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 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, you may not use other Cornell or external grants to pay the same expense.

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 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 (send to programs@einaudi.cornell.edu)
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

More Questions?

Join us for an upcoming information session. 

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

Details

The IES Graduate Research Grant is available to graduate students in any field of study whose research is focused on the study of Europe.

Criteria

• Quality of the research proposal within the field
• Validity and feasibility of the project
• Research and professional qualifications
• Strength of academic performance and letter of recommendation

Requirements

• 4-5 page research proposal (double-spaced) with bibliography
• Project budget
• 1 letter of recommendation*

Winners receive up to $4,000 in funding, distributed through their bursar account. The IES Graduate Research Grant application is conducted together with the Manon Michels and Michele Sicca Grant competitions. Candidates submit a single application and are automatically considered for each of the awards.

Contact IES with questions about this award.

Details

The Luigi Einaudi Graduate Dissertation Fellowship is a semester-long or year-long fellowship available to graduate students in modern European government, history, economics, and related social science fields. The award consists of a graduate student stipend for one or two semesters, in-absentia fees, and enrollment in Cornell's student health insurance plan.

Criteria

This fellowship is designed to enable graduate students to conduct field and archival research focused on Europe for an extended period (4-8 months). To be eligible, applicants must have completed the "A" exam in their department or have an exam date scheduled prior to submitting their application and have a dissertation project approved by their dissertation committee.

• Quality of the research proposal in a social science field
• Validity and feasibility of the applicant’s research project
• Research and professional qualifications
• Strength of the student’s academic performance and letters of recommendation

Requirements

• 8-10 page project proposal (double-spaced) with bibliography
• 2 letters of recommendation

Contact IES with questions about this award.

Details

This graduate research grant honors the memory of Manon Michels Einaudi, a Cornell faculty wife and mother. One award is given each year for graduate research in a field close to Mrs. Einaudi's interests: European art and architecture, art history, literature, philosophy, and culture. 

Graduate students in those fields whose research is in Europe and who are recommended by their faculty committee are eligible.

The primary aim of the Manon Einaudi Grant is to help Cornell doctoral candidates explore possible topics or otherwise launch their dissertation work, although applications from students whose dissertations are already in progress may also be considered if funding is available.  

Criteria

• The quality and feasibility of the applicant's research proposal
• Evidence that funded research focused on Europe will advance the applicant’s doctoral program
• Applicant's academic performance and qualifications to complete the proposed project
• Strength of the applicant's letters of recommendation

Requirements

• 4-5 page project proposal (double-spaced) with bibliography
• Project budget
• 1 letter of recommendation

Winners receive up to $4,000 in funding, distributed through their bursar account. The Manon Michels Einaudi Grant competition is conducted together with the IES Graduate Research Grant and Michele Sicca Grant competitions. Candidates submit a single application and are automatically considered for each of the awards.

Contact IES with questions about this award.

Details

The Michele Sicca Research Grant was created by the late Mario Einaudi, Goldwin Smith Professor of International and Comparative Politics and former director of the Center for International Studies. Michele Sicca was an antifascist physician with whom Einaudi worked in exile during the Mussolini period.

The primary aim of the Sicca grant program is to help Cornell doctoral candidates explore possible research topics in European studies or otherwise launch their dissertation work via preliminary summer fieldwork in Europe. Applications from advanced doctoral students for completion of Europe-related dissertations may also be considered if funding is available. 

Criteria

• The quality and feasibility of the applicant's Europe-focused research proposal
• Evidence that field research in Europe will advance the applicant’s doctoral program
• Applicant's academic performance and qualifications to complete the proposed project
• Strength of the applicant's letters of recommendation

Requirements

• 4-5 page project proposal (double-spaced) with bibliography
• Project budget
• 1 letter of recommendation

Winners receive up to $4,000 in funding, distributed through their bursar account. The Michele Sicca Grant competition is conducted together with the IES Graduate Research Grant and Manon Michels Einaudi Grant competitions. Candidates submit a single application and are automatically considered for each of the awards.

Contact IES with questions about this award.