Frequently Asked Questions about CASBS Fellowships

If your question is not answered here, please contact Rebecca Hidayetoglu and Sally Schroeder at casbs-fellowships@stanford.edu.

When is the application deadline, and when are selection results known?

Applications for the 2025-26 fellowship year will be accepted starting August 1, 2024 and will close on November 1, 2024.

Applicants will be notified of decisions via email in February 2025.

What items are needed to accompany my application?

All prospective fellows will need to submit the following materials with their application:

Curriculum vitae (three-page maximum)
Project statement
If applicable, a statement of your project’s fit with our partner fellowship program (150–250 words).
Two reference letters

What are typical activities during the fellowship year?

Many activities offer fellows significant opportunities to engage with one another (as well as with other accomplished scholars on the Stanford campus):

a required weekly seminar series in which fellows are invited to present and discuss their work
informal working groups that emerge during the year, giving fellows with broadly overlapping interests a basis for sustained conversation
occasional symposia hosted by the Center
daily lunches at the Center
special events and recreational activities organized by the Center
Stanford campus colloquia and seminars

My documents are Microsoft Word files. Can I submit those with my application?

No.

To ensure the integrity of your CV and personal statement, we can only accept PDF files. Creating PDF files from other formats, such as Microsoft Word, is easy to do. If you need assistance, please read these instructions on converting documents to PDF.

If it only takes a few hours per week, can I teach a course at a nearby institution during my fellowship?

No.

You may not hold a concurrent teaching appointment or have additional commitments (including research or collaborations) that result in prolonged or frequent absences from the Center.

What is the Center policy regarding health care benefits?

Neither Stanford University nor the Center provides health care coverage (or subsidies for health care coverage) to fellows or their families. International scholars should note that proof of health insurance is now required during the J-1 (visiting scholar) visa application process.

What is the Center policy regarding housing and relocation subsidies?

Non-local, first-time fellows are provided with a small housing subsidy as well as a relocation subsidy. The relocation subsidy is based on the geographic region of the fellow’s home institution and also factors in identical relocation costs for a spouse or partner and any dependent children (none of which should be older than 18 years of age at the time of relocation), provided that they reside with the fellow for at least six months of the year.

Fellows fall into one of three groups that determine the subsidies they receive for housing and relocation:

Fellows whose permanent residence is already within a fifteen-mile radius of the Center receive neither a housing subsidy nor a relocation subsidy.
Fellows who are otherwise local to the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area but who must move to within fifteen miles of the Center during their fellowship year to satisfy our local residence requirement receive a housing subsidy, but they do not receive a relocation subsidy.
Fellows arriving at CASBS from outside of the San Jose-San Francisco-Oakland area receive both a housing subsidy and a relocation subsidy.

What are the residential requirements for CASBS fellows?

CASBS is committed to the concept of a residential fellowship. Consequently, fellows must reside during their fellowship term in a community within fifteen miles of the Center. San Francisco, Berkeley, the East Bay, and San Jose, for example, do not fulfill this requirement. Center staff can provide information about finding housing and schools for those relocating for the fellowship year.

Fellows must be present for lunch three to four days a week and attend the weekly seminars and other speaker events hosted by the Center. Our expectation is that fellows remain in residence at the Center from opening day (the day after Labor Day in September) through late May. While fellows are required to be in residence through late May, they are usually permitted to stay at CASBS until the Center closes for its summer period at the end of June.

What financial support, either as stipends or research support, is provided?

As appropriate, stipends for the academic year will be awarded to first-time fellows to supplement faculty sabbatical support, or base salary support for non-academics. Returning fellows are expected to provide their own stipend.

First-time fellows are provided with a modest research allowance.

Read about stipend details for first-time fellows.

What privileges does a CASBS fellow have at Stanford University?

Center fellows receive an official “Stanford fellow” designation and are given an identification card through which they are accorded library privileges at the Stanford University Libraries and sports privileges at Stanford's sports facilities.

What services are provided to CASBS fellows?

The Center provides a range of services designed to make fellows more effective and efficient while in residence, including:

library research assistance
desktop support
fax and mail services
administrative services
pleasant work spaces at the Center
housing information for relocating to the Palo Alto area for the fellowship year

Can fellowships be awarded for a single semester only?

Yes.

In special circumstances a fellowship may be awarded for the fall or spring semester. Preference, however, is given to fellows able to stay for the nine-month academic year. This is because of the importance to all of our programs of developing a community and building relationships. We are most likely to be flexible with respect to length of stay for fellows who are members of group projects.

Are CASBS fellowships usually awarded to eminent scholars? What about young scholars?

CASBS does not offer post-doctoral fellowships.

CASBS does accept applications from scholars who are three to four years past the doctorate. However, we actively seek to encourage young scholars to come to the Center after they receive tenure. Having worked narrowly for several years to achieve tenure, young scholars may be in a position to think more broadly about their work and to take greater intellectual risks, provided they have the time, encouragement, and intellectual stimulation to do so. A fellowship at the Center offers just those opportunities.

To whom do you award CASBS fellowships?

CASBS fellowships have been awarded to scholars working in a diverse range of disciplines. These include the five core social and behavioral sciences (anthropology, economics, geography, law, political science, psychology, and sociology) as well as a wide range of humanistic disciplines, education, linguistics, communications, and the biological, natural, health, and computer sciences.

Are non-US citizens able to receive CASBS fellowships?

CASBS welcomes international scholars, who must be eligible to come to the Center on a J-1 scholar visa. To check your eligibility, inquire with your nearest US consulate, or read the information about J-1 scholar visas at Stanford’s Bechtel International Center website.

Are paper applications accepted?

No.

Applications are submitted only via an online application system.

Is there space and are there services for spouses and partners?

Spouses and partners are an important part of the culture at the Center, and they are invited to participate in many aspects of the intellectual and social life of the Center. A fellow can provide space for a partner by sharing their private study with their partner, on an occasional basis, with prior approval of the Center. Staff support services are reserved for CASBS fellows.

Do I have to complete my application all at once?

No.

You may work on it in multiple sessions, though you will need to save your work after you finish each section of the application by clicking on either the “Save” or “Submit” button. Once you have submitted the application, you cannot work on it again.