Details

If you love languages, our newest summer funding opportunity is for you!

Rare and distinctive (RAD) languages set Cornell apart. Cornell offers over 50 languages, including some of the world's least frequently taught—from Ukrainian to Quechua, Urdu to Burmese.

With the help of a RAD Language Fellowship, you can achieve fluency in your choice of these languages. Learning RAD languages offers insight into vibrant cultural identities and traditions and gives you the ability to work effectively in places around the globe.

Cornell Chronicle: Einaudi Fellowships Support Students Learning Uncommon Languages

Amount

For summer study at any level (graduate or undergraduate): $3,500 stipend, plus a fees and tuition allowance of up to $5,000. 

Eligibility

All currently enrolled Cornell graduate and undergraduate students are eligible for RAD fellowships. You do not need to be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or complete a FAFSA, which FLAS requires.

You must be planning to study a modern language among the least commonly taught languages offered at Cornell (see sidebar).

To be a successful applicant, you need to show potential for high academic achievement and agree to pursue full-time study of a language in accordance with the university’s requirements. You do not need to have previous experience or coursework in the language you plan to study. Lowest priority will be given a candidate who is a native speaker of the language.

How to Apply

In your application, you will be asked to provide information on your proposed study location. You must identify your own preferred program.

We recommend the following U.S. summer intensive language programs, although we will consider any programs—domestic or overseas—that meet the minimum requirements.

• African Summer Language Institute (ASLI)
• Indiana University Summer Language Workshop
• South Asia Summer Language Institute (SASLI)
• Southeast Asian Studies Summer Institute (SEASSI)
• YIVO-Bard Summer Program 

Your program must be at least six weeks in duration and offer at least 120 student contact hours. Please indicate the language level you intend to study during the award period.

Requirements

• Be a currently enrolled Cornell student.
• Plan to attend an approved summer intensive language acquisition program.
• Use the online application to submit your materials, including:
  • Two letters of recommendation from faculty members.
  • An official transcript of one full academic year of coursework.
  • An optional third letter of recommendation from a language instructor.

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 Einaudi Center's faculty seed grants launch international studies research and activities that show promise to grow and secure external follow-on funding.

Tenured and tenure-track Cornell faculty are eligible to apply. All disciplines and topics are welcome. Read about recent research Einaudi seeded.

Building International Studies Capacity

Einaudi Center seed grants support international studies research and collaborations that reach across world regions and bring together researchers who have deep knowledge in different regions and disciplines. The awards launch early-stage interdisciplinary research projects with clear plans for scaling up and securing external funding support. 

The Einaudi Center is dedicated to international studies. Our seed grants focus on complex global and regional issues and community-engaged methodologies across the social sciences, hard sciences, and humanities. Some research conducted abroad and international collaborations—while valuable—do not qualify for the awards.

Proposals must align with the mission and interests of at least one of our international studies programs. The application requires only your own thoughtful assessment of how your project might contribute to the work of one or more programs. 

Proposals that engage with two or more geographical regions are eligible for larger awards of up to $25,000.

Eligibility

Tenured and tenure-track Cornell faculty in all colleges and schools are eligible to apply as individuals or teams. The Einaudi Center will not accept proposals from past awardees who failed to submit the required final report by the deadline stated in the award letter.

• Funding-eligible activities: Data collection, research assistance, travel, meetings
• Not eligible for funding: Salary offset, summer salary, computers and equipment, student stipends/tuition

Requirements

• All funds must be used within one year of the award date.
• You must submit a final report to the Einaudi Center director within one year of the award date. The report must include:
  • A summary and assessment of the research and activities you accomplished.
  • An update on your external follow-on funding proposal.
  • A promotional paragraph written for nonspecialists (100 words maximum) describing the outcome and value of your project.
• The Einaudi Center must be acknowledged in all publications, promotion, and media coverage related to your funded research and activities. Please inform the Einaudi Center in advance of publications and other project outcomes.

How to Apply

Complete the seed grant funding application and submit a proposal including the following:

• Curricula vitae (CVs) for principal faculty
• Statement including objectives, activities, work plan, expected outputs, beneficiaries, and impact
• Human subjects approval, if relevant
• Detailed budget with justification of expenses
• Plans for pursuing future research and external funding support

Evaluation 

All successful proposals will meet these criteria. The proposal:

• Shows a high likelihood of generating new knowledge of key economic, environmental, social, cultural, or political problems in the world.
• Includes clearly articulated deliverables.
• Includes a budget appropriate for planned activities.
• Includes a plan for obtaining full project funding to sustain and expand the research.

Questions?

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