Please read the following responses to recent inquiries prior to contacting AIPS with your questions. If you find that your particular concern is unaddressed, please email us and we will try to respond to your questions as soon as possible.
Q. Does AIPS offer fellowships for undergraduates?
A. No. Unfortunately, we are unable to offer funding to undergraduate students.
Q. Can non-citizens apply if they are enrolled/employed at a university?
A. No. Fellowships are only available to U.S. citizens who are enrolled/employed
full-time at a university in the U.S. Both criteria must be met. Honorary
fellows and research associates are also welcome to apply, provided that
they are U.S. citizens.
Q. Is the fellowship deadline a postmark
or receipt deadline?
A. All applications, including letters of recommendations, should
be submitted prior to the deadline. Applicants should contact their referees
well in advance of the deadline to ensure that letters are received in
time.
Q. In the case of pre-doctoral
applicants, does AIPS require two reference letters in addition
to the letter from the dissertation chair or is the dissertation
chair included as one of the 2 referees?
A. The letter from the
dissertation chair can be included as one of the reference
letters.
Q. Can the letter of recommendation
and transcript be sent under separate cover?
A. The letter of reference
should be submitted as indicated
in the application form. It is your responsibility to
follow up with your referees to confirm that the reference
letter has been submitted. Applications without reference
letters may not be reviewed.
Q. What details must the 5 page
proposal cover?
A. The proposal should include
each the following elements: a precisely stated research
question, a detailed statement indicating the research methodology
to be employed, including tentative timelines and list of
persons to contact and/or places to visit, and expected results.
Describe the intellectual merit of the project and how it
relates to the goals of AIPS to promote and disseminate knowledge
on Pakistan in the United States and Pakistan. Also address
the broader impact for your specific field and Pakistan studies
as a whole. In the case of pre-doctoral fellowships, its
relevance to the applicant's dissertation should be addressed,
along with a timeline for the completion of the dissertation
or that portion of the project for which funding is being
requested from AIPS.
In your proposal please
include a brief statement that covers each of the following points:
1. Describe the intellectual merit of the project and how it relates to the
goals of AIPS to promote and disseminate knowledge on Pakistan in the United
States and Pakistan.
2. Describe the broader impact of your proposed research for your specific
field and Pakistan studies as a whole.
Q. What is required in the letter of affiliation?
A. Letters of Affiliation should be from the host institution
in Pakistan where the applicant plans to conduct research,
confirming access to materials and facilities. The applicant
should also provide a list of universities or institutions
(with contact information) where the applicant would
be interested in presenting lectures. Letters of affiliation
are required before funds can be awarded. If you have already secured an affiliation,
please upload the letter in the online application. If you do not yet have an affiliation secured,
please enter all institutions from which you are seeking affiliation.
Q. When will decisions be
made regarding the award?
A. Decisions will be
made approximately one month after the submission deadline.
Q. How will awards be disbursed?
A. The fellowship
money will be given directly to the awardees.
Q. Are there any stipulations
regarding dates such that recipients of an AIPS pre-doctoral
fellowship will be required to graduate before or after a
certain date?
A. The awardee is
expected to complete their dissertation work as indicated in
the proposal.
Q. Is there a
specified time period in which research is to be completed?
Can changes be made to the duration of research at a later
date?
A. If awarded, please refer to your award letter for the time
period in which your research must be completed. If you have
any further questions, please contact
us.
Q. Which host institutions in Pakistan are available?
A. We have approved the following institutions:
Additional Institutions may be added upon request, but will require final approval by AIPS and the US Embassy, Islamabad
Can I bring a dependent with me if I am awarded a fellowship in Pakistan?
A. No. All Fellows must be unaccompanied during their AIPS tenure in Pakistan;
family members, spouses, and partners may not accompany them during the
fellowship. Only if a spouse or partner also receives a fellowship would
he or she be able to travel to Pakistan.