Fellowships

Past fellowships

The Ralph Bunche Dissertation Fellowship Award

This award is administered by the Provost’s office. It is a doctoral dissertation year award made to CUNY Graduate Center students whose research concerns a topic that was of particular interest to Ralph Bunche – the United Nations and multilateralism, international politics, African and Middle Eastern affairs, U.S. foreign policy, decolonization, race relations, and human rights. This endowment was created in the late 1980s by the Institute and a leadership committee headed by Mrs. Ralph J. Bunche, Justice Arthur J. Goldberg, and Justice Thurgood Marshall for the purpose of honoring the legacy of the late Nobel Laureate.
Recipients of Ralph Bunche Fellowships:

  • 2016-2017: Mark Drury (Anthropology), “The Structure of Disjuncture: An Anthropology of Western Sahara’s Decolonization”
  • 2015-2016: Sobukwe Odinga (Political Science), “Hostages of Fortune”
  • 2014-2015: Paul Alois (Political Science), “Do International Organizations Matter? A Case Study of Better Work”
  • 2013-2014: Ian Jones (Political Science), “A Turbulent Flow: Water and Policy and Space in Chile and Peru 1992–2012”
  • 2012-2013: Ereshnee Naidu (Sociology), “Redemption Songs: The Role of Symbolic Reparations in Post Conflict Societies”
  • 2011-2012: Lindsay Green-Barber (Political Science), “Information and Communications Technologies and Social Movements in Ecuador: The Case of Indigenous Peoples”
  • 2010-2011: Bann Seng Tan (Political Science), “Sword versus Shield: The Impact of Democracy upon Rivalry“
  • 2009-2010: Bree Zuckerman (Political Science), “Can’t Stop the Party: Elections and the Dynamics of Regime Endurance in Zimbabwe”
  • 2008-2009: Christopher Gunderson (Sociology), “Globalization and the Genesis of Neo-Zapatismo”
  • 2007-2008: Mayida Zaal (Urban Education), “Second Generation Immigration Youth: Access to Resources, Social Capital Formation, and the Role of the Community”
  • 2006-2007: Sumie Nakaya (Political Science), “Exclusion and Violence in Post-Conflict States”
  • 2005-2006: Peter Hoffman (Political Science), “The Politics of Privatizing Protection in Humanitarian Operations: United Nations, Humanitarian Agencies, and Private Military Company Interactions”
  • 2004-2005: Rachel Sponzo (Anthropology),  “Developing the Nation: The Political Economy of Development in Eritrea”
  • 2003-2004: John Guitierrez (History), “A Health Republic: Public Health and Politics in Cuba, 1898-1934”
  • 2002-2003: Stephanie Sapiie (Political Science),  “Culture & Contention: The Student Movement in Indonesia since the 1960’s”
  • 2001-2002: Kee Howe Yong (Anthropology), “Cold War Casualties: Relocation, Displacement, and the Paradoxical Independence of Sarawak”

APPLICATION INFORMATION: Applicants must be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or foreign national who is an advanced social science doctoral candidate working on areas that preoccupied Ralph Bunche, especially the United Nations and multilateralism, international politics, African and Middle Eastern affairs, U.S. foreign policy, race relations, and human rights.  Applications and references should be submitted to: Office of the Associate Provost & Dean, The CUNY Graduate Center, Room 8113, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Deadline for receipt of a completed application is the first Monday in February.

John H. E. Fried Memorial Fellowships in International Human Rights

This fellowship honors the memory of international human rights expert John H. E. Fried by awarding a grant to an advanced Ph.D. student in political science to conduct research on international human rights.
Recipients of the Fried Fellowship in International Human rights:

  • 2015-2019: not awarded
  • 2014: Kara S. Alaimo
  • 2013: Julie L. Hollar
  • 2012: Nomvuyo Nolutshungu and Janet E. Reilly
  • 2011: Not awarded
  • 2010: Lindsay Green-Barber
  • 2009: Shawna M. Brandle
  • 2008: Sara Pursley
  • 2007: Not awarded
  • 2006: Bree Zuckerman
  • 2005: Deniz Sert
  • 2004: Effie MacLachlan

