As a conduit for research on global affairs the Ralph Bunche Institute for International Studies affords many opportunities to graduate students and post-docs in search of fellowships.

Several fellowships and internships are either available directly from the Institute or are administered through specific projects or affiliated centers.

Current fellowship opportunities include: The Ralph Bunche Dissertation Fellowship Award, the John H. E. Fried Memorial Fellowships in International Human Rights, and The George D. Schwab Fellowships in American Foreign Policy.

The Ralph Bunche Dissertation Fellowship Award

This program makes doctoral dissertation year awards to CUNY Graduate Center students whose research concerns a topic that was of particular interest to 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:

• 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"
• 1999-2000: Tracy Fisher (Anthropology), "Women's Grassroots Organizing and the State: Creating and Contesting 'Black'" 
• 1998-1999: Marilynne Diggs-Thompson (Anthropology), "Deciphering the Discourse of Fertility: Reproduction, Migration and Family Formation in Guadeloupe"
• 1997-1998: Teresa Booker (Political Science), "The Determinants of Strategies in the Delivery of Humanitarian Assistance: The Case of Operation Lifeline Sudan"

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. The recipient may be in residence at the Ralph Bunche Institute during the 2004-2005 academic year and participate in ongoing events. 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 due February 2, 2009.

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:

• 2010: Lindsay Green-Barber - "ICT and Social Movements in the Developing Context: The Case of Indigenous Peoples"
• 2009: Shawna M. Brandle - "We are What We Watch"
• 2008: Sara Pursley - "We Were Racing Against Time: Gender, Nationalism and Development in Iraq, 1932-1963"
• 2007: Not awarded
• 2006: Bree Zuckerman - "Decentralization, Federalism and Participatory Development as State-Building in Sudan: Promotion of Human Rights or Reinforcement of Inequalities?"
• 2005: Deniz Sert - "The Property Rights of Internally Displaced People: Perceptions and Realities"
• 2004: Effie MacLachlan - "A Common Immigration Policy and the Human Rights of Women in the European Union"

APPLICATION INFORMATION: The 2010 John H. E. Fried Memorial Fellowship in International Human Rights will be awarded to support research by an advanced Ph.D. student in political science (normally level 2 or 3) 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 politics or international relations, 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 15 April 2010. 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. Click here to download an application (PDF)

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:

• 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 $2,000 award is available for costs related to dissertation research relevant to a topic that leads to an improved understanding of U.S. foreign policy. 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. Deadline for receipt of a completed application is due April 15, 2010. Click here to download an application (PDF)


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.

Recipiets of 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 two 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.