Deadline: November 16, 2026
Applications are open for the Fung Global Fellows Program at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) 2027-2028. The program will select early-career scholars from around the world to be in residence at Princeton for an academic year (10 months) and to engage in research and discussion around a common theme.
The fellowships will be awarded to those employed outside the United States who have a faculty appointment or a professional research appointment, and they will be expected to return to their positions at the conclusion of the fellowship. Lastly, they must have demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement and unusual intellectual promise. Early-career scholars will be appointed at the rank of Visiting Research Scholar.
Democratic governance faces mounting pressure around the world. The rise of populist movements, declining trust in institutions, polarization, disinformation, and democratic backsliding (including in democracies once considered as consolidated) have prompted renewed debate about whether democracy’s ascendance in the late 20th century was more fragile than assumed. At the same time, democracies have proven resilient in unexpected ways—through grassroots mobilization, institutional safeguards, judicial independence, and civic renewal—raising the question of what, precisely, allows some democratic systems to weather crisis while others erode or collapse.
During the 2027-28 academic year, the program theme will be “Democracy in Crisis?” They invite applications from scholars who study the challenges confronting democratic governance and/or the sources of democratic resilience. Projects might explore the drivers and dynamics of populism; the erosion of democratic norms and institutions; the role of media, technology, and disinformation in shaping political life; the relationship between economic inequality and democratic legitimacy; or the strategies through which citizens, civil society, and institutions have defended or renewed democratic practice. They are equally interested in work that interrogates the conceptual and normative foundations of democracy itself – what it means, who it serves, and how it has been imagined and contested across different political and cultural traditions.
Salary
- The salary range is between $100,000 – $135,000.
Eligibility
- Early-career scholars will be appointed at the rank of Visiting Research Scholar. To be eligible, applicants must have received their Ph.D. (or equivalent) generally after September 1, 2017. Candidates who are currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program or employed as postdocs are not eligible to apply.
- Fellowships will be awarded to those employed outside the United States who have a faculty appointment or a professional research appointment, and they will be expected to return to their positions at the conclusion of the fellowship. Should an offer be made, successful candidates will be required to submit an official letter from their current employer affirming that they would be permitted to accept the offer and to spend the academic year at Princeton University.
- Fellowships will be awarded to candidates who have already demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement and exhibit unusual intellectual promise but are still at the beginning of their careers. Criteria for the fellowship include the strength of the candidate’s research projects, the relationship of those projects to the program’s theme, the candidate’s previous scholarly work, the candidate’s ability to contribute to the intellectual life and intellectual exchange of the program, and the candidate’s work experience outside the United States. The selection committee is looking to establish a cohort of fellows whose work represents any region of the world, with any disciplinary background in the humanities and social sciences.
- Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.
Application
The following items must be submitted by the applicant, in English, by November 16, 2026 (11:59 p.m. ET):
- Applicants must apply online
- Cover letter (1.5 pages maximum)
- Curriculum Vitae (including publications)
- Research proposal (maximum of 3 pages, single spaced)
- One writing sample (article or book chapter, maximum of 50 pages)
- The names and email addresses for three referees, who will be contacted automatically by the online application system with an invitation to upload their letter of recommendation to the system by the application deadline.
**All letters of reference should be submitted by your referees before the November 16, 2026 deadline**
For more information, visit Fung Global Fellows Program.
