Each cycle, the Weatherhead East Asian Institute awards a limited number of summer fellowships to PhD students whose research best aligns with the themes of the summer program or the priorities of the Unson Foundation. Fellows play an active role in Itoshima throughout the program period.
Fellows take turns serving as resident advisors in the undergraduate student guesthouse and assist with excursions, workshops, and reading seminars as needed. They are also expected to pursue their own independent research projects that align with the program's themes or the priorities of the Unson Foundation.
Applicants must be enrolled in a Columbia University doctoral program and available to participate in the microcollege program in Itoshima for the full program period. Prior experience as a resident advisor or teaching assistant is beneficial but not required.
Interested applicants should submit:
- a curriculum vitae;
- two letters of recommendation; and
- a research proposal (maximum 1,000 words) for a project that will support the development of the summer program.
Preference will be given to proposals that relate to the history, culture, society, or ecology of the Itoshima–Fukuoka region, or to the theme of long-term human wellbeing, broadly defined.
Fellows receive a stipend, funds to cover travel between the United States and Japan, and accommodation in Itoshima for the duration of the program.
The stipend amount, exact program dates, application deadline, and submission instructions are announced with each year's call for applications.
Previous Fellows
Xuexin Cai, Department of History (EALAC-Hist), Columbia University
Mako Miura, Anthropology and Education Program, Teachers College, Columbia University
Catherine Miki Otachime, Department of Religion, Columbia University
Caixia Mao, Urban Planning, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation (GSAPP), Columbia University
Hekang Yang, Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, and Department of History, Columbia University