ACSS Early Career Fellows Program

The Arab Council for Social Sciences (ACSS) Early Career Fellows Program (Cycle 9) 2024/2025 is funded by grants which are provided to the ACSS by the Carnegie Corporation in New York.

Applicants should provide a well-thought-out plan for institutional affiliation and mentorship in all cases.

They must also seek new institutional affiliations and mentors other than those they have worked with before.

More About Arab Council for Social Sciences Early Career Fellows Program

With the help of this 12-month fellowship programme, early career researchers, who are up to three years out of their PhDs, will be able to pursue their research and publishing goals, join Arab research networks, and prepare for a career in academia in the Arab world.

For this kind of fellowship, mobility is strongly recommended.

The ACSS specifically encourages applicants to plan to live in another country in the area during the fellowship time and to link with a mentor and institution in a nation other than their place of origin or habitual residence.

The ACSS’s efforts to support and advance the social sciences in the Arab world, notably in terms of funding the next generation of social science researchers, are supplemented by this programme.

Eligible Fields

The Early Career Fellows Program is open to any discipline in the social sciences, humanities, and allied and interdisciplinary fields.

Core disciplines include anthropology, demography, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology, philosophy, literary studies and art history.

Allied and interdisciplinary fields include architecture, geography, education, law, public health, gender studies, cultural studies, media studies, development studies and urban studies.

Type of Scholarship: Fellowship

Number of Scholarships: Not specified

Duration of Programme: 12 months

The benefit of the Arab Council for Social Sciences Early Career Fellows Program

With the help of this 12-month fellowship programme, early career researchers, who are up to three years out of their PhDs, will be able to pursue their research and publishing goals, join Arab research networks, and prepare for a career in academia in the Arab world.

For this kind of programme, mobility is strongly recommended.

Eligibility for The Arab Council for Social Sciences Early Career Fellows Program

The fellowship will be given to young scholars who meet the requirements outlined below on a competitive basis. There is a particular interest in luring back to the Arab region Arab scholars who obtained their PhDs elsewhere.

Applicants are eligible if they:

• The applicant must be a resident of an Arab country (designated as a member of the League of Arab States), a citizen or national of an Arab country, or a stateless person from an Arab country. All fellows will be required to spend the fellowship’s 12-month duration in the Arab region, even those who were living outside the region at the time of their application.
• Are junior scholars: This programme is intended for academics who have completed their PhD programmes in the social sciences within the last three years, whether they did it domestically or abroad.
• Demonstrate academic excellence and potential: A proposal (10–15 pages) that builds on the applicant’s PhD dissertation is required.No proposals that are not based on or only loosely associated with the applicant’s PhD dissertation will be accepted.
• Please show evidence of backing from the suggested mentor and the organisation: Applicants must provide a letter at the time of application from an academic mentor working at a facility in the Arab region expressing their commitment to support and supervise the prospective fellow academically and administratively throughout their fellowship. A letter from the hosting institution indicating its willingness to house the candidate throughout the fellowship period should also be submitted by the applicants and written to the Arab Council for the Social Sciences.

Selection Criteria

The funding requests will be evaluated and chosen by a multidisciplinary Selection Committee made up of eminent Arab scholars with proven records of publication and research as well as expertise in regional research and teaching.

The selection procedures abide by the highest standards of academic and ethical judgment.

Final decisions are based on the following evaluation criteria:

• Research Proposal’s Contribution to Knowledge (Research Questions, significance, quality and Originality)
• Feasibility of Proposed Research Plan (Realistic timeframe and methods)
• Candidate’s Competency (Academic credentials, existing publications, and potential)
• Candidate’s Postdoctoral Plan (choice of the mentor, institutional affiliation, and plans for conducting research during the pandemic)
• Expected Outputs (Planned Publications and career plan)

By submitting the electronic application, applicants affirm that they agree, without any objections, to the evaluation and selection results as decided and announced by the Selection Committee and the Arab Council for the Social Sciences.

Results will be communicated to applicants during the first week of May 2025.

Successful applicants will receive provisional Award Letters confirming their selection and, if applicable, requests for clarification and elaboration from the Selection Committee.

Unsuccessful applicants will not be informed of the specific reasons for rejection.

Eligible Countries for Arab Council for Social Sciences Early Career Fellows Program

• The Early Career Fellows Program generally targets scholars based in the region. However, it also encourages Arab scholars based abroad/with foreign training to return to the region.
• Therefore, if you are based outside the region at the time of application, you are expected to return to the region for
  the period of your fellowship.
• Furthermore, we encourage mobility within the region. Therefore, for scholars based in the region, preference will be given to those intending to move to another location for the duration of the Fellowship.
• Fellows must move to an institution other than the one they are based in at the time of the application.

How to Apply for The Arab Council for Social Sciences Early Career Fellows Program

Applicants are required to create an account and a Profile Page on the ACSS Applications Platform, then apply to the fellowship using the online application form for the Early Career Fellows Program, and provide the following supporting documents:

• A detailed CV, including publications
• A one-page cover letter
• Copy of a current passport or government-issued identification card as proof of nationality or residence in the Arab world
• A project proposal (10–15 pages) outlining the tasks the fellow plans to complete while they are fellows. Please be aware that the software will examine all submitted proposals for plagiarism.
• A letter expressing the mentor’s commitment to monitor and mentor the candidate throughout the planned fellowship period and based in a local academic institution.
• A thorough resume of the suggested mentor
• A formal letter expressing a hosting institution’s willingness to house the applicant throughout the fellowship period and addressed to the Arab Council for the Social Sciences.

Questions related to the program should be directed to the Grants and Fellowships Unit at the ACSS: grants@theacss.org.

Application Deadline: 24th February 2025

Conclusion

In conclusion, the Early Career Fellows Programme of the Arab Council for the Social Sciences (ACSS) is an important programme that supports young researchers in the social sciences in the Arab world.

The initiative proves the value of supporting academic brilliance and developing new talent.

The ACSS will continue to assist the development of a vibrant and active social science community in the Arab world with its sustained support.