Deadline: October 18, 2021
The Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison invites applications for one-semester Wisconsin Russia Project pre-doctoral dissertation fellowships for Russian social scientists, funded with a grant from Carnegie Corporation of New York. Fellows are expected to be in residence in Madison, Wisconsin, and to conduct research toward their dissertation about Russia in one or more of the five topic areas: 1) Education, labor markets, and inequality; 2) Law and society; 3) Political economy; 4) Identity, place, and migration; and 5) Demographic change. Graduate fellows will conduct research in consultation with UW faculty and form close contacts with UW PhD students and Wisconsin Russia Project postdoctoral scholars working on similar topics. They will attend the weekly CREECA lecture series and take part in the activities of the Wisconsin Russia Project, such as monthly meetings of all project participants to discuss recent research papers in the field.
The fellowships will be for spring 2022. The anticipated spring 2022 appointment dates are January 17-June 15, 2022. Fellows will also be expected to participate in a conference in Madison in summer 2022 (conference dates TBD).
Eligibility: Applicants must be citizens of the Russian Federation. Applicants must be currently enrolled at a university outside the United States, writing a dissertation toward a PhD (or equivalent degree, such as the kandidat) in a social science discipline (Anthropology, Economics, Geography, Law, Political Science, and Sociology). Preference will be given to applicants at Russian universities; applicants from Russian institutions outside of Moscow are especially encouraged to apply.
Graduate fellows will be considered short-term academic staff at UW-Madison and will receive a stipend of approximately $2,500 per month (pre-tax) to cover living expenses. Fellows are eligible for basic health insurance through the State of Wisconsin. Fellows must be prepared to cover their travel expenses and their visa application expenses to arrive in Madison for the fellowship.
Fellows must devote full time to the Wisconsin Russia Project and may not accept any other major activities that require frequent and/or prolonged absence from UW-Madison during the tenure of their fellowship.
All applicants are required to submit the following materials:
1) A cover letter. The letter should describe the research the applicant will conduct during the fellowship (including topic, data and methodology, and expected output by the end of the fellowship period), should indicate which topic area(s) of the five listed above the project falls under, and should identify a UW faculty member who would be an appropriate mentor for the applicant;
2) A current curriculum vita;
3) An article-length writing sample;
4) Transcripts of graduate-level work (unofficial transcripts are acceptable); and
5) Three letters of recommendation from faculty members who can evaluate the applicant’s work and proposal.
Applicants should combine the first three items listed above into a single PDF, name the file using the convention “Applicant’s Last Name _WRP Graduate Fellow application” and email the PDF as an attachment with the subject title “Last Name_WRP Graduate Fellow Application” to:
Unofficial graduate transcripts can be sent via email in a separate PDF to russiaproject@creeca.wisc.edu using the file name “Applicant’s Last Name_WRP Graduate Fellow transcripts” OR via hard copy to the address below.
The three letters of recommendation should come either directly from the recommenders or from a dossier service. They should not be submitted by the applicant. Recommenders should submit the letters as email attachments to: russiaproject@creeca.wisc.edu . Please include as your subject title “Applicant’s Last Name _WRP Graduate Fellow Letter.”
If necessary, materials may be sent in hard copy to:
Center for Russia, East Europe, and Central Asia (CREECA)
Attention: Pre-doctoral Fellowship Competition
210 Ingraham Hall, 1155 Observatory Drive
University of Wisconsin-Madison
Madison, WI, USA 53706-1397
Cover letters, CVs, and writing samples must be submitted in English. (Letters of recommendation may be in English or Russian.)
Deadline: for full consideration, all materials must be received by October 18, 2021.
Questions may be addressed to WRP graduate assistant Özlem Eren at russiaproject@creeca.wisc.edu