Skip to main content

Einaudi Center for International Studies

Cornell University

Global PhD Research Awards

The deadline for this opportunity has passed.
Application Deadline: March 7, 2025
Application Timeframe: Spring
Angela Nankabirwa measures a large fish laying on a table.

Details

Conduct your international field research with a $10,000 award to support fieldwork expenses.

The Einaudi Center’s Amit Bhatia ’01 Global PhD Research Awards fund international fieldwork to help Cornell students complete their dissertations. Through a generous gift from Amit Bhatia, this funding opportunity annually supports at least six PhD students who have passed the A exam. Recipients hold the title of Amit Bhatia ’01 Global PhD Research Scholars. Meet the scholars.

All disciplines and research topics are welcome. Please indicate in your application if your project aligns with one of the Einaudi Center's global research priorities or one of our regional and thematic programs.

Eligibility

Cornell graduate students who have passed the A exam(link is external) and been admitted to candidacy are eligible to apply. International fieldwork must be a critical component of your dissertation research. You must commit to travel abroad to conduct fieldwork for 9–12 months.

Please note that this award is meant to be supplementary to your primary funding source. This award does not provide tuition credit and requires students to be in absentia. A report is required upon completion.

Amount

$10,000, to be used before the end of the sixth PhD year. The award can cover the following expenses:

  • International travel (economy airfare, visa fees)
  • Domestic travel within the fieldwork country
  • Accommodation and living expenses
  • Research expenses (permits, translation costs, internet, archive access, survey costs, lab fees, etc.)

We encourage you to apply for other Cornell and external funding to complement this award, but please note that you are not eligible to apply for Einaudi’s travel grants. If you have already received a travel grant and wish to apply for a Global PhD Research Award, you may return your travel grant if you receive this award.

Please note that you may only bill for a research expense once. If an expense is already covered by this award or a Graduate School research travel grant(link is external), you may not use other Cornell or external grants to pay the same expense.

International Travel Approval

All international travel must be registered with the Cornell International Travel Registry(link is external). In line with Cornell’s international travel policy(link is external), selected students who plan to travel to a country flagged by the US Department of State as a "Level 4: Do not travel," or by the CDC as Level 4 "Special Circumstances," must get their travel plans reviewed and approved via a petition process by the International Travel Advisory & Response Team (ITART). ITART petitions are triggered by rules built into the Travel Registry(link is external), so if selected students’ travel requires a petition, the Travel Registry will prompt them for additional information about, and a rationale for, their elevated risk travel plans.

Please be aware that regardless of your destination, approval may be withdrawn if there is a change in the risk level of your destination or if we find that you have violated any contingencies of approval given. In such instances, you will be required to refund the award. 

To receive the award, selected students must follow the university’s guidelines to petition for permission to travel internationally(link is external), to be submitted no earlier than six weeks and at least two weeks before the scheduled travel. In addition, students must participate in a short, online international travel predeparture orientation(link is external) course designed by the university’s International Health & Safety team in order to receive travel approval.

Deadline

Applications, recommendation letters, and transcripts are due Friday, March 7, 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET).

How to Apply

Please order your official electronic transcript(link is external) through the Office of the Registrar (see below); do not send your transcript directly. In the application, you will be asked to provide the following:

  1. Official electronic transcript(link is external) (send to programs@einaudi.cornell.edu(link sends email))
  2. Abstract of your dissertation project (maximum 150 words)
  3. Introduction to your dissertation project (maximum 400 words)
  4. Statement explaining the contribution of your research to existing literature and its relevance to advancing the human condition, planetary sustainability, or other impacts (maximum 400 words)
  5. Statement about publications that have most significantly informed your research (maximum 100 words)
  6. Statement explaining your plans for international field research (maximum 600 words)
  7. International field research budget information
  8. NetID email address of your recommender (your graduate thesis advisor)

FAQ

Fieldwork must commence within the academic year, which begins July 1. For the foreseeable future, the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to impact the safety and feasibility of international Cornell travel. In the event that you are not able to travel due to pandemic-related travel restrictions or other emergencies, extensions may be possible.

Fieldwork completed following the award will be considered toward the 9-12 months of required fieldwork, but not fieldwork conducted earlier.

Yes, but you must complete the A exam before the awarding decision is made (typically 4-6 weeks after the application deadline).

Please refer to the Graduate School’s policies(link is external) or contact the Graduate School.

No. Fieldwork needs to be continuous since the student must be in absentia during the entire duration of fieldwork.

Any fieldwork conducted prior to the semester of application will not count towards the 9-12 months. We will consider fieldwork conducted during the semester of application.

Yes, but if selected, the award must be utilized before the end of the sixth year.

No.

Yes, all applicants will receive a confirmation message and will be notified of the decision, typically within six weeks of the application deadline.

Yes.

When you submit your application, your recommender will receive an email message with a link that they can use to submit their recommendation letter. If you or your recommender has questions or encounters any issues, please contact programs@einaudi.cornell.edu(link sends email)

No, the funds are specifically for international fieldwork and may not be used for other expenses incurred after your fieldwork has been completed.

Please contact the Graduate School at grad_funding@cornell.edu(link sends email) if you have questions about your Sage Fellowship.

More Questions?

Join us for an upcoming information session(link is external). 

Please email our academic programming staff(link sends email) if you have additional questions about the program or your application.

Apply

Additional Information

Funding Type

  • Award

Role

  • Student

Program

Comparative Muslim Societies Program

East Asia Program

Institute for African Development

Institute for European Studies

Latin American and Caribbean Studies

Reppy Institute for Peace and Conflict Studies

South Asia Program

Southeast Asia Program

Migrations Program