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Applications are open for the Wilson China Fellowship 2025. The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars' Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, seeks applicants for the Wilson China Fellowship from policy-oriented academics with specialization in political, social, economic, security, or historical issues related to China. Apply now!
Opportunity Details
The aim of this fellowship is to produce new and original pieces of research that improve understanding of the role that China is playing in the Indo-Pacific, its relations with its neighbors and the United States, and its impact on peace and security issues. Additionally, the Fellowship seeks to build bridges between traditional academia and the policy world, and to support a new generation of American scholarship on China.
Please find the application guidelines on their website here.
Research projects supported by this Fellowship will:
Our Wilson China Fellows include scholars and practitioners working on a diverse range of policy-relevant issue areas vital to understanding the rise of China and its implications for the United States and the world. They also represent the geographic breadth of American scholarship on China.
Robert Daly, Director of the Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, said, “Neither China’s domestic development, nor US-China relations, can be usefully evaluated outside the Indo-Pacific context. The Wilson China Fellowship will bring together young American scholars whose research will inform American policy throughout the region."
The Center offers a stipend of $20,000 for a one-year non-resident fellowship. Fellows are responsible for their own health insurance and research-related travel expenses. The Center will cover costs associated with program-related travel to Washington to support the Fellowship’s conference.
Length of Appointment
Fellows are expected to be non-resident Fellows for one calendar year from the start date. Fellowships may not be deferred.
This fellowship is available to US citizens only, although they may have residency anywhere around the world. Women and men with outstanding capabilities and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds (including academia, business, government, journalism, law, and other professions) are encouraged to apply. Candidates must have received a PhD or JD from an accredited university on or after January 1, 2009.
Ineligibility
The Wilson Center will not accept:
Notes on Eligibility
You do not need an institutional affiliation to apply. Scholars and practitioners who previously held research awards or fellowships at the Wilson Center are not precluded from applying for a fellowship. However, the nature and recency of the prior award may be among the factors considered during the selection process.
If you have questions regarding your eligibility or the suitability of your project, please e-mail the China Fellowship Administrator at [email protected].
Selection Process
Applications that satisfy the eligibility requirements are subsequently subjected to a multi-stage review process involving both internal evaluations by Wilson Center experts and a Selection Board composed of experts from inside and outside the Wilson Center.
The basic criteria for selection are:
The Center welcomes in particular those projects that transcend narrow specialties and methodological issues of interest only within a specific academic discipline. Projects should involve fresh research-in terms of both the overall field and the author’s previous work. Special consideration will be given to proposals involving topics that are understudied, unconventional, unique, emerging, or new within academic and policy discussions. It is essential that projects have relevance to public policy, and fellows should want, and be prepared, to interact with policymakers in Washington, Wilson Center staff, and other scholars who are working on similar issues. We welcome proposals from a wide range of disciplines with the requirement that the project relate to China and contemporary policy issues.
Some final tips--start your proposal early, and have friends or colleagues review it. Debate over your proposal will help you answer questions reviewers may have. Sharpen your language and style, especially your opening paragraph. Be to the point so that the reviewer knows exactly what you mean--the Center does not conduct interviews, so make sure that your proposal is clear and concise.
Alignment with Programs and Cross-Regional Initiatives
The Center accepts policy-relevant, non-advocacy fellowship proposals that address key challenges confronting the United States and the world. Priority will be given to proposals which align with the programmatic work of the Center and can result in work that reaches a broad audience. Within this framework, the Wilson Center supports projects that intersect with contemporary policy issues and provide the historical and/or cultural context for some of today’s significant public policy debates.
Conditions of Award
Fellows will be required to participate in internal meetings with other fellows and Wilson Center staff to discuss their work, share ideas, and receive feedback from their peers. In addition, Fellows are encouraged to offer a presentation of their work publicly, during the annual Wilson Center Fellow’s conference, and/or participate in other Center programming as available. The Center expects all Fellows to seek ways to share their expertise with the Washington policy community, and to sustain engagement with the Wilson Center and the Fellowship Program after the completion of the Fellowship, as an alum. The form of such interaction could range from a deep background briefing for an executive branch agency to an informal roundtable discussion with members of Congress and their staffs, as available.
All applications must be completed online – the Wilson Center will not accept materials submitted via email or by other means. A complete application must be submitted in English, and will include the following:
Based on the subject matter of their proposal, applicants will be directed to identify their application between two categories:
The Project Proposal
It is essential to make your project clear to individuals outside your own field and to explain its broader implications. The proposal should not exceed five single-spaced typed pages using 12-point type, and be submitted in PDF or MS-Word format. The following elements should be addressed in the proposal:
Applicants who would like suggestions on preparing the proposal can read “The Art of Writing Proposals,” published by the Social Science Research Council.
Letters of Recommendation
Two letters of reference must be submitted online by the submission deadline. It is your responsibility to ensure that we receive your references letters. Applications missing reference letters will be considered incomplete. Your referees should be familiar with you and your work, and you should send them a copy of your project description so that they can comment specifically upon your proposed study, your qualifications for undertaking it, and how you and/or your work would contribute to the Center’s goal of bridging the gap between the world of learning and the world of public affairs. Reference letters must be written in English. Do not send letters written for another purpose, such as those for a job application. Applicants are strongly encouraged to follow up with their referees to confirm that they have sent their letters to the Center. Letters of recommendation should be sent by the referees to [email protected].
For more information or if you have questions, email: [email protected]. Please also visit our Wilson China Fellowship website to help us celebrate our Fellows' research!