Turkish Cultural Foundation Fellowships

Deadline: 15 October 2011
Open to: doctoral candidates and post-doctoral scholars in research fields related to the culture and arts of Turkey
Fellowships: USD 10,000 for PhD level fellowships and USD 15,000 for post-doctoral level fellowships

The Turkish Cultural Foundation sponsors research on subjects related to the art and culture of Turkey, and to studies related to the preservation of Turkey’s artistic and cultural heritage. The TCF Fellowship Program’s mission is to recognize and assist students and researchers whose scholastic achievements reflect the commitment of the Turkish Cultural Foundation to research, document, preserve and promote Turkey’s cultural heritage.

Fellowships are open to scholars who are engaged in the research phase of doctoral studies and for scholars whose Ph.D. or equivalent professional training has been completed within the past 10 years.

Awards

Ten dissertation research grants and five post-doctoral fellowships are available each academic year to qualified applicants.

Amount Offered: USD 10,000 for PhD level fellowships and USD 15,000 for post-doctoral level fellowships.

Fellows will receive their fellowship payments via United States bank check in two installments. The release of the second installment of the fellowship funds is conditional upon a report from the Fellowship Recipient which demonstrates progress made in the research as outlined in the fellowship application and a 2-3-page research article related to fellow’s research project, with images (6-9 images) for possible publication under a related subject area on the Turkish Culture Portal of the Turkish Cultural Foundation. TCF reserves the right to withhold fellowship funding upon appraisal of the progress report and research article.

Eligibility

Doctoral candidates and post-doctoral scholars in research fields related to the culture and arts of Turkey are invited to submit applications for fellowships.

Qualifications and Selection

Fellowships are intended for those who are enrolled in a Ph.D. program and are engaged in the research phase of the degree program leading to a dissertation, or have a Ph.D., or who possess an equivalent record of professional accomplishment and publications.
Fellowship recipients will be selected based on the proposed research project and its relevance to the TCF’s mission. Academic standing, scholastic achievement, publications, experience, and letters of reference will be weighed into the decision.
Candidates should be fluent in English, although the dissertations or the publications published as a result of this fellowship do not have to be in that language. All applicants are required to submit official evidence of English language proficiency. Applicants who hold graduate or post-graduate degrees from universities whose primary language of education is English are exempt from having to further document English proficiency.

Grant and Fellowship Recipients’ Responsibilities

Candidates must submit a sample article written for a general audience, rather than academic readers, about their research subject (please see detail below).
Following completion of their fellowship year, fellowship recipients are required to submit a brief report on the studies accomplished as part of this fellowship in English.
Upon subsequent completion of the Ph.D., doctoral students must send TCF a copy of their dissertation and a max. 2 page summary to be published on the Foundation’s website.  Post-doctoral recipients are required to submit a copy of peer reviewed publication which results from their research sponsored by the TCF fellowship, along with a max. two page summary of their work, including any relevant pictures, for consideration to be published on the Foundation’s Turkish cultural portals.
It is requested that any publications resulting from work done under the auspices of a TCF grant acknowledge the Turkish Cultural Foundation for its support.

Application Process

All applications for 2011/2012 must be received by October 15, 2011.

Applicants must submit one set of the following documents:

• Application Letter (title of the project, field of study, a statement of purpose). This letter should be no longer than 1½ pages (approx. 375 words)
• Application Form
• Proposal/essays (max. 2,000 words). Indicate description of the project and its importance, including a table of contents, a brief survey of the literature, progress already made, anticipated time of completion.
• An introductory article on the research subject for TCF’s website. This article should be no longer than 1½ pages (approx. 375 words) with images (6-9 high resolution images).
• Resume
• Three signed letters of recommendation (If applicant is a doctoral candidate, one from the student’s thesis advisor.)
• Official transcripts (for doctoral candidate)
• Evidence of English language proficiency when applicable

How to Name or Title your e-Files:

The electronically submitted files should be titled as below:

Name_Surname_TCFF2011_ApplicationLetter
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_ApplicationForm
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Proposal
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Article
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Image (1,..6,…9)
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Resume
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Recommendation1, 2 and 3
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_Transcript
Name_Surname_TCFF2011_English

Application form and all supporting material should be submitted
via both mail and e-mail to:

Turkish Cultural Foundation Istanbul Subesi
Cumhuriyet Caddesi Cumhuriyet Apt. 17/1
Taksim, Istanbul 34437 – Turkey

E-Mail: istanbul@turkishculture.org

The official webpage.