Applications Now Open for 2014 Pardee Graduate Summer Fellowships

2014 Pardee Center Graduate Summer Fellows Program

Application deadline: Friday, March 14, 2014Pardee_SumFelCard2014

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 future-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 are available in the research section of this site.

The 10-week fellowship (May 27 – August 1, 2014) 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.

The Graduate Summer Fellowships are open to all Boston University graduate students. Doctoral students, including ABDs, are encouraged to apply (students completing degrees in May 2014 are not eligible). 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) sustainability issues related to rapid urbanization, especially in developing countries, (b) issues related to large-scale global environmental change and (c) a “systems perspective” of development programs, incorporating issues related to sociology, ecology, and economics. Successful proposals will clearly convey how the research is related to improving quality of life; focus on or demonstrate relevance to the developing world; clearly articulate how the research is relevant to the longer-range future (two or three generations out); and explain why and how it can be completed in a 10-week period.

Applications are especially encouraged from fields such as global public health, engineering, the humanities, and natural sciences. Applications should be submitted by email (as Word or PDF attachments) by close of business on Friday, March 14, 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 CV
  • 1,000-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 (no 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 gsfellow@bu.edu.

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. Download a PDF of this information here.