The Smith Richardson Foundation is pleased to announce a new annual grant competition to support Ph.D. dissertation research on American foreign policy, international relations, international security, strategic studies, area studies, and diplomatic and military history.

The fellowship’s objective is to support the research and writing of policy-relevant dissertations through funding of fieldwork, archival research, and language training.  In evaluating applications, the Foundation will accord preference to those projects that could directly inform U.S. policy debates and thinking, rather than dissertations that are principally focused on abstract theory or debates within a scholarly discipline.

The Foundation will award up to twenty grants of $7,500 each.

Application Procedures & Requirements:
All proposals submitted to the Foundation should include the following five components. Only applications that conform to the parameters specified below will be considered.

1. A letter from an appropriate departmental representative certifying that (a) the applicant is enrolled full-time in a Ph.D. program in a college or university in the United States, (b) the applicant has completed his or her coursework and the comprehensive examination requirements of the Ph.D. program, and (c) the academic institution will administer the funds and will not charge overhead expenses.  Further, this letter must include the name, title, and contact information of the person authorized to sign the award letter on behalf of the department.

2. The proposal itself should be no more than three single-spaced pages in length, using a regular 12-point font, with one-inch margins, and follow the template on the Foundation’s website.  Applicants will be expected to describe their dissertation, its potential contribution to U.S. policy making and debates, and how the fellowship will be used to advance their dissertation.

3. A single-page budget should be included as an appendix to the proposal.  The budget should explain the following: transportation (including foreign and domestic travel for research, as appropriate); food and lodging; research costs; and other miscellaneous costs.  No funds may be applied to institutional overhead.

4. The applicant’s complete curriculum vitae should be attached.

5. One letter of recommendation from a faculty member familiar with the applicant’s research is required.  It may be mailed separately, included with the application if submitted in hard copy form, or e-mailed directly from the recommender.

Obligations to the Foundation:
The Foundation will expect final narrative and financial reports upon completion of budgeted activities.  The purpose of the narrative report is to explain how the fellowship advanced the dissertation.  It should not be viewed as exclusively descriptive of the fellowship-supported activities; rather, the Foundation welcomes and encourages fellows to elaborate on any insights, revisions or confirmation of hypotheses, or tentative conclusions that resulted from activities supported by the fellowship, as well as any published work produced by the fellowship-supported research activities.  The financial report is to be submitted by the administering institution and should reflect that all award funds have been expended.

Deadline and Grant Administration:
The application, and all supporting materials (including the recommendation letter), must be submitted by October 15, 2009.  Applicants will be notified of the Foundation’s decision by February 1, 2010.  The grant funds must be used during the twelve month period following receipt of the award and may not be deferred.  Each grant will be paid directly to, and will be administered by, the academic institution at which the candidate is enrolled.

Please e-mail your proposal to worldpolitics@srf.org as a single document, ideally in PDF or Microsoft Word .doc/.docx format, or mail an unstapled hard copy to:

World Politics and Statecraft Fellowship Program
Smith Richardson Foundation
60 Jesup Road
Westport, CT 06880


If you have any further questions, please consult the list of frequently asked questions on our website, or if an issue remains unaddressed there contact the Foundation at worldpolitics@srf.org. No phone inquiries, please.