$ 25,000 IIE Scholar Rescue Fund Fellowships for Academics from Countries in Conflict

The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) provides fellowships around the year for professors, researchers, and public intellectuals who face threats to their lives and careers in their home countries. The fellowships are intended as a temporary one year support for academic positions at institutions of higher learning anywhere in the world where IIE-SRF fellows can continue their work in safety. In most cases, IIE-SRF fellows are eligible to apply for a second and final year of fellowship support.

Eligibility

To be eligible for the fellowship, you must be a professor, senior researcher, or public intellectuals from any country, academic field, or discipline. Applications will be reviewed for academic qualifications, where the quality of the applicant's work, and the severity of the threats that the applicant faces are put into consideration. Preference is given to scholars who:

[1] Are facing or have recently fled from immediate, severe, and targeted threats to their lives or careers in their home countries or countries of residence.

[2] Hold a Ph.D. or highest degree in their field and/or who have extensive teaching or research experience at a university, college, or other institution of higher learning

[3] Will benefit their home or host academic communities.

[4] IIE-SRF encourages applications from women and members of ethnic, racial, cultural, or religious minority groups.

[5] IIE-SRF does not consider applications from individuals who hold citizenship or other permanent status in a second country.

Funding

The IIE-SRF fellowship award includes a grant of up to US$25,000, along with individual health insurance, to support a visiting academic appointment of up to one year and it is renewable for a second year. The final fellowship amount is dependent upon several factors, including the location of the host institution, the cost of living, and the value of any additional contributions from the host institution of other sources. IIE-SRF typically requires that the hosting institution provide financial support that is equal to or greater than the IIE-SRF fellowship award. This support generally takes the form of a stipend or other direct funding for the visiting fellow such as housing, airfare, and meal programs.

About the Scholar Rescue Fund

 In 2002, IIE launched the Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) to formalize its commitment to preserving the lives, voices, and ideas of scholars around the globe. IIE-SRF selects outstanding professors, researchers, and public intellectuals for fellowship support and arranges visiting academic positions with partnering institutions of higher learning and research. The fellowships enable scholars to pursue their academic work in safety and to continue to share their knowledge with students, colleagues, and the community. Scholars may return after their fellowships to make meaningful contributions to their national academies and civil society. Since 2002, IIE-SRF has provided life-saving support to 749 scholars from more than 58 countries in partnership with more than 380 host institutions in 43 countries around the world. Since the 2011 outbreak of conflict in Syria, the program has awarded fellowships to over 90 Syrian scholars. For IIE’s work, the program was awarded the Middle East Studies Association (MESA)’s 2013 Academic Freedom Award.