Yes. The IDRF welcomes proposals from full-time graduate students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who are enrolled in PhD programs in the United States, regardless of citizenship.

Yes. Applicants for the 2022 competition must achieve All But Dissertation status (completed coursework and passed qualifying exams) by the time the proposed research begins or by December 2022, whichever comes first. They must also fulfill all other eligibility requirements.

The IDRF accepts proposals from all disciplines within the humanities and humanistic social sciences. All applicants should specify why site-specific research is critical to the successful completion of the proposed doctoral dissertation. If you have any questions about whether your discipline or topic is eligible for IDRF funding, please contact us.

No. The IDRF program accepts applications from students enrolled in PhD programs only.

“On-site, site-specific” research means that the researcher must be at the specified location for an extended period of time. Research that can be done at any location, either online or via interlibrary loan, will not be funded by the IDRF program. This requirement applies to all applicants from all disciplines, regardless of whether or not they are conducting US based research. The IDRF program will not fund research at an applicant’s home institution unless that research is specific to an archive or other collection located at that institution or city. In addition, the IDRF program will not support dissertation write-up either at the home institution or elsewhere.

No. The IDRF program has funded research in all areas of the world. Your proposal should address any potential challenges to security, access to information, or visa support, as necessary.

Proposals within Native American studies or those that identify the United States as a case for comparative inquiry are welcome; however, proposals which focus predominantly or exclusively on the United States are not eligible.

Yes. The required minimum research outside the United States is dependent upon your discipline. For select humanities disciplines (Art History, Architectural History, Classics, Drama/Theater, Film Studies, Literature, Musicology, Performance Studies, Philosophy, Political Theory, and Religion), that minimum is three months. For all other disciplines (including Anthropology, History, and Political Science), applicants must conduct at least six months of research at a non-US site. All research, including research within the US, must be site-specific.

Yes, IDRF funds dissertation research on topics within Native American, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander studies, including Native lands, places, and spaces that are located within US and territorial jurisdictions.

Applicants are expected to be affiliated with a university and progressing toward a PhD and in good standing. They do not need to be paying semester fees.

Applicants who will have completed significant funded dissertation research after receiving post-ABD status in one country by the start of their proposed IDRF research are not eligible to apply to the IDRF to extend research time in the same country. Applicant eligibility will be determined at the discretion of the program. Applicants who have undertaken unfunded research in the same country, funded research prior to obtaining ABD status, or research in a different country are eligible to apply. Please contact the program if you are unsure of your eligibility status.

Fellowships provide support for six to twelve months of on-site, site-specific dissertation research. No awards will be made for proposals requiring less than six months of research. The IDRF-funded research must take place in a single continuous period of 6-12 months within the eighteen months between July 2022 and December 2023.

Yes, PhD candidates at universities in US territories are eligible to apply. However, your project must be about a non-US topic and cannot primarily focus on the territory in which you are attending your PhD program.

Yes. As long as you are not completing your PhD at a university in that territory, you may use the IDRF award to conduct research in a US territory.

The IDRF application must be filled out online and can be accessed through the Online Application Portal. You will also use this portal to contact your language evaluator(s), complete the research relevance section, enter your personal statement, upload your research proposal and bibliography, and send reminders to language evaluators.

Applications must be complete and submitted online before 9:00pm (ET) on November 2, 2021. The language evaluation(s) must also be submitted online by the same deadline.

No. You will need to start over with a new online application and request new language evaluation(s).

There are no forms. You must use “Language Evaluations” section of the online application to contact language evaluators. Once you have entered your evaluator’s contact information, they will receive an email with instructions on how to submit the language evaluation online. The submitted material will be automatically added to your application.

No. You may return to the application as many times as necessary until the application deadline. Be sure to save your work after you finish each section of the application. Once the application has been submitted, you will no longer be able to alter the information.

No. The IDRF program does not provide examples of proposals that have been awarded fellowships. However, you may visit our website to learn more about the research that current fellows are conducting. For suggestions on proposal writing, we encourage you to consult The Art of Writing Proposals.

