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Applications are now open for the 2025/2026 United States Institute of Peace (USIP) Peace Scholar Fellowship Program. USIP seeks applications from doctoral candidates at US universities with high-quality, policy relevant research that will deepen their understanding of conflict management, peacebuilding, and security issues.
Opportunity Details
USIP seeks applications from doctoral candidates at U.S. universities with high-quality, policy relevant research that will deepen our understanding of conflict management, peacebuilding, and security issues. Applicants must have completed all required Ph.D. coursework and comprehensive exams and have an approved dissertation research proposal. Priority will be given to applications closely related to the USIP Issue Areas and/or research priorities of the Minerva Research Initiative.
Special consideration will be given to proposed research in the following areas*:
*See the USIP FY'25 Congressional Budget Justification for more information on the above topics.
USIP funds up to 18 Peace Scholars for a 10-month, non-residential fellowship. Peace Scholars receive stipends of up to $20,000 paid directly to the individual in three tranches. Peace Scholar awards may not be deferred.
Peace Scholars are required to participate in an annual workshop, in-person in Washington, D.C. in Fall 2025. The Peace Scholar is required to submit a copy of their completed and committee approved dissertation to USIP at [email protected].
For more information, see the Peace Scholar Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). Please direct questions about usage of USIP’s online application system to [email protected].
All application materials must be submitted through the USIP Peace Scholar Fellowship online application: dev.hamiltoncore.com/Demonstration/Forms/Public/Peace Scholar.
The online application includes the following sections:
Narrative Questions on the 2025-2026 USIP Peace Scholar Fellowship Application
Personal Statement: Why are you applying to the USIP-Minerva Peace Scholar Fellowship? Tell us who you are and why you are a strong candidate for this fellowship. What do you expect to accomplish after this fellowship? (2,000 character limit)
Project Summary: Provide a brief description of your project. It should be written for a non-specialist audience. Explain its potential contribution to the field of conflict management, peacebuilding and related security studies. Include the case studies and the focus countries or regions. The summary is a critical part of the application as it is the first item that reviewers will read to determine the substance and relevance of the project. Additionally, it will serve as the project abstract during the review process. (2,300 character limit)
Contribution: Describe how your research is innovative or a unique contribution to advancing the fields of conflict management, peacebuilding and related security studies. How does your research enhance USIP's and/or Minerva's understandings of the social, cultural, behavioral and/or political forces that shape the issues and dynamics of conflict? Be sure to make direct references to current USIP programs and/or the Minerva research agenda. (2,300 character limit)
Relevance: Show a direct link between your research and the USIP mission, and/or the Minerva Research initiative mission. Describe the relevance of your project to the theory, policy or practice of the fields of conflict management, peacebuilding and related security studies. Applications with no clear connection to either mission will not be considered for the competition. (2,300 character limit)
Research Integrity: Explain how you will analyze the research evidence to test your hypotheses or answer your projects' defining questions. Describe your methodologies. Describe how your research findings will be generalizable across time, geopolitical regions, and/or other socio-cultural domains. Will your findings have predictive value? What is the broader significance of your project and what will be the likely lessons learned? (2,500 character limit)
Work Plan: Provide a timetable indicating the schedule of completion for your dissertation. Indicate which portions of your work (research, data collection, analysis, writing, etc.) are already finished, and which tasks remain to be completed. Please be as realistic as possible, taking into account the work that can be completed during the course of the scholarship. The institute expects scholars to complete work described in the timetable or as agreed in subsequent consultation with the program staff. (2,300 character limit)