Call for CAS independent fellowships - Advanced Academia Project

CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

CAS INDEPENDENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAMME
IN THE SOCIAL SCIENCES AND THE HUMANITIES

With the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation

The Centre for Advanced Study Sofia (Bulgaria) announces a Call for Applications for participation in its 2010 Independent Fellowship Programme in the area of the social sciences and the humanities. CAS will provide:

• Four 5-month fellowships for young Bulgarian researchers; and
• Four 5-month fellowships for senior Bulgarian scholars.

Description of the programme:

The CAS Independent Fellowship Programme lends support to young and senior scholars working in the area of the social sciences and the humanities. No thematic restrictions are applicable to the candidates' research proposals. Attendance of CAS research meetings, guest lectures and discussions of individual CAS Fellows' projects are part of the programme. The approved candidates are expected to suspend their teaching and administrative activities for the duration of the fellowship in order to ensure full dedication to their individual research work.

CAS will award the following monthly fellowships to the approved candidates:

• Euro 700 for young scholars; and
• Euro 1000 for senior scholars.
  

The fellowship includes all taxes and social insurance fees. The Fellows will receive working space at the CAS office, have access to all information resources and become fully integrated in the research environment and ongoing public events taking place under the existing programmes of the Centre.

The Programme will be organized in two semesters:

• Semester I: March 1 to July 31, 2010; and
• Semester II: September 1 to December 31, 2010.
  

The candidates should indicate their preference. The final distribution of the approved Fellows between the two semesters will be negotiated in view of the thematic composition of the groups.

Eligibility:

• All candidates have to be Bulgarian citizens.
• Requirements to young scholars: post-doctoral researchers, assistant professors and academic associates who have defended their PhD dissertation during the 12 years directly preceding their application. Candidates should be able to demonstrate scientific maturity by way of at least one independent important publication on a topic different from their PhD thesis and a promising track-record of achievements appropriate to their research field and career stage.
• Requirements to senior scholars: associate professors, full professors, doctors of science with a record of no less than 10 years of significant scholarly contribution as evidenced by the number of major publications (including at least 1 monograph and publications in international peer-reviewed journals), participation in international research and conferences, etc.
  

Working Languages:

Most of CAS international events (workshops, focus-group discussions, guest-lectures) are conducted in English. Good command of English is thus a prerequisite for the comprehensive integration of the Fellow in the ongoing international activities of the Centre. Oral presentations to a local audience can, depending on format, be also made in German, French or Bulgarian. The research results will be published in English. It is therefore highly recommended that candidates indicate/elaborate on their language proficiency.

All application documents should be filed in English (the applications will be evaluated by an international selection committee). The application package should be sent to the e-mail address indicated below.

1. Research proposal (between 2000 - 2200 words) including:

• a short description of the planned research (subject, sources);
• state of the art and objectives, including challenging and unconventional aspects, innovation;
• methodology;
• research hypothesis;
• representative bibliography (10-15 works).
  

2. CV demonstrating research capability and the record of publications, monographs, project participation, and international prizes;
3. For young scholars: two recommendations by established scholars (scanned and faxed or sent by e-mail by the referees);
4. A relevant text (chapter of a dissertation, publication, etc.) of up to 25 pages in the original language of the publication.

Deadline for applications: 15 November

Selection Procedure:

The selection will be carried out by the CAS Academic Advisory Council, an international body composed of prominent scholars in the social sciences and the humanities (for the Council's composition, please see http://cas.bg/en/Bodies.html . In the case of applications with equal evaluation, candidates may be invited to an interview with the reviewers. The results will be announced by the end of January 2010 by mail, e-mail and at the website of the Centre: www.cas.bg.

Selection Criteria:

• High quality of the candidate's academic portfolio and publications, proven ability for excellent research;
• Innovative research proposal with significant contribution;
• Ability for and interest in exchange across disciplinary boundaries, and a comparative approach will be appreciated.

For a printable version of the Call, please follow the link . 

Contact Person:
Ms Ralitsa Petrova, e-mail:
Sofia 1000, 70 Neofit Rilski Str,Centre for Advanced Study Sofia
tel.: + 359 2 9803704 / fax: + 359 2 9803662