Next Deadline: 3rd October, 2012
The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF) Faculty Field Competition is open to tenured humanities and social sciences faculty interested in creating or reinvigorating interdisciplinary fields of study through the training of the next generation of researchers. Selected research directors guide the development of effective doctoral dissertation proposals within innovative fields by helping fellows sharpen the focus of their research and identify appropriate methods of investigation and analysis.
Annually, the DPDF program selects around five research fields, each proposed by two senior faculties with different institutional affiliations and, as relevant, different disciplinary specializations. Faculty selected as field research directors design and lead two workshops for student fellows, in coordination with DPDF staff, and serve as mentors to the fellows during the course of their summer pre-dissertation research.
Research Fields:
Proposed research fields should be domains of inquiry centered on a core set of issues and questions that can be valuably addressed by diverse scholarship. Fields should address topics of broad public concern that can be approached from multiple intellectual, societal, and geographic orientations. Fields should also address topics that encompass broad geographic areas rather than focus on one specific country. Research fields proposed by pairs of faculty who bring distinct perspectives from any different disciplines are welcome, but fields stemming jointly from the humanities and social sciences are particularly encouraged. Up to five research fields are selected each year.
Structure of the DPDF Program:
DPDF annual cycles are organized around workshops in the spring and fall that bracket student fellows’ summer pre-dissertation research. In early spring, research directors assist in the selection of graduate student fellows who have applied to participate within their respective research fields.
Workshops:
Research directors are required to design and lead two workshops to help fellows clarify how their dissertation research plans can benefit from and contribute to the interdisciplinary field.
•In a spring workshop, research directors help students refine research questions and identify useful methods of investigation, referencing the field’s broader research literature in conjunction with the research plans of their fellows.
•During the summer, research directors keep in touch with fellows as they undertake exploratory research supported with stipends of up to $5,000, helping with any issues and questions that arise.
•In a fall workshop, the research directors help fellows draw lessons from their earlier workshop and summer experiences to complete research proposals that can be submitted for approval by their home departments or external funding agencies.
Workshop sessions include seminar discussions, collective and constructive critiques by research directors and fellow students, and presentations about securing research funding. They are structured to assist students in writing dissertation proposals that are intellectually pointed, amenable to completion in a reasonable time frame, and fundable. Throughout the fellowship year, research directors communicate with fellows utilizing an online workspace where they can share resources and initiate group discussions. Potential applicants may want to view past workshop agendas for examples of workshop structures and activities.
DPDF workshops for all fields are held in the United States at the same time and place, with the exception of international fields (coordinated by the DPDF Program and a partnering institution abroad), which meet in a host country for the spring workshop.
Research Director Benefits:
The DPDF program provides each research director with a $10,000 stipend and each field with access to up to $3,000 to cover the costs of guest speakers, local field trips, and other activities for the spring and fall training workshops. All necessary travel and lodging expenses and most meals during workshops are also covered.
DPDF alumni, both former research directors and student fellows, are also eligible for small grants to support follow-up activities that strengthen student research and professional development within their DPDF research field. In the past, the DPDF program has provided partial support for travel to conferences for group presentations, preparation for joint publications, and other collaborative activities between junior and senior scholars.
Eligibility Criteria:
•Applicants must apply in pairs.
•Applicants must be based at different universities, and at least one applicant must be based at a university in the United States.
•Applicants must be trained in different disciplines or bring different methodological frameworks to their proposed research field. (Applicant pairs comprised of scholars in the social sciences and humanities are particularly encouraged.)
•Research fields proposed to be led by more than two people will not be accepted.
•Both applicants must be tenured at the time of application.
•At least one applicant must be based at a doctoral-degree granting university. However, both applicants must demonstrate records of carrying out research activities and mentoring graduate students.
•Both applicants must be available to attend the spring and fall workshops in their entirety. The workshop dates can be found in the DPDF Application and Award Timeline.
For further information, visit the link.
