Watson Postdoctoral Fellows Program

About the Program

The Watson Institute for International and Public Affairs at Brown University aspires to promote a just and peaceful world through research, teaching, and public engagement. Central to this mission is the Watson Postdoctoral Fellows Program, an effort to galvanize the careers of young social scientists conducting research related to the Institute’s three core thematic areas: development, governance, and security. Participants in this program will join an interdisciplinary community of scholars engaged in theoretically and substantively important research addressing the most pressing global issues of our time. Fellows receive two years of support, to be taken within a three-year period, with the expectation that they will pursue research and participate fully in the intellectual life of the Institute. Fellows will also teach one course per year in the Institute or in an affiliated Brown University social science department.

The Watson fellows program is led by Faculty Director J. Nicholas Ziegler, assisted by Program Coordinator Hayden Reiss.

Fellowship Details

The fellowship competition is open to candidates from across the social sciences working in any area of the world on issues that can be understood in a comparative global context. Scholars of all nationalities who have received their PhDs within two years of the application deadline are eligible to apply.  Individuals who are currently – or have previously been – postdoctoral fellows in other programs are not eligible to apply.  As full members of the Watson Institute’s scholarly community, fellows are required to be in residence during the academic year.  Fellows will receive an annual stipend of $60,000, the position is benefits eligble.  Additional funding will be made available for conference-related travel, research expenses, and research-related programming on campus.  Candidates selected for the Postdoctoral Fellows program who have not completed their dissertations by July 1, 2019, will be paid a reduced salary until their dissertation is defended.

How to apply

The next round of applications will open in September 2018.

Awards will be announced in January 2019.

Please contact watson_applications@brown.edu with questions about the application process. 

Current Fellows

Information about our current Postdoctoral Fellows and their projects can be found here.