Faculty Fellows Program
Important Note: The Faculty Fellows Program is currently on hiatus. We expect to update this page before the start of the 2024-2025 academic year.
The IRiSS Faculty Fellows Program offers Stanford faculty members assistance to start new projects, continue ongoing research, or complete publications. The program encourages faculty to explore new research areas through writing and in the classroom.
What faculty fellows do at IRiSS
Faculty fellows use their time at IRiSS to form collaborations, develop new teaching initiatives to support social science students, and attract external funding. Fellows can work on an individual or small group project. They will be expected to participate in monthly fellow lunches to share ideas and progress.
Office at IRiSS
As part of the fellowship program, faculty members may be in residence at IRiSS. This allows faculty to take advantage of the rich collegial atmosphere of an interdisciplinary group of social scientists. Our location in the foothills allows faculty to “get away” and focus on writing and research, while still permitting them to attend campus events. Supported faculty will be informed if offices become available.
Support
Faculty fellowships may include a course release. Please see the Program Guidelines each year for details.
Past and Present Fellows
For a list of previous Fellows, visit the IRiSS Fellows List.
Applying
An annual call for proposals is issued in late December, with a January deadline. Awards will be announced during Winter Quarter. We encourage faculty to submit proposals that bring together ideas and/or individuals from several departments. Faculty members conducting social science research may apply.
You may apply here to the IRiSS Faculty Fellows Application when the link is active. For a general sense of deadlines and details, see the most recent call for proposals for this program below.
For further questions, contact ybarra [at] stanford.edu (Carolyn Ybarra).
2020–2021 Call for Proposals
The Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS) is pleased to invite applications for its 2020–2021 Faculty Fellows program. This program brings together Stanford faculty members from multiple departments to explore cutting-edge research questions, with the goal of creating and communicating new knowledge through research publications and in the classroom. Fellows can apply to work on an individual or small group project. We look favorably on projects that bring together faculty from different disciplines to take advantage of the interdisciplinary environment that IRiSS fosters. We are open to affiliated fellows who may wish to spend part or all of their sabbatical leaves at IRiSS facilities. The same project application is required.
It is our hope that the time as a fellow at IRiSS will lead to future successful collaborations among our fellows, other Stanford faculty and international scholars; additional external funding; and teaching initiatives that may transform social science teaching at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. We can work with the VPUE and VPGE on these latter initiatives if additional resources for curriculum change would be helpful. Fellows may also want to use their time working within the context of IRiSS to initiate new project proposals, to further the work of ongoing research programs, or to complete important research efforts and bring them to fruition through publication. Monthly lunches will be provided so that Fellows can share intellectual interests.
Teaching load reductions are provided, as needed to promote faculty participation. Faculty on sabbatical may also apply, following the same proposal process and deadline. We are open to joint faculty applications for collaborative projects.
To apply you will describe your project in two pages or less, in PDF or MS Word format. This will be uploaded when you apply. On the application form, you will be asked to: 1) include a list of affiliated faculty (if appropriate), 2) indicate the nature of the end product to be produced during the time as a fellow, and 3) clearly identify how it will be advanced with access to the time and resources available through IRiSS and its affiliated centers and programs. The deadline is Friday, February 7, 2020. The application link will be available January 6, from the IRiSS website:
https://iriss.stanford.edu/faculty-fellows-program
If selected by the IRiSS Fellows Review Committee, you may be asked to meet with the director for a brief interview about the project and the proposed fellowship period. Additionally, you will receive a request for details about your schedule for working on the project. This information is used for allocating space and will not influence the merit review of the proposal.
After the committee review, applicants will be contacted by late March. Support from the chair of the relevant department will be needed before the fellowship is awarded, to assure that course release does not conflict with the instructional needs of the department.
Contact: Carolyn Ybarra, Program Director
Institute for Research in the Social Sciences (IRiSS)
650-833-8369
ybarra [at] stanford.edu (ybarra[at]stanford[dot]edu)