Woodrow Wilson Center Fellowships in the Humanities and Social Sciences

Criteria for Selecting Proposals

1) The significance of the proposed research (the importance and originality of the project); 2) the quality of the proposal in definition, organization, clarity, and scope; 3) the capabilities and achievements of the applicant (the likelihood that the applicant will accomplish the proposed project); 4) the relevance of the project to contemporary policy issues. The Center devotes special attention to the exploration of three prominent themes: governance; the U.S. role in the world and issues of partnership and leadership; key long-term future challenges confronting the United States and the world. Projects should involve fresh, critical research, both in terms of the overall field and of the author's previously published work. The Center welcomes projects that transcend narrow specialties and do not represent essentially technical, methodological issues of interest only within a specific academic discipline. Above all, projects should have relevance to the world of public policy, and fellows should want, and be prepared, to interact with policymakers in Washington and with Wilson Center staff who are working on similar issues.