Pre-dissertation Summer Travel Grants: Henry Luce Foundation/ACLS Program in China Studies

Predissertation-Summer Travel Grants

• Amount: $5,000
• Tenure: 3-4 months (in 2016) for a preliminary visit to China necessary to prepare for beginning basic research for the dissertation. (Graduate students who have already begun research in China are not eligible.)
• Eligibility:
  1) An applicant must be enrolled in a PhD program at a university in the United States or Canada.
  2) The application must contain a letter from the dissertation supervisor stating the need for a summer visit to China prior to dissertation research. This may include work useful to development of the prospectus.
• Deadline: Completed applications must be submitted through the ACLS Online Fellowship Application system (http://ofa.acls.org/) no later than 9 pm Eastern Standard Time, November 4, 2015.
• Notifications will be sent in May 2016.
• Final report required on completion.

Pre-dissertation travel grants provide funding for graduate students to explore venues and make preliminary research arrangements, and to gain advice from potential collaborators regarding subsequent research in China.

Application essays must provide the rationale for the proposed travel agenda. Particular attention should be paid to the evidence needed to answer research questions. The essay should provide a plan for the time in China, identifying the individuals, institutions, and sites to be visited. Inclusion of correspondence with potential contacts in China is desirable.

A working knowledge of Chinese is required.

Stipends may be used for costs associated with travel to China: air and ground transportation, visas and living expenses.

Selection Criteria
Applications will be evaluated on the basis of:

• The research design and intellectual organization of the dissertation  project, and its significance to the field of China studies;
• The suitability of the proposed visit to China to prepare for dissertation research in archives or at field sites;
• The academic potential of the applicant; and
• The feasibility of the plan of work for the proposed visit to China prior to the beginning of dissertation research.

For inquiries, please email chinastudies@acls.org

Website: http://www.acls.org/programs/china-studies/#prediss