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John L. Simpson Memorial Research Fellowship
in International and Comparative Studies
2009-10

See information on past Simpson fellows and their research.

This research fellowship is a memorial to John L. Simpson to support research in comparative studies analyzing similarities and differences among societies and states with respect to social, cultural, political, economic structures and policies, and international studies that analyze relations among states, economies, and societies including patterns of these relationships in global and transnational systems.

During his long and illustrious career, Mr. Simpson was awarded the two highest honors bestowed by the University: the Gold Medal for outstanding scholar in 1913 and, at Charter Day in 1960, a Doctor of Laws degree for his many years of distinguished public service. This included prominent participation in American relief efforts in Europe during and after World War I, service with a State Department mission to the Allied Control commission in Italy during the later stages of World War II, and early membership in the Belgian-American Educational Foundation, the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, and the Foreign Policy Association. Mr. Simpson served as president of the World Affairs Council of Northern California and was decorated by the French Legion of Honor and the Belgian Order of the Crown.

Within the broad category of comparative/international studies, the Institute of International Studies has identified five broad international and comparative topics as having priority. Although special consideration will be given to proposals addressing one or more of these topics, proposals on other themes will be considered. The five priority topics are as follows:

  • Transnational and global economic processes such as major changes in the global economy, including the implications of regional and global trade organizations such as GATT, NAFTA, and WTO for international trade, patterns of foreign direct investment among the developed countries, U.S. - Japan interdependence and competition, the evolution of a more unified European market, the integration of developing economies and Eastern bloc economies into world trade and capital markets, and the dynamics of market transitions.

  • International peace and security issues such as the search for new security definitions that address problems such as regional conflict, population problems, and the struggle over resources; arms trade, proliferation, and conversion; the links between technology, economic competitiveness, and strategic policy; the domestic roots of international behavior; cooperation and the building of new international institutions; and multilateralism in the post Cold War period.

  • International environmental issues and the prospects for sustainable development including the implications of changing technologies for both the development and resolution of global environmental problems; the political ecology of development in particular regions of the world, and alternative local and global institutional structures for a new international order to reverse the deterioration of the global environment.

  • International demographic trends including demographic transitions, reproductive rights and the economics of population growth relevant to substantive theoretical areas in anthropology, economics, history, sociology, and international relations.

  • Comparative development and modernities involving the dynamics of economic, social, cultural, and political change and the development of civil society in regions such as Asia, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East, Western Europe, and the republics of the former Soviet Union.

Eligibility: All UC Berkeley graduate students in good standing who will be formally advanced to candidacy (will have satisfied all requirements of the Ph.D. except the dissertation) by September 1, 2009, may apply. Funds will not be available until the student has advanced to candidacy. Students must be currently registered with the Graduate Division or on approved travel status. Students are eligible for support regardless of previous fellowships from other sources. The amount of the award is at the discretion of the committee. Requests for tuition and fee costs as a separate item will not be considered. The Simpson Award may be used in conjunction with other grants, but during the term of the award, total income from all sources, excluding awards specifically earmarked for travel and tuition, cannot exceed $25,000. Successful candidates will be consulted regarding other funding sources before the award is granted. Under most circumstances, dissertation fellows are expected to be resident at Berkeley for the tenure of the award, except those who must conduct research away from the Bay Area.

See separate page on Institute Dissertation Application Procedure.

Deadline: Friday, March 20, 2009. This deadline is firm. Send all material to: Fellowship Coordinator, IIS; 215 Moses Hall #2308; Berkeley, CA 94720-2308.

Awards will be announced in May.

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