Wilson China Fellowship 2025 for U.S. Citizens (up to $20,000)

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars’ Kissinger Institute on China and the United States, seeks applicants for the Wilson China Fellowship from policy-oriented academics with specialization in political, social, economic, security, or historical issues related to China.

The aim of this fellowship is to produce new and original pieces of research that improve understanding of the role that China is playing in the Indo-Pacific, its relations with its neighbors and the United States, and its impact on peace and security issues. Additionally, the Fellowship seeks to build bridges between traditional academia and the policy world, and to support a new generation of American scholarship on China.

Research projects supported by this Fellowship will:

• Focus on China’s impact on political, social, economic, security, or historical issues and its impact on China’s periphery, across Asia, and on China-US relations.
• Develop concepts or explore topics that are understudied, unconventional, unique, emerging, or new within academic and policy discussions.
• Build upon historical and current research on US-China relations and Chinese foreign policy.
• Combine academic rigor with policy relevance.
• Special consideration will be made for proposals that take an interdisciplinary approach.

Stipend of Wilson China Fellowship

• The Center offers a stipend of $20,000 for a one-year non-resident fellowship. Fellows are responsible for their own health insurance and research-related travel expenses. The Center will cover costs associated with program-related travel to Washington to support the Fellowship’s conference.

Check : Yenching Academy at Peking University 2025 – Full Scholarship for Master’s Study in China

Eligibility for Wilson China Fellowship

• Open to US citizens only, although they may have residency anywhere around the world.
• Women and men with outstanding capabilities and experience from a wide variety of backgrounds (including academia, business, government, journalism, law, and other professions) are encouraged to apply.
• Candidates must have received a PhD or JD from an accredited university on or after January 1, 2009.

Also Check : L’Oréal USA Fellowship Program 2025

Selection Criteria

The basic criteria for selection are:

• significance of the proposed research, including the importance and originality of the project;
• the relevance of the project to contemporary policy issues; try to convince the reader that there is some urgency or importance in your work that can resolve a larger problem.
• the relevance of the project to the programmatic work of the Center;
• quality of the proposal in definition, organization, clarity, and scope; describe what the reviewers will learn from your project, why it is important, and how the reviewer will know your conclusions are valid. A clear hypothesis or step-by-step argument of a central problem helps capture the essence of your work for the reviewer. Also describe your methodology, i.e. how and why your approach is the best way to deal with such a problem. Since each field has different methodologies that the reviewer may not know, tell the reader what archives, sources, and techniques you plan to employ.
• capabilities and achievements of the applicant and the likelihood that the applicant will accomplish the proposed project; not only should your proposal demonstrate how you have the technical know-how and ability to reach some conclusion, but that the conclusion is not preconceived. The proposal should convince the reviewer that there is something genuinely at stake with your inquiry and that your project will yield interesting results.
• potential of a candidate to actively contribute to the life, priorities, and mission of the Center by making expert research accessible to a broader audience; remember that one of the Center’s main goals is to help inform policymakers to make well-informed decisions.

Application

Based on the subject matter of their proposal, applicants will be directed to identify their application between two categories:

• Rising American Sinologists: for proposals focused on US-China relations.
• Rising American Asianists: for proposals focused on China’s impact in or across Asia.

All applications must be completed online – the Wilson Center will not accept materials submitted via email or by other means. A complete application must be submitted in English, and will include the following:

• the Fellowship Application Form, submitted online;
• a Project Proposal (not to exceed five single-spaced typed pages, using 12-point type);
• a current CV (not to exceed three pages, not including publications);
• two letters of reference.

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