The category of Threatened Scholar includes: career academics, graduate students, and independent scholars, as well as writers, intellectuals, and artists whose work relates to teaching, learning, research, and the public mission of higher education, and whose lives or livelihoods are currently at risk.
TSI offers two types of Fellowships:
- Residential Fellows reside at a host OSUN institution and work with colleagues there, participating in regular activities of the university, by mutual agreement: teaching, research, advising, administration, programming, and other academic engagements. Fellowships typically include salary, benefits, and support for research and travel, following local standards. Generally, Residential Fellowships cover a two-year period, based on available funding and an evaluation by the scholar and the host institution after year one, with the possibility of renewal for a third academic year, again, based on shared costs with the hosting institution, available funding, and continued mutual agreement.
- Non-Residential Fellows are scholars who cannot, or choose not to, leave their home countries or who are unable to travel from a third country. Non-Residential Fellows are affiliated with a hosting OSUN institution. They pursue academic work online and in coordination with their host colleagues. Non-Residential Fellowships cover one academic year with the possibility of renewal for an additional year, based on available funding and an evaluation by the scholar and the host institution. The stipend amount for Non-Residential Fellows is substantially lower than that for Residential Fellows
Fellows are selected in a variety of ways. TSI prioritizes placements for Fellows at OSUN institutions where there are strong pre-existing ties or significant overlaps in research interests and/or teaching needs.
- Nominations
- Applications
On the basis of that information, staff decide on the eligibility, or suitability, of the Scholar for an application. If it is clear that the scholar does not meet our criteria for a Fellowship, the scholar will be informed that TSI is not the appropriate path for them. If the scholar does meet TSI’s general eligibility criteria, they will be sent an application form. Again, given the difficulty and time required to match applicants with potential host institutions, TSI strongly prioritizes nominated applicants over all others
Once a nomination is made, TSI determines whether the Fellowship as proposed meets the goals of the program and will be of benefit to the scholar, the host, and the network. This determination depends on a number of factors, including principally whether the nominating institution and TSI agree on an integration plan for the Fellow and a budget for the Fellowship. This process takes, on average, three months from the date the nomination is submitted, although every decision can not be completed within this time frame.
Calls for applications are generally held twice a year, with application deadlines in March and September. (TSI may also consider applications independent of these two rounds in cases of emergency or other special circumstances.) Because applications require finding an appropriate institutional host for each scholar, and then building an integration plan from scratch, this process requires significantly more time than does the nomination process. TSI’s goal is to find a placement for a scholar within six months of the application deadline however this is contingent on many factors outside the control of TSI. Applications that have not been matched with a host institution after nine months will either be rejected or placed in a “hold” category should there be significant likelihood of a host becoming available in the near future.
2022 Fellowship Applications Due March 15 and Nominations Due April 16
TSI is currently accepting Applications and Nominations for Fellowships.
The due date for all current Applications is March 15, 2022. Any Applications filed by March 15, 2022 will be reviewed after that date and decisions will be made within the timelines outlined above.
The due date for Nominations is April 16, 2022. Any Nominations filed by April 15, 2022 will be reviewed after that date and decisions will be made within the timelines outlined above.
We anticipate the next due date for both Applications and Nominations to be September 1, 2022.
In response to the current situation in Ukraine, OSUN is developing a number of urgent measures to support Ukrainian scholars, students, and other members of the higher education community. We encourage Ukrainian colleagues and students, as well as partners outside of Ukraine who wish to join this support effort or receive more information, to contact us at [email protected].