Title VIII Special Initiatives Fellowship Program (TITLE8SI)

The Special Initiatives Research Fellowship offers post-doctoral scholars up to $35,000 for field-based, policy-relevant research in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan. Applicants may apply to conduct research in more than one country, but must plan to spend a minimum of four months in the region overall conducting full-time research. Within one month completion of their award tenure, fellows must submit final reports describing their research accomplishments. American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS administers the program with funding from the U.S. Department of State, Title VIII Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and Eurasia (Independent States of the Former Soviet Union).

While a wide-range of topics receive support each year, all funded research must contribute to a body of knowledge enabling the U.S. to better understand the region and formulate more effective policies within it. All applicants for Title VIII support will be asked to clearly address in writing the policy-relevance of their work, be it in anthropology, history, international relations, political science, or some other field.

American Councils regional offices located throughout Central Asia and the South Caucasus provide ongoing logistical support to U.S. scholars in the field. American Councils will facilitate visa and registration requests and provide logistical support, if necessary.

*Please note that Title VIII funding cannot be used in countries under a U.S. government travel warning. For more information about current travel warnings, please visit the State Department website at www.travel.state.gov.

Application guidelines are available under 'Documents.' The 2010 application will be available during the summer of 2010. Please contact the Outbound Department with any questions.

Program Resources

• Documents