Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Research Fellowships in Buddhist Studies

Research fellowships offer support for research and writing in Buddhist studies for scholars who hold a PhD degree, with no restrictions on time from the PhD.

These fellowships provide scholars time free from teaching and other responsibilities to devote full-time to research and writing on the project proposed. The fellowship period may last up to nine months, during which time no teaching, commissioned research on other topics, or administrative duties are allowed. The fellowship may be separated into two periods, each of which must be a minimum of three months. If the entire duration is less than a total of nine months (minimum of six months), the stipend will be prorated.

There are no restrictions as to the location of the work conducted. Applicants must identify a significant scholarly product (monograph, series of journal articles, etc.) that will result from the fellowship. They will be asked for a final report at the end of the fellowship tenure describing progress made, and will be asked to report on the products resulting from it when they are published.

By accepting a stipend, the Fellow must confirm that she/he has been officially released from teaching, commissioned research, or other employment during the entire fellowship period.

A Research Fellowship may be held concurrently with other fellowships and grants and any sabbatical pay, but the total received cannot exceed 125% of the Fellow’s academic annual salary. There is no additional financial support for dependents.

Tenure of the fellowship may begin no earlier than July 1, 2020 and must conclude by June 30, 2022.

Fellowship Details

• Stipend: up to $70,000, to provide release from other duties for devoting full time to the proposed project. The exact stipend will be calculated based on the Fellows’ current academic salary and other fellowships, grants, sabbatical salary to be received during fellowship tenure. A nine-month stipend may not exceed 125% of the annual academic salary.
• Tenure: Fellowship period must begin after July 1, 2020, and must end by June 30, 2022. The tenure may last up to nine months and may be divided into two periods, each of which must be a minimum of three months.
• Applications must be submitted through the ACLS online fellowship and grant administration system(ofa.acls.org) no later than 9 pm Eastern Standard Time, November 13, 2019.
• No university overhead is permitted.

Eligibility

• Applicants must have a PhD degree conferred by an accredited university. (An established scholar who can demonstrate the equivalent of the PhD in publications and professional experience may also qualify.)
• The PhD degree must be completed by November 13, 2019 (including defense and revisions) and be conferred by May 31, 2020. (If the date of conferral is after the application deadline, the application must include an institutional statement attesting that all requirements for the PhD have been fulfilled. A successful applicant will be asked to submit proof of conferral before being named a Fellow.)
• A scholarly product must be proposed that may be written in any language. 
• The application must be written in English by the applicant.
• There are no restrictions as to residence or citizenship, or as to location of research.

Selection Criteria

• Significance of the topic and its potential contribution to Buddhist studies.
• Coherence and cogency of presentation.
• Feasibility of the plan of work.
• Record of the applicant’s previous accomplishments.