this is pathetic
Has anyone heard from AAUW? In the past they have sent out notices around this time....
Hi Rumormillers:
It may be a bit early to ask for a post mortem on the pre-doc front, but as someone anticipating going though the process next year, I would be very interested in any advice or insight that could be gleaned from the board's collective wisdom.
In particular, I am wondering if there is a sense of what really matters in the selection process? To give a tangible example, there is a guy in the year ahead of me in my department (non-top 10) who failed to secure a pre-doc at Belfer (ISP) despite having previously published in International Security. A scan of the current and past pre-docs suggests that few of them had a significant publication under their belt before taking up their post.
This raises a question: among the nexus of scholarly ability, department reputation, advisor, and "sexiness" of the dissertation project, what matters the most? For most applicants, the department, advisor, and dissertation topic are relatively fixed, so the main thing under your control is scholarly ability, as may be indicated by significant publications. However, without concluding too much from a single case, if that latter factor cannot "overcome" the others, is the process relatively pre-determined? Can outsiders "crash the party" and win a competitive posting?
Any insights and/or feedback would be much appreciated.
Haven't heard from AAUW yet, and still waiting ... and waiting ... and waiting for Belfer ISP. Anyone know what's going on with them?
I'm increasingly disillusioned. I tend to doubt that things that could suggest scholarly ability, like publication record, really matters that much to CISAC and Belfer. Partially this is because of their 'book rather than article' orientation, and partly because they are so driven by networks. Don't forget that they have all sorts of bases for arguing equivalent scholarly ability for mulitiples of the number of people they have, so arguably the fix--in terms of advisors' reputations and relationships and relationships between departmetns--is in. And frankly, the fact that they are willing to give people successive fellowships (Olin-Belfer-CISAC-Kroc-etc all are perfectly willing to give people who have had one of the other fellowships a futher shot, just look at the recipient bios) further distorts the process, since it brings the same relationships again into focus, and particularly a quid-pro-quo relationship among the main places.
Do we actually know who got most of these slots? The only names posted here were from a link to the MIT page awhile ago for Belfer and Brookings. And those 2 folks both seemed reasonably qualified (including articles in major security journals), if young. So let the dust settle and more names show up before post mortem-ing.
The Miller Center is contacting successful applicants. Source: Fellowship recipient in my department.
I called AAUW today--they will be snail-mailing, as well as posting online, the recipients of the fellowships on April 15.
Got my reject letter from CISAC today. Well, the truth is that there are plenty of talented folks out there, and not everyone can get to sit at the dinner table all at once.
Regarding the previous post on "who you know," it definitely is that. but that's the nature of the game, I suppose. It's a good reminder that when it doubt, network.
Anyone heard back yet from Belfer's ISP re fellowships?
Anyone received a rejection from the Miller Center yet?
nothing yet here from either isp or the miller center. i'm not holding my breath though.
I received a rejection from USIP
Ditto the rejection from USIP.
To fellow student anxiously awaiting news from AAUW: do you know *where* on the site they are posting this info? I just had a look and couldn't find it. Any ideas?
I assume I didn't get it since I am guessing they would probably contact awardees before posting on-line, but hey until I get the rejection hope is still alive.
re: aauw notification. the recipients are now posted here: http://www.aauw.org/education/
fga/fellowships_grants/upload/
2008_09-Award-list-for-web.pdf
there is also a link from the front page of the web site.
Just found the link for AAUW, fellows are announced here:
http://www.aauw.org/education/fga/fellowships_grants/upload/2008_09-Award-list-for-web.pdf
Good luck!
At least some USIP offers are also out. An e-mail from them said they received 166 applications for the 11 offers they made.
Has anyone heard if ISP has been announced?!?
Has anyone else heard anything through the grapevine or themselves from the UVA Miller Center?
10:56am
I received an offer from the Miller Center last week. Source: me.
So...do we know who won the various fellowships at Brookings/ Miller Center/CISAC/Princeton?
Just a question out of curiosity--are we, as graduate students, actually expected to live on 20k for 12 months? (This is a laughable amount if one's school is in a major city.) How willing are pre-doc people to allow grad students to supplement these awards with other grants? Or is the expectation that we should take on debt?
most predocs expect you to not work during the predoc period. most of the apps i filled out specifically stated this. you can ask for special permission to teach a class for example, but where i live, (major city) adjuncting doesn't get much $1700 a semester so it is not like it would pay the bills. that's the irony of grad school, and probably why a lot of people don't finish, how ya gonna pay the bills?
First round ISP offers have been made.
What does this mean?
Is there going to be another round of offer? Thanks.
Does anyone have (or know anyone who has) experience trying to defer pre-docs? Is this something that's done/that can be done? Thanks for any information.
If someone declines an offer, then an offer may be made to an alternate.
Anyone got an offer from ISP?
Or ISP have made the first round offers, but still not send the notice by email?
12:12:
My understanding is that neither Belfer nor CISAC allows recipients to defer pre-doctoral fellowships.
Hi. As a future post-doc applicant, I have a question for the group about word limits on application essays. Do you think that institutions take these extremely seriously (i.e. will kill your application if you exceed) or are they general guides?
On the same vein, I had a similar question for journal articles as well...when a journal lists its word limits do they tend to be set in stone or are they general guides? Anyone have experience with submitting a significantly longer article to a top-10 journal?
On word limits:
First, wrt fellowship applications, having both applied and evaluated applications, my impression is exceeding the word limits by a significant amount rarely offers much benefit. Those evaluating the applications already have a lot to read without somebody writing more than necessary. When I was evaluating applications, I was mostly annoyed when somebody felt as if they couldn't possibly summarize their research in the reasonable, suggested word length. Annoyed is not what you want a selection committee to be.
Second, wrt journal articles, there are some journals that simply won't send stuff out for review that is exceedingly long. I had a manuscript accepted at a top-tier journal that was only slightly above there recommended word lengths. Nonetheless, their first direction to me after the manuscript was accepted was to cut the piece by 20%. Editors, both journal and book editors, habitually think everything is too long (and they're often right).
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