Call for Applications: Summer Program on Migration and Borders 2026

The Boston University Center on Forced Displacement (CFD) invites applications for the 2026 Summer Program on Migration and Borders, a two-week intensive program designed for graduate students (MA, MPhil, PhD) whose research focuses on migration and/or displacement in any regional or thematic context. The submission deadline is December 30, 2025. 

The Summer Program on Migration and Borders brings together graduate students from Boston University and the University of Belgrade in Serbia for an immersive and collaborative research experience. Participants travel to Belgrade, Serbia in late May and early June 2026 for a two-week program hosted by the Faculty of Political Science, University of Belgrade, in partnership with CFD. The program combines seminars, workshops, and field visits with opportunities for participants to share and develop their own research. While the program includes a strong focus on migration and border dynamics in Serbia and the European Union and their borderlands, it is not limited to those regions. Students working on migration, displacement, and mobility issues in any global context are encouraged to apply. Importantly, the program is tailored to the accepted students’ research interests and needs.

Selected participants receive travel and lodging support.

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Program Rationale and Objectives

This program examines how and why these strategies of deterrence and externalization have emerged, how they operate, and how they are experienced, resisted, and reimagined by communities, civil society organizations, and people on the move themselves. While much of the program will consider the Western Balkans as a case study, it also invites participants to situate their own research—wherever it is geographically located—within a comparative global framework.

The Summer Program on Migration and Borders aims to:

  • Bridge the gap between academic research and practice, connecting scholars with practitioners, artists, and activists working on displacement and border issues;
  • Foster collaborative, cross-regional research between students from the U.S., Serbia, and other parts of the world;
  • Provide space for both early-stage exploration and advanced project development;
  • Experiment with interdisciplinary and participatory methods in migration and border studies;
  • Support a new generation of researchers engaging critically with the moral, political, and empirical complexities of global mobility;

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Program Structure and Activities

The two-week program in Belgrade, Serbia (late May–early June 2026) includes:

  • Seminars and lectures by international scholars and practitioners in migration and border studies;
  • Workshops on qualitative, participatory, and visual research methods;
  • Field visits to NGOs, service providers, and community organizations working with people on the move;
  • Collaborative sessions where participants present and receive feedback on their research;
  • Tailored mentoring and guided discussions designed around participants’ thematic and methodological needs.

Students with theses, dissertations, or ongoing research projects are especially encouraged to apply, as are those developing new ideas or exploratory projects.

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Eligibility

  • Open exclusively to Boston University graduate students (MA, MPhil, or PhD);
  • Applicants must be conducting research on migration and/or displacement-related topics (in any geographic or conceptual context);
  • Students from all disciplines are welcome.

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Application Requirements

Applicants must submit the following materials compiled into a single PDF file:

  1. Curriculum Vitae (max 2 pages)
  2. Statement of Interest / Research Proposal (up to 2 pages)
  3. Unofficial transcript
  4. One academic or professional reference (name and contact information)
  5. Writing sample (5–10 pages)

Statement of Interest Guidelines

Your Statement of Interest should describe:

  • Your current research focus and how it relates to migration, displacement, or borders;
  • The questions, methods, and frameworks you are developing or hope to explore;
  • How participation in this program will advance your research or professional trajectory;
  • What you hope to gain from the seminars, field visits, and collaborative sessions;
  • How you plan to use your time in Serbia—for example, to refine your project, test ideas, gather feedback, or build partnerships;
  • How your presence and perspective will contribute to the group’s collective learning.

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Timeline

  • Application deadline: December 30, 2025
  • Interviews: February 2026
  • Notifications: March 2026
  • Pre-departure sessions: March–April 2026 (all participants are required to attend 5 sessions)
  • Program dates: Late May – Mid-June 2026 (two weeks in Serbia)

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How to Apply

Applications are now open.
Please send all application materials as a single PDF file titled “LastName_FirstName_MigrationBorders2026” to: Baiden Wright at baidenw@bu.edu

The submission deadline is December 30, 2025.

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