The Center offers 9-month residential fellowships for applicants from any country. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of expertise, while interacting with policymakers in Washington, D.C. Applicants must have completed their PhD and have published at least one book or mongraph.
About
The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars aims to unite the world of ideas to the world of policy by supporting pre-eminent scholarship and linking that scholarship to issues of concern to officials in Washington.
Through an international competition, the Center offers 9-month residential fellowships. Fellows conduct research and write in their areas of expertise, while interacting with policymakers in Washington and Wilson Center staff. The Center accepts non-advocacy, policy-relevant, fellowship proposals that address key policy challenges facing the United States and the world.
In addition to its residential program, the Center conducts research through its programs, organizes conferences and seminars, and disseminates the content of its work and fellows’ research through its website and email marketing. The Center invites Fellows to take part in the Center’s conferences, meetings and seminars and to benefit from the wide range of dialogue that takes place at the Center.
The Center awards approximately 15-20 residential fellowships each year. Fellows will be affiliated with one or more of the Wilson Center programs/projects and are encouraged to interact with policy makers in Washington, D.C., with Wilson Center staff, and other scholars who are working on similar research and topics.
Funding
The Center offers a stipend of $90,000 for a nine-month fellowship. Fellows are responsible for their own health insurance and travel expenses.
Each Fellow is assigned a furnished office available to him or her every day, including evenings and weekends. The Center is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., and includes conference rooms, a reference library, and a dining room. The building is a smoke-free environment. The Wilson Center Library provides loan privileges with the Library of Congress and access to digital resources, its book and journal collections, and to university and special libraries in the area, and other research facilities. Windows-based personal computers are provided, and each Fellow is offered a part-time research assistant. Although Fellows are responsible for locating their own housing in the Washington, D.C. area, the Center provides written materials to help facilitate the search process.
Eligibility
Citizens or permanent residents from any country (applicants from countries outside the United States must hold a valid passport and be able to obtain a J-1 visa even if they are currently in the United States). (Read more information on visas.) Please contact the Center if you have any questions about your eligibility to obtain a J1 visa.
Applications are encouraged from:
- Women and men with outstanding capabilities and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds (including academia, business, government, journalism, law, and other professions)
- Academic candidates at the post-doctoral level who have published a book or monograph beyond the Ph.D. dissertation.
- Practitioners or policymakers with an equivalent level of professional achievement.
You do not need an institutional affiliation to apply. For most academic candidates, a book or monograph is required. Scholars and practitioners who previously held research awards or fellowships at the Wilson Center are not precluded from applying for a fellowship.
Conditions and Research
The Center accepts policy-relevant, non-advocacy fellowship proposals that address key challenges confronting the United States and the world. Priority will be given to proposals which align with the programmatic work of the Center and can result in work that reaches a broad audience. Within this framework, the Wilson Center supports projects that intersect with contemporary policy issues and provide the historical and/or cultural context for some of today’s significant public policy debates.
While in residence, Fellows will be affiliated with regional and/or topical programs working on issues that complement the Fellows’ projects. Program and project directors often collaborate with scholars in producing policy reports, op-eds, and other short written products and in designing seminars, conferences, and/or meetings related to scholars’ research.
Fellows are expected to be in residence for the entire U.S. academic year (early September through May). Occasionally, fellowships are awarded for shorter periods, with a minimum of four months. Fellowships may not be deferred.
Application
The Center holds one round of competitive selection per year. Fellowship applications must be postmarked or submitted online by October 1. Applicants are notified of the results of the selection process in March of the following year.
Applicants may submit their applications online here.
To read the full application guidelines, please visit https://www.wilsoncenter.org/fellowship-application-guidelines#about
Contact and Information
For more information, please visit https://www.wilsoncenter.org/fellowship-application
Questions should be directed to Fellowships@wilsoncenter.org
