Apply Now: AISLS Fellowship Program (US)

Both scholars with little or no experience in Sri Lanka as well as specialists are encouraged to apply. This program is funded by a grant from the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at the US State Department. One competition is held annually.

Categories

• All proposals should fall into one of the following categories:
  • Proposals by scholars with an established interest in Sri Lanka, who can show that their research will contribute to the understanding of historical or contemporary connections with other parts of the world. Such connections may take the form of substantive links, or they make take the form of relating processes or events in Sri Lanka to analogous processes and events elsewhere.
  • Proposals by scholars whose primary interest is not in Sri Lanka, but who wish to include consideration of Sri Lanka as part of a wider project.
  • Proposals by scholars whose primary interest has not been in Sri Lanka, but who wish to undertake, or examine the feasibility of undertaking, a major research project there.

Benefits

• Reimbursement for round trip airfare between the United States and Colombo, for an amount up to $2,000. Travel must comply with the Fly America Act.  Details will be provided to successful applicants.
• A very limited budget for research expenses, to be negotiated according to need and funding limitations. Fellows will be required to provide documentation for these expenses.

Funding Information

• A per diem of $3,700/month, for a period of two to six months.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must hold US citizenship.
• Applicants must hold a PhD or equivalent academic degree or show that they will hold such a degree before taking up the fellowship. Scholars at all ranks are eligible.
• No individual may be awarded AISLS fellowships for more than seven months over any three consecutive fellowship competitions.
• Applicants must plan to spend at least two months in Sri Lanka and should normally complete the fellowship (including travel back to the United States) before December 31, 2026. The time in Sri Lanka supported by the fellowship need not be continuous (e.g., it might be divided between the summers of 2025 and 2026), but only one round trip airfare will be reimbursed.
• Projects in all fields in the social sciences and humanities are eligible. Proposals in other areas that contribute to the understanding of Sri Lankan history, culture, or society are also invited. Applicants need not have prior research experience in Sri Lanka. Proposals will be judged on their quality and on their potential to strengthen US scholarship on Sri Lanka and develop links between US and Sri Lankan scholars. All applications, including those from US citizens resident outside the United States, must address all of these criteria.
• Applicants should apply for whatever length of tenure between two and six months best suits their research needs and personal schedules. There is no competitive advantage in applying for a shorter award. However, AISLS may offer a fellowship for a shorter period than that requested.

Ineligibility Criteria

• Members of the AISLS Board of Directors are not eligible.

Application Requirements

• The completed application should contain the following items:
  • A one-page cover sheet, stating your name, mailing address, email address, office telephone, home telephone, citizenship, major field of study, institutional affiliation (if any), dates (if any) of previous research in Sri Lanka, length of award requested, tentative dates of project, project title, and a brief project description.
  • A curriculum vitae, not to exceed three pages. AISLS seeks to attract a diverse pool of applicants. To assist AISLS in monitoring its efforts in this regard, applicants may, on a voluntary basis, include information on such matters as gender and race/ethnicity.
  • A description of the proposed study, not to exceed three single-spaced pages. This is the most important part of the application. It should cover the following topics:
    • questions to be addressed by the project
    • the approach to be taken
    • work done to date
    • work to be accomplished during the fellowship period
    • the applicant’s competence to carry out the project
    • how the project addresses the criteria of the competition
    • a statement of other support received or being sought for the project
  • A one-page project bibliography, including a selected list of publications by other scholars or primary sources that have been or will be used in the project.

For more information, visit AISLS.