U.S. Foreign Policy and Grand Strategy Postdoctoral Fellowships

Stand Together Trust is pleased to announce a call for applications for one-year postdoctoral fellowship support for scholars who focus on U.S. foreign policy, U.S. grand strategy, and America’s role in the world. Preference will be given to applicants whose research work is connected to these major themes:

• U.S. grand strategy, particularly the costs, benefits, and consequences of various grand strategies and how they are adopted and implemented;
• The future of U.S.-China relations, especially how to productively manage the relationship in a way that protects U.S. national interests while avoiding unnecessary conflict;
• The future of U.S. alliances, including re-evaluating existing commitments and the overall costs, benefits, and consequences of alliances and partnerships in Europe, the Middle East, and the Indo-Pacific;
• Constitutionally-aligned guardrails around current and future debates about the use of military force.

Postdoctoral fellowship support is open to candidates from the fields of political science, international relations, security studies, economics, sociology, and history who will have completed their Ph.D. by August 2024. Preference will be given to applicants from the subfields of international relations and security studies.
Funding levels are commensurate with the requirements of the research and the host institution. Applicants must establish their own hosting arrangement, and awards will be provided for approved candidates through a formal request from the host university.
Initial applications are due by 9:00 AM EST on Monday, February 26, 2024, and should be submitted through our online application form here. Please select “RFP: Foreign Policy Post-Docs” for your application.

In order to open the application pool as widely as possible, limit the burden on faculty and university staff, and ensure compliance with host institutions’ procedures regarding post-doc appointments, STT will be pursuing a two-phase application process.

In the first phase, individual scholars are invited to apply for funding consideration prior to confirming a hosting agreement. Scholars will be evaluated based on their scholarly excellence, relevance of their research agenda to the topics indicated in this RFP, and commitment to bridging the gap between the academy and policy realms with their research. Applications are due by 9:00 AM EST on Monday, January 22, 2024. After their applications have been evaluated, applicants will be either declined or notified of their semi-finalist status.

In the second phase, semi-finalists will be invited to solicit the university of their choice to serve as the host institution for their post-doc. STT does not assume responsibility for arranging a host institution. Once a tentative hosting agreement has been arranged, the host institution must submit a follow-up proposal to STT for an additional round of review. Applications will be evaluated by quality of the institution, as well as mentoring and networking potential.

Final award decisions will depend on availability of funding.

Role of Host Institution

Finalist candidates whose applications are supported by Stand Together Trust must be formally selected by their host institution as a post-doctoral fellow.

The host institution must submit a letter requesting a grant from Stand Together Trust to support the academic fellowship, the recipient of which is to be selected by the institution.

Phase One Application Details

Candidates must complete an online application and provide the following documents:

• A curriculum vitae.
• A description of your research and its relationship to the academic conversation.
• A brief statement of your short- and long-term career goals.
• A timeline of activities for the duration of the postdoctoral fellowship.
• A letter of recommendation from a faculty member, submitted to ttyler@standtogether.org (this is the only material that should be submitted via email).
• An academic writing sample. There is no page limit for this sample.
• A list of proposed scholars/mentors you would ideally like to have host your post-doc and a brief statement about why you have selected them as potential hosts.

Phase Two Application Details

Semi-finalists should expect to provide this additional information:

• A hosting agreement from the institution.
• A line-item budget from the host institution.
• A brief statement of why you chose the specific institution and how completing your postdoctoral fellowship there will help advance your research.
• An updated CV.

Additional Requirements:

• The fellowships are granted on a one-year basis. Host institutions must be based in the United States.
• Stand Together Trust cannot arrange visas for international students. Visas must be arranged through the host institution.
• Please direct any questions to ttyler@standtogether.org.
• Applications are due by 9:00 AM EST on Monday, February 26, 2024. All applicants will be notified of their phase one application status by Friday, March 29, 2024.