The IDRF program has a three-tier review process to evaluate applications. Evaluators at every level of review are US-based faculty from a range of institutions and disciplines. Applications will be read by evaluators who are outside of both the region and discipline of the applicant, as well as evaluators within the applicant’s region and discipline. In the first tier, screeners will read the project abstract and answers to the three research relevance questions. In the second tier, reviewers will read the entire application and evaluate it based on the originality of the research topic, the appropriateness of the methodology, the attention paid to disciplinary discussions, the interdisciplinarity and cross-regional perspectives of the project, its ability to speak to a broad scholarly audience, the justification of the proposed on-site research plan, the applicant’s academic preparation, and their relevant language ability. In the third tier, selection committee members will assess the overall quality of the proposal, the preparedness of the applicant to undertake the research, and the potential scholarly contributions of the project. The selection committee members meet in person to discuss the applications and select the IDRF cohort.

Yes. You are strongly encouraged to submit your online application well in advance of the deadline. There is no need to wait for your evaluation(s) to be received in order to submit your application – they will be automatically added to your application. You may continue to check the status of your language evaluation(s) and send language evaluators a reminder by logging into the application portal and selecting your application in the left-hand sidebar.

The IDRF program does not ask for letters of reference, but it does request language evaluation(s) if applicable.

You do not need to submit a language evaluation form if you will be conducting research in English or your native language(s). Applicants conducting research in another language are strongly suggested to submit a language evaluation with their application.

Language evaluators should be qualified individuals who are able to test your proficiency in the language(s) needed for your on-site research at the time of your application. Ideally, your evaluator will be a language instructor at a university, in the United States or abroad; however, exceptions can be made for less commonly taught languages. Departmental language exams will not be accepted as proof of language proficiency. A sample language evaluation can be found here.

No. Ideally your language evaluator will be someone at your institution who is qualified to assess your language capabilities; however, it is not a requirement that this person is from your institution.

No. It is not a requirement that your language evaluator holds a PhD; however, the evaluator must have the appropriate language qualifications required to conduct this particular language evaluation.

It is not a requirement that the language evaluation come from an instructor at your institution. If no one at your institution can conduct the evaluation, the next step would be to reach out to a language instructor at another institution. If geographical limitations present a problem, keep in mind that it is possible to conduct the evaluation over Skype or Zoom. Please refer to the sample language evaluation form for a sense of what the evaluation entails. If you still do not think you can find a language instructor to conduct the evaluation, please contact us.

No. Do not include a budget in your proposal. If you are selected as an IDRF fellow, we will work with you to make budget determinations.

Yes. Your research proposal and bibliography should be collated as two separate .pdf files. Research proposals must be double-spaced and not exceed ten pages in length (including any appendices, footnotes, or end notes). The bibliography must not exceed two pages and must be in standard bibliographic format.

The proposal and bibliography must be in Times New Roman 11-point font type with at least one inch margins on all sides. Proposals must be formatted with double-spacing. Footnotes and endnotes may be single-spaced but must be included within the ten pages. The bibliography may be single-spaced. Proposals not adhering to these guidelines will not be considered.

Yes, but any non-textual material must be included within the ten-page limit.

No. Transcripts are not required at the time of application. Relevant coursework and grades should be listed in the course report section of the online application. However, you should be prepared to submit one official transcript for each graduate-level school you have attended (including any degree certificates from graduate institutions outside the United States) upon request of the program.

No. Do not submit letters of affiliation with your application.

After you have successfully submitted your application, you will receive a confirmation email from the SSRC. You may continue to check the status of your language evaluation(s) and send language evaluators a reminder by logging into the application portal and selecting your application in the left-hand sidebar.

No. Your proposal may not exceed ten pages in total as a .pdf file and your bibliography may not exceed two pages.

We recommend that you use the footer function for page numbering, rather than the header function.

Incomplete and ineligible applicants will be informed of their status by December 2021. All other applicants will be contacted by the program via email about their status in February 2022. Fellows and alternates will be named in April 2022.

You will be asked to submit an estimated budget outlining the funds you will need to complete your project. This will be taken under consideration, along with any other funds you may have received, when your final award amount is determined.

IDRF-funded research may begin in July 2022 (research conducted prior to July 2022 will not be supported by IDRF). All 2022 fellows must commence fieldwork by January 2023.

Fellowship award amounts will vary depending on the research plan. The 2022 per-fellowship average award amount is $23,000.

The IDRF grant will cover fellows’ travel, research, and living expenses for six to twelve months of dissertation research. The IDRF grant will not cover tuition costs, dependent living expenses, taxes, or dissertation write-up.

Yes, but fellows cannot accept funding from IDRF and another organization for the same expenses at the same time. The IDRF program will work with fellows to construct a budget that is acceptable to IDRF and to other funding organizations.

All awards are paid directly to the IDRF fellows.

No. Fellows are responsible for their own travel arrangements and research clearances.