Applications Invited for 2012 Pardee Summer Fellowships

2012 Pardee Center Graduate Summer Fellows Program

Application deadline: Friday, March 16, 2012

The Pardee Graduate Summer Fellows Program offers graduate students from across Boston University an opportunity for intensive interdisciplinary research and writing on topics aligned with the broad research interests of BU’s Frederick S. Pardee Center for the Study of the Longer-Range Future.

The Pardee Center conducts interdisciplinary, policy-relevant and Summer Fellows poster final copyfuture-oriented research that can contribute to long-term improvements in the human condition. The Center is especially interested in rigorous analysis relating to longer-range human development, using global and regional (multi-national) analysis. We facilitate interdisciplinary studies that are development oriented, future focused and policy relevant, and that identify actions that can be taken today to make our collective global tomorrow better. (More details at: www-staging.bu.edu/pardee/research)

The 10-week fellowship (June 4 – August 10, 2012) will include a financial stipend of $5,000, structured interaction with Pardee Center faculty and research fellows, and a collegial atmosphere that fosters peer support and intellectual growth. Summer Fellows will occupy workspace provided at the Pardee House while they conduct independent research, and produce a substantive research paper that may be considered for publication by the Pardee Center. Fellows are expected to work at the Pardee House each Monday through Friday for the duration of the Fellowship and to participate in Pardee Center activities and all Summer Fellows’ events. In addition, Summer Fellows must attend a special orientation program on the morning of Monday, May 14, 2012.

The Graduate Summer Fellowships are open to all Boston University graduate students. Doctoral students, including ABDs, are especially encouraged to apply. Research proposals that link positively to the student’s own and/or BU faculty’s ongoing research are especially desirable.

Proposals for any research topic related to the Pardee Center’s longer-range global human development mandate will be considered, especially including (but not limited to) those relating to (a) measurement and evaluation of progress in human development, (b) engineering as applied to development or public health issues and (c) connections between ecology and public health in developing countries. We encourage applications with well-focused and innovative proposals from fields traditionally not associated directly with policy questions related to human development and well-being, such as theology, the humanities, natural sciences and engineering.

Applications should be submitted by email (as Word or PDF attachments) by close of business on Friday, March 16, to  gsfellow@bu.edu with the subject line SUMMER FELLOWSHIP and your last name (e.g., SUMMER FELLOWSHIP JONES) and should include as separate, attached documents:

  • Your recent CV
  • 1000-word (maximum) proposal for your research paper, including how the topic relates to the Pardee Center’s research agenda and your own research interests. Please make sure your proposal has a title, an abstract, and page numbers.
  • A recent writing sample (not more than 5 pages)
  • A copy of your unofficial transcript
  • One letter of support from a Boston University faculty member familiar with your research proposal conception and goals. The letter should be emailed directly from the faculty member to the “gsfellow” email address.

Questions regarding the Summer Fellowship Program may be directed to gsfellow@bu.edu. Candidates will be notified of the outcome of their applications in mid-April.

The PDF of this document is available here.