Residential Fellowship Program

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR APPLICANTS

On this page:
Guidelines Overview | Professional Qualifications | Fields of Research | Themes | Stipends | Partner Fellowship Programs  |  Residential Requirements for Current Fellows 

Fellowship Class of 2011-12:  Applications are closed. Awards will be announced November 2010. CLICK HERE FOR SELECTION PROCESS TIME FRAME DETAILS >>

Are you a former Fellow interested in returning to CASBS as a 2012-13 Fellow, or during a future year?  You do not need to complete an online application form.  Instead, contact staffperson, Cynthia Pilch for details.  CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO >>

FOR YOUR REFERENCE, BELOW ARE THE MOST RECENT ONLINE APPLICATION GUIDELINES.

2011-2012 CASBS Residential Fellowship Program
Guidelines Overview

Qualified candidates are welcome to apply for CASBS residential Fellowships for the 2011-12 academic year.  Fellowship awards are not transferable to later years.

Before proceeding with your application, we encourage you to read the following background information:

About the Center >>
Overview of the CASBS Residential Fellowship Program >>
Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the Fellows Program >>

The application process:

1)  Review the application guidelines (below)
2)  Review and follow the application instructions >>
3)  By the deadline date, submit your online application >>

Professional Qualifications
Applicants with a Ph.D., professional degree (e.g., J.D., M.D.) or equivalent foreign degree are eligible to apply. Applicants who have achieved an equivalent level of professional reputation will also be considered. Faculty at all academic levels or independent scholars may apply, provided they exhibit a high level of achievement (adjusted for rank) including a strong record of research publications. We encourage applications from junior scholars at least 3 to 4 years past the doctorate, typically for a fellowship year soon after achieving tenure. (Ours is not a 'post-doc' program for newly-minted Ph.Ds.) We encourage applications from ethnic minorities, women, international scholars, and scholars from less research-oriented colleges and universities.

Although excellence in research and accomplishments (for career stage and circumstance) are necessary qualifications, they are not sufficient. We are seeking Fellows who will be both influential with and open to influence by their colleagues in the diverse multidisciplinary cohort we compose for a given year. While the primary focus of the fellowship year is on reflection and writing, the fellowship experience is not suited to monastic retreat into one's own work. The expectation for the CASBS Fellowship experience is that the work will be transformed as a result of interactions with other Fellows. Further, scholars with extensive external commitments and collaborations for the fellowship year should carefully consider waiting for a better opportunity to benefit from the opportunities of time and interaction with other scholars at CASBS. Furthermore, Fellows are expected to be engaged in significant lines of research; although senior scholars are always an important part of the class mix, contributing breadth and mentoring, the CASBS fellowship is not generally appropriate as an epilogue to a stellar career.

Fields of Research
In addition to scholars working in fields of the behavioral and social sciences, scholars in the natural sciences, the humanities, the arts, the professions, and public life are considered for fellowships when their work has human behavioral and social dimensions that complement and influence the work of classmates.

Themes
During the Center's first two years of accepting applications (2007 and 2008), several themes were offered each year as research topics upon which CASBS scholars could formally convene. This was in addition to the Center's rich tradition of supporting informal collaborations between scholars during their fellowship year. For the 2011-12 academic year, CASBS will be accepting applications without offering themes.

Residential Requirements for Current Fellows
Our Board is committed to the concept of a residential fellowship.  Consequently Fellows must reside during their fellowship term in a community within ten miles of the Center; San Francisco, Berkeley, the East Bay, and San Jose, for example, do not fulfill this requirement. Center staff provides assistance in finding housing and schools for those relocating for the fellowship year (typically 9 to 11 months beginning in early September.)

Stipends
An appropriate stipend for the academic year will be awarded to supplement faculty sabbatical support. We encourage applicants also to seek additional funding (e.g., ACLS Burkhardt, Guggenheim, WT Grant).

A significant portion of the total stipend is generally provided by the individual Fellow from sabbatical funds and external funding from awards and grants. Except in unusual circumstances, Center stipend support is contingent on the applicant providing firm assurances of matching funds.  Depending on available funds and the needs of class members, the Center attempts to provide the remaining stipend according to the following principles. A Center stipend is based on the Fellow's academic salary for the year before residence. That stipend cannot exceed one-half of the Fellow's academic year (nine-month) base salary for that year and is additionally subject to an upper limit set by the board of trustees. For 2011-12, that cap is set at $60,000. The sum of the Fellow's salary from a home institution and a Center stipend may not exceed the Fellow's base academic salary for the fellowship year. Fellowships are supported primarily by the Center's endowment, but some funds also come from private foundation grants, individual philanthropy, and alumni contributions. Fellowship awards are NOT transferable to later years. 

Payment conditions: If a Fellow receives a Center stipend, the Center is required to deduct California state tax withholding (for non-residents of California only) and various charges (such as charges for social and other activities). Fellows receive their stipends directly. The Center cannot assign a stipend to another institution.

Partner Fellowship Programs
The Center is a participating residential research center in the Frederick Burkhardt Fellowship Program of the American Council of Learned Societies. This fellowship is open to recently tenured humanists to support long-term, unusually ambitious projects in the humanities and related social sciences. Application for the Burkhardt fellowship must be made directly to the ACLS by late September for a fellowship in the next one to three years.

To all scholars considering our Center as the potential sanctuary for your ACLS Burkhardt Fellowship year, we offer a warm welcome.  Why choose our Center?  Curious to know what ACLS Burkhardt Fellows have to say?  We offer special online resources and information, just for you.   Browse now >>
Visit the American Council of Learned Societies website >>

The Center encourages William T. Grant Scholars to contact us regarding a fellowship year at CASBS. This award supports promising early career researchers from a variety of disciplines whose studies "contribute to theory and policy/practice for improving the everyday settings of youth."

To all scholars considering our Center as the potential sanctuary for your William T. Grant Foundation Fellowship year, we offer a warm welcome.  Specially tailored online resources and information will be available soon, to assist in making the choice to spend your Fellowship year at our Center.
Visit the William T. Grant Foundation website >>