The Civil Society Scholar Awards (CSSA) support international academic mobility to enable doctoral students and university faculty to access resources that enrich socially-engaged research and critical scholarship in their home country or region.
Civil Society Scholars are selected on the basis of their outstanding contributions to research or other engagement with local communities, to furthering debates on challenging societal questions, and to strengthening critical scholarship and academic networks within their fields.
Eligibility Criteria
The awards are open to the following academic populations:
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doctoral students of eligible fields studying at accredited universities inside or outside of their home country
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full-time faculty members (must have a minimum of a master’s degree) teaching at universities in their home country
Candidates must be citizens of the following countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cambodia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Haiti, Kosovo, Laos, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Myanmar/Burma, Nepal, Palestine, Papua New Guinea, Serbia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria, Swaziland, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, or Yemen.
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Project duration: between two and 12 months
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Project location: projects must take place outside of the country of the applicant’s current residence
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Eligible dates: September 1, 2019–August 31, 2020
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Maximum funding requests: $15,000
Any subject areas within the social sciences and humanities are eligible, but particularly those related to: law, justice, and governance; sustainable development and natural resource management; economic rights and empowerment of the poor; public health, social work and community development; new media law and policy; inclusive education; post-conflict studies; and human rights.
The program does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, sex, religion or belief, sexual orientation, gender reassignment, disability, pregnancy and maternity or marriage and/or civil partnership.
Ineligibility Criteria
Ineligible fields include: business administration, management training, computer science, finance/banking, marketing, engineering, hard sciences (physics, biology, chemistry, etc.), mathematics, medical sciences, or teaching English as a foreign language/language instruction.
Applicants with permanent resident status or dual citizenship in Australia, Canada, the European Union, New Zealand, Nordic countries, or the United States are not eligible to apply.
Students or faculty currently enrolled in master’s degree programs are not eligible to apply.
Guidelines
Competition for the CSSA awards is merit-based. Selection will be made on the basis of proven academic excellence, a clear and justifiable need for international travel to complete the research project, and relevance of the project to the development of open society in the applicant’s home country.
Applicants are strongly encouraged to check the visa requirements of the host country (including the minimum level of funding required) before applying to the program.
Detailed guidelines on the conditions of these awards are available in the Download Files section.
Online Applications
Applicants are strongly advised to submit their application online.
Paper Applications
For those wishing to submit a paper application, an application form and budget/timeline template can be downloaded from the Download Files section.
