Guidelines & Supplemental Information
Application Deadline
The deadline for applicants seeking travel grant support during the summer of 2024 and/or fellowship support during the 2024-25 academic year is April 16, 2024.
Eligibility
These three opportunities are open to students of the University of Chicago who will retain their student status at the University for at least one quarter after their return. Further eligibility criteria are described below.
• The François Furet Travel Grant competition is open to graduate students in the Divisions of the Humanities and the Social Sciences, to students in the professional schools, and to students in the College who are able to demonstrate—either through course work or through placement exams—proficiency in French at the 20200 level or higher. There is no minimum language requirement for graduate or professional-school students.
• The Sciences Po Exchange Fellowship is open to PhD students in disciplines taught at the host institution (History, Political Sciences, Law, Economics, Sociology, etc.) and whose dissertation research would benefit substantially from the resources of the Institut d’Études Politiques (Sciences Po) in Paris.
• The EHESS Exchange Fellowship competition is open to PhD candidates in the Division of the Social Sciences whose dissertation projects require them to study and conduct research in Paris, and who would benefit substantially from the resources of the École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales.
Applying for Multiple Awards
Students may apply for more than one award by checking multiple boxes on the application form. No duplication of other documentation is required. The committee will first select the Science Po and EHESS fellowship recipients, then the Summer Research Fellowship recipient, then the François Furet Travel Grant recipients. In this way, those applying for more than one award will not jeopardize their status vis-à-vis a larger award by requesting to be considered for a smaller award. The committee will not offer two different awards to a single applicant in a given grant cycle.
Geographical Restrictions
Sciences Po and EHESS exchange fellows are expected to be based in Paris during their fellowship tenure, and to participate in the intellectual life of the host institution. François Furet Travel Grant recipients must either conduct their research or pursue intensive language-study in France or in one of France’s overseas departments or territories.
Proposal Narratives
Proposal narratives for research projects should include a short summary of your overall project (BA paper, MA thesis, PhD dissertation) as well as your specific research goals while in France. Be sure to include resources that you plan to consult in France (archives, faculty abroad who will provide direction, people to be interviewed, etc.), as well as specific reasons why a research stay in France is critical to the success of your larger project. Research proposals are typically three to five pages for undergraduates, and five to eight pages for graduate students. Language study proposal narratives should include information about the applicants’ motivation for undertaking intensive formal language study in France as well as a description of the program. Language study narratives are typically no longer than two or three pages in length.
Letter of Recommendation
One (1) letter of recommendation is required from each applicant. For research proposals the letter should be from a UChicago faculty member most familiar with the applicant’s work. It is the responsibility of each applicant to convey to her or his recommender both the deadline and the various ways that letters may be submitted. For the upcoming application cycle, all letters must be received by April 19, 2024. Recommenders should submit their letters in pdf format and submitted as attachments to an email sent to Dan Bertsche (fcc@uchicago.edu)
Sciences Po and EHESS Fellowship Applicants only
Those applying for exchange fellowship at Sciences Po and/or EHESS will also be asked to submit a paragraph describing: 1) why the host institution in Paris would be a good base from which to conduct dissertation research, 2) which faculty member(s) they hope to work with, and/or 3) which intellectual/material resources they would take advantage of, if selected as a recipient of this fellowship.
Interviews
All applicants for the Sciences Po and EHESS Exchange Fellowships will be interviewed by a faculty committee. These interviews will be conducted by Zoom in early May. Each interview will be 15 minutes in length. Applications for the François Furet Travel Grants and the Summer Research Fellowship will be evaluated without an interview.
Notification of Award
All applicants will receive preliminary notification of the status of their application by e-mail no later than May 20, 2024.
Reporting Requirements
Recipients of all awards are expected to submit a short final report to the France Chicago Center within one month of their return to the United States along with an electronic copy of the airline receipt. You will receive more information on this requirement by email once you return.
More Information
For more information about the François Furet Travel Grant or the Sciences Po Exchange Fellowship, contact Dan Bertsche at the France Chicago Center (ddb1@uchicago.edu). For more information about the EHESS Exchange Fellowship, please contact Brett Baker in the Office of the Dean of Students in the Division of the Social Sciences (bbaker@uchicago.edu).