APPLICATION INFORMATION: The John H. E. Fried Memorial Fellowship in International Human Rights awarded to support research by an advanced Ph.D. student in political science annually who is exploring international human rights. The $5,000.00 award is given annually to foster original research and analysis that result in a conference paper, published article, dissertation proposal or dissertation chapter dealing with the causes of or possible solutions to human rights violations as well as strategies for promoting international human rights. The successful fellow’s perspective should be comparative or international politics, organizations, or law.
Applicants should submit a short proposal (not more than 1,000 words), a current curriculum vitae, and a transcript no later than 1 March 2020. In addition, brief confidential letters of recommendation from two faculty members who are familiar with the proposal should be sent separately before the deadline. Please address correspondence to: Fried Memorial Fellowship, Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The CUNY Graduate Center, Suite 5203, 365 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10016. Please contact Eli Karetny at ekaretny@gc.cuny.edu for more information.

The George D. Schwab Fellowships in American Foreign Policy

This fellowship underwrites expenses for dissertation research that examines U.S. Foreign Policy.
Recipients of the Schwab Fellowships in American Foreign Policy:

  • 2011-19: Not awarded
  • 2010: Eli Karetny
  • 2009: Janet Reilly
  • 2008: Not awarded
  • 2007: Christopher Weimar
  • 2006: Not awarded
  • 2005: Karen Young
  • 2004: Douglas Hogan
  • 2003: Kevin Ozgercin

APPLICATION INFORMATION: The George D. Schwab Fellowship in American Foreign Policy was established by an anonymous donor to honor the president of the National Committee on American Foreign Policy. An annual award of $2,000 is available for costs related to dissertation research relevant to a topic that leads to an improved understanding of U.S. foreign policy. Applicants should submit a short proposal (not more than 1,000 words), a current curriculum vitae, and a transcript no later than 1 March 2020. In addition, one confidential letter of recommendation from a faculty member who is familiar with the proposal should be sent separately before the deadline. Applications and references should be submitted to: The Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies, The CUNY Graduate Center, 365 Fifth Avenue, Suite 5203, New York, NY 10016, 212-817-2100. Please contact Eli Karetny at ekaretny@gc.cuny.edu for more information.

COMPLETED FELLOWSHIPS

Mellon Fellowships in Security and Humanitarian Action

Established in 2002 with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the Inter-University Consortium on Security and Humanitarian Action (IUCSHA) pursues two primary concerns: to better understand the complexities of humanitarian operations in the context of armed conflicts; and to invest in the next generation of analysts in New York graduate institutions by expanding cooperation and information exchange among such institutions as well as between younger scholars and networks of intergovernmental and non-governmental agencies.
Most awards sponsored field work, but in 2006 a special one-time competition was held to fund the write-up phase of five fellows.

2006 recipients of Mellon Dissertation Writing Fellowships in Security and Humanitarian Action:

  • Séverine Autesserre (Politics, NYU) – “Local Violence, International Indifference? Post-War Settlement in the Eastern DRC (2003-2006)”
  • Evren Balta (Political Science, CUNY) – “State Capacity, State Failure, and Internal War-making in Russia and Turkey”
  • Tatiana Carayannis (Political Science, CUNY) – “Hybrid Wars, Conflict Networks, and Multilateral Responses: The Congo Wars, 1996-2004”
  • Peter Hoffman (Political Science, CUNY) – “The New Politics of Protection: Humanitarian Agency-Private Military Company Interactions and the Transformation of Humanitarianism”
  • Julie Stewart (Sociology, NYU) – “To Help or To Harm: How Transnational Ties Shape Communities in Post-War Guatemala”

2005 recipients of Mellon Fellowships in Security and Humanitarian Action:

  • Senior Research Fellow: Peter Hoffman (Political Science, CUNY) – “Sword & Salve: War and Humanitarianism in Historical Perspective “
  • Research Fellow: James Cockayne (NYU Law School –”Commercial Violence & State-Building: Lessons from Multilateral and Humanitarian Experiences”
  • Research Fellow: Hilla Dayan (Political Science, The New School)– “At the Borders: A Comparative Analysis of a New Regime Separation”
  • Research Fellow: Ilisa Lam (Anthropology, CUNY) – “When Microstates and Superpowers Talk: Negotiating Kwajalein’s Place in the U.S. Missile Defense Testing Network”
  • Research Fellow: Sumie Nakaya (Political Science, CUNY) – “Exclusion and Violence in Post-Conflict States”
  • Research Fellow: Deniz Sert (Political Science, CUNY) – “Problem of Reparations in Conflict Areas: The Exercise of Property Rights in Cyprus”

2004 recipients of Mellon Fellowships in Security and Humanitarian Action

  • Senior Research Fellow: Peter Hoffman (Political Science, CUNY) – “Strategic Frameworks for Humanitarian Action”
  • Research Fellow: Nida Alahmad (Political Science, The New School)- “Iraq: Citizens, State, and Justice”
  • Research Fellow: Séverine Autesserre (Politics, NYU) – “The Politics of the Peace Process in the Eastern Congo”
  • Research Fellow: Evren Balta (Political Science, CUNY) – “Uncovering Repression: State Response to Chechen and Kurdish Insurgency”
  • Research Fellow: Fred Cocozzelli (Political Science, The New School) – “Social Welfare and Citizenship in Post-Conflict Kosovo”
  • Research Fellow: Christiane Wilke (Political Science, The New School) – “A Belated Vindication of Rights: Trials for Human Rights Violations”

2003 recipients of Mellon Fellowships in Security and Humanitarian Action

  • Senior Research Fellow: Peter Hoffman (Political Science, CUNY) – “State Failure and Humanitarian Action”
  • Research Fellow: Tatiana Carayannis (Political Science, CUNY) – “Demobilization and Reinegration of Child Combatants in the DRC”
  • Research Fellow: Ghassan Shabaneh (Political Science, CUNY) – “The Role of the UN in State Building”
  • Research Fellow: Julie Stewart (Sociology, NYU) – “Globalization Grounded: Land Disputes and Agrarian Reform in Guatamela”
  • Research Fellow: Maja Turniski (Development Psychology, CUNY) – Participation and Identity Development in Adolescents and Young Adults in Croatia”
  • Research Fellow: David Vine (Anthropology, CUNY) – “A Military Base and Suffering of Exile: Understanding and Redressing the Harms of Involuntary Displacement”
  • Research Fellow: Tobias Vogel (Political Science, The New School) – “Humanitarianism as Foreign Policy”

Mellon-Sawyer Fellowships in Human Rights

The Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies and the Center for the Humanities, directed respectively by Professors Thomas G. Weiss and David Nasaw, received the prestigious Sawyer Seminar Series grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in December 2001. The grant was used to organize interdisciplinary faculty seminars and public forums on human rights and state sovereignty during the academic year 2002-2003. The seminar was directed by Professor Margaret Crahan (Dorothy Epstein Distinguished Professor of History, Hunter College and the Graduate Center, CUNY) and Professor John Goering (School of Public Affairs, Baruch College and the Ph.D. Program in Political Science at the CUNY Graduate Center). A book is being published by Routledge, Wars on Terrorism and Iraq: Human Rights, Unilateralism, and U.S. Foreign Policy.

Recipients of the Mellon-Sawyer Fellowships in Human Rights:

  • Post-Doctoral Fellow: Mirna Adjami – “Human Rights Case Law in African National Courts” and “Universal Jurisdiction”
  • Research Fellow 2002-2003: Maria Victoria Perez-Rios
  • Research Fellow 2002-2004: Danielle Zach

Graduate Center Fellowships in Local Dimensions of Global Change

The City of New York Graduate Center, its Ph.D. Program in Political Science, the Howard Samuels Center, the Center for Urban Research, and the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies offered Carnegie Fellowships to three students entering during the 2006-2007 academic year. The fellows were integral to our project on The Global Dimensions of Local Change: Migration, Political Mobilization, and Trans-national Relations in the United States. Recipients were Janet Reilly, Yesenia Ruiz, and Zeeshan Suhail.