Buffett Research Fellowship Program
The Buffett Research Fellowship Program awards fellowships of one to four quarters to doctoral students in years 3-5 whose research deals with subjects outside the contiguous United States and/or within Tribal Nations.
This fellowship supports doctoral students in years 3-5, with priority given to students conducting their research abroad. Students who are awarded this fellowship will have their stipend and tuition covered for the quarter(s) they apply for. These quarters are bankable, which gives students the opportunity to extend their graduate funding after year 5.
Northwestern doctoral students in years 3-5 are eligible. Applicants are permitted four total quarters of this fellowship over the course of their graduate careers and may only apply once per academic year. Applications can only be made for the academic year following each deadline. For example, if you would like to apply for Fall and Spring quarters next year and Winter Spring quarters in the year after that, you would apply for two quarters at this deadline and another two quarters at next year's deadline.
Applications are due March 15 annually.
The most competitive applications will include a clear statement about the major questions to be explored, the sources and methods to be used, as well as the significance of the dissertation project to the literature on the subject. Please write your proposal so that the significance of the dissertation is clear to people outside your field.
The application portal can be accessed via SOAP. The application requires the following:
- A project narrative of no more than five double-spaced pages that explains your dissertation research and its significance for a general scholarly audience. In addition to clearly articulating the argument your dissertation makes, this narrative should describe the state of current debates on this topic and your intervention in these debates, indicating the global and international dimensions of your work. It should also include a plan of work for the research that this funding will support; this plan should outline what research site visits and related activities that will be undertaken. The five-page limit does not include notes and bibliography, which should be limited to two additional pages.
- Two letters of reference: one from your advisor and another from a committee member or someone else who knows your work well
- Departmental approval from your DGS
Questions about this fellowship can be sent to Aaron Darrisaw at adarrisaw@northwestern.edu.