The Center for Emerging Democracies (@umichDemocracy) at the University of Michigan invites scholars who have received their PhD since 2022 to apply for a Center for Emerging Democracies Postdoctoral Fellowship. This two-year fellowship supports multidisciplinary research on the broad historical, political, economic, and societal conditions under which democracy and autocracy either emerge and endure or falter and fail.

The call for applications for 2025-27 academic years: 

Postdoctoral Fellows are expected to focus on their own research, participate in occasional Center for Emerging Democracies workshops and events, and present at least one public lecture during their two-year fellowship, while in full-time residence at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. A teaching opportunity may be possible during the second year of the fellowship, if desired. 

Eligibility

We welcome applicants from all disciplines, though recent applicants and Fellows have primarily come from political science, sociology, history, and anthropology. Fellows must have successfully defended and filed their dissertation before beginning the fellowship. Eligibility is restricted to those who have received their PhD after January 1, 2022.

Benefits

Fellowships carry an annual salary of $60,000 and up to $10,000 in research funds during the postdoctoral appointment. Fellowship recipients will be eligible for U-M health, dental, and life insurance options (beginning September 1, 2025  through August 31, 2027). Fellows have full access to U-M library resources.

Application materials

Candidates will be required to submit via Interfolio

• A two-page research plan that outlines the research project and how the Fellow will spend their time during the fellowship period
• Curriculum Vitae
• A scholarly writing sample, such as a dissertation chapter, conference paper, or journal article
• Two letters of recommendation

Fellowship applications must be received by January 31, 2025, 11:59 PM EST. Applicants will be notified in March 2025. The fellowship period is from September 2025 – August 2027.

We welcome applicants from all disciplines, though recent applicants and Fellows have primarily come from political science, sociology, history, and anthropology. Fellows must have successfully defended and filed their dissertation before beginning the fellowship. Eligibility is restricted to those who have received their PhD after January 1, 2022.

About Center for Emerging Democracies, University of Michigan

The Center for Emerging Democracies promotes engaged public interdisciplinary scholarship to better understand the conditions and policies that foster worldwide transitions from autocratic rule and the deepening of democratic governance—in the past, present, and future. Emerging Democracies has been housed in the International Institute at the University of Michigan since 2008, making us one of the world’s longest-established centers for the study and advancement of democracy.

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