Application Sections for the 2018-2019 USIP Peace
and Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Scholarships
Belowis a list of the substantive sections in the USIP Peace Scholarship application.
Person-Project Summary:
In the space below, please provide the following information about your dissertation: the title, a brief summary of the project, its importance as groundbreaking or pioneering research in the field, its uniqueness, its relevance to USIP's mission (including for international conflict management and peacebuilding policy and practice), the specific tasks you will complete, your methodology, and a brief autobiographical statement.
The summary is a crucial part of the application. It is the first item that most reviewers will read about the substance of a project.
Maximum 4000 characters (with spaces), about 1/2 to 1 page.
Project Description:
A. Significance:
What is the basic problem, issue, or question that the dissertation seeks to address? Why is it important for policy and practice in the field of conflict management that this project be done? What substantive results do you expect will be derived from this project? How does it build upon existing literature? (Cite in your narrative the relevant literature to your topic and situate your project within the broader field to which you hope to contribute.) 8000 characters (with spaces)
B. Methods:
What is the main thesis of your dissertation, and what are the hypotheses you are testing or assuming in your research? If your methodology does not use hypotheses, what are the main questions your project is asking? What evidence (documents, interviews, archives, or other sources) will you gather to examine your theories, hypotheses, and assumptions, or to answer your project's defining questions? Does the dissertation involve fieldwork? If so, briefly explain. How will you analyze the evidence to test your hypotheses or answer your questions? 8000 characters (with spaces)
C. Mission/Policy field:
Policy Relevance and USIP Mission
How does your project help to inform the practice and policymaking on conflict management and peacebuilding? How does your dissertation contribute to USIP’s mission, "to prevent, mitigate and resolve violent conflicts around the world by engaging directly in conflict zones and providing analysis, education and resources to those working for peace," ( ) and how does it contribute to the challenges USIP faces in the countries or issue areas that USIP works on? You must explain fully how your project addresses the mission, not just assert that it does; please be concrete. Explain the policy relevance or other practical implications of the project for the field of international peace and conflict resolution (you may wish to consult the USIP website, particularly the 2014-2019 Strategic Plan) to get more information about the Institute's mission, strategic goals, thematic and geographic programs, and activities.) For applicants applying for both the USIP Jennings Randolph Peace Scholarship AND the Minerva-USIP Peace and Security Scholarship, please also discuss how your research will make a basic or fundamental research contribution to the field, and also discuss how your basic research contributions relate to broad concerns of conflict management and peacebuilding that may include (but are not limited to) security and stability (see 8000 characters (with spaces)
Workplan:
Provide a timetable indicating the schedule of completion for your dissertation. Indicate which portions of your work (research, data collection, analysis, writing, etc) are already finished, and which tasks remain to be completed. Please be as realistic as possible, taking into account the work that can be completed during the course of the scholarship. The Institute expects scholars to complete work described in the timetable or as agreed in subsequent consultation with the program staff. 5000 characters (with spaces)
You will also be asked for a Bibliography and CV (no character limits).
References:You will need three references in all, your dissertation advisor and two more referees of your choosing. They will receive requests to submit their references via a link to the application system, but you can let them know now that the deadline to submit letters will be one week later than the application deadline, ie, Monday, November 27. You can also send them the Instructions for Referees, which is posted on USIP’s website and will also be available in the application platform when it is open.