BECHS-Africa Fellowship Program

sponsored by the mellon foundation

Washington University’s Center for the Humanities, in partnership with the University of Ghana, American University in Cairo and Stellenbosch University, with University of Ghana as the lead institution, received funding from the Mellon Foundation for a transnational program aimed at enhancing research capacity for early career scholars in the humanities. From 2020 to 2024, the program funded the travel, housing and other related costs of selected early career humanities scholars from the four institutions to spend three months at one of the other partner institutions.  

The aim of the overall project was to create a space for scholars in the humanities to enhance their research agenda in their early career years. The period of stay in the collaborating institution allowed for targeted mentorship and guidance for the selected scholars by identified senior scholars who shared their research interests, while also providing an avenue for interaction and the sharing of research ideas and methodologies with peers. The project was unique in many respects as, unlike some existing initiatives, it sought to create avenues for early career scholars to have the opportunity of residency in a region of Africa (other than their own, if they are Africa-based) or in a global north institution. 

Back from Ghana, Kurtz shares her BECHS-Africa Fellowship experience
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Back from Ghana, Kurtz shares her BECHS-Africa Fellowship experience

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About the BECHS-Africa Fellowship

The project provided a three-month residency at any of our three collaborating institutions. For Washington University humanities faculty, this support comprised the following:

  1. One semester of support so that the fellow can devote their time to an extensive research project
  2. An economy round-trip flight
  3. Travel insurance
  4. Accommodation
  5. Office space
  6. A monthly stipend to cover transport, meals, entertainment and other incidentals
  7. Access to library facilities at the host university
  8. Funds to organize a research-focused workshop at the host university
  9. Mentoring from senior faculty at the host institution

Successful applicants were expected to:

  1. Be in residence at the host institution for three months
  2. Attend local presentations, conferences and workshops organized by the host institution that are of relevance to the scholar’s research
  3. Attend grant-writing and publication workshops offered by the host university
  4. Organize a workshop based on their research topic, through which the scholar receives detailed feedback from leading academics in the field
  5. Fulfill the research and publication goals set out in the original application
  6. Provide a final report
  7. Acknowledge support from the Mellon Foundation in any subsequent publications and provide BECHS-Africa with all citations to publications resulting from the residency.
     

Eligibility

To be eligible an applicant must:

  1. Be in a full-time permanent post in the humanities or humanistic social sciences
  2. Be an early career scholar with a record of research and academic publishing
  3. Have a PhD that was obtained within the last ten years (2013 or later)
  4. Have a scholarly record of publications commensurate with career stage or years from degree

Please also note that participation in this program does not affect eligibility for the Center for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship program.

Questions?

If you have any questions about the program, submitting the application, or logistics, please contact Laura Perry, WUSTL coordinator for BECHS-Africa. 

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