BECHS-Africa Fellowship Program

sponsored by the andrew w. 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, has received funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation for a three-year transnational program, aimed at enhancing research capacity for early career scholars in the humanities. The program will fund the travel, housing and other related costs of selected early career humanities scholars from the four institutions to spend four to six months at one of the other partner institutions.

The aim of the project is to create a space for scholars in the humanities to enhance their research agenda in their early career years. The period of stay (four to six months) in the collaborating institution will allow for targeted mentorship and guidance for the selected scholars by identified senior scholars who share their research interests, while also providing an avenue for interaction and the sharing of research ideas and methodologies with peers. The project is unique in many respects as, unlike some existing initiatives, it seeks 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. Please note: Your research field does not have to be Africa-focused. Also note that participation in this program does not affect eligibility for the Center for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship program. All past fellows and prospective fellows are encouraged to apply.

Apply today!

Follow this link to download the Call for Applications and Application Form.

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About the BECHS-Africa Fellowship

The Fellowship The Project provides a four to six-month residency at any of the four collaborating institutions. For Washington University humanities faculty, this support comprises the following:

One full semester of relief from teaching and service so that the fellow can devote his or her time to an extensive research project.
Funds for teaching replacement to the fellow’s department at Washington University
An economy return flight
Travel Insurance
Accommodation
Office space
A monthly stipend to cover transport, meals, entertainment and other incidentals
Access to library facilities at the host university
Funds to organize a research-focused workshop at the host University
Mentoring from senior faculty at the host institution

Successful applicants are expected to:

Be in residence at the host institution for four to six months
Attend local presentations, conferences and workshops organized by the host institution that are of relevance to the scholar’s research
Attend grant writing and publication workshops offered by the host university
Organize a workshop based on her/his research topic, through which the scholar will receive detailed feedback from leading academics in the field
Fulfill the research and publication goals set out in the original application
Provide a final report
Acknowledge support from The Andrew W. 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:

Be in a full-time permanent post in the humanities in any of the four collaborating institutions
Be an early career scholar with a record of research and academic publishing
Have a PhD that was obtained within the last ten years (2010 or later)
Have a scholarly record of publications commensurate with career stage or years from degree

Please note that participation in this program does not affect eligibility for the Center for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship program. All past fellows and prospective fellows are encouraged to apply.

Questions?

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