Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
The Integrative PhD Fellowship program will not accept proposalsfor the 2020-21 academic year.
What is the Integrative PhD Fellowship Program?
The New School’s Integrative PhD Fellowship Program broadens its social sciences training by introducing students to new analytical and expository techniques and fostering integrated research in design and the humanistic social sciences.
Graduate students can combine training in the humanistic social sciences, exemplified in the research and teaching at The New School for Social Research, with training in the innovative concepts and methodological approaches to data visualization, graphic design, and digital media as developed at Parsons School of Design and the School of Public Engagement.
The Integrative PhD Fellowship Program is not a degree program. It consists of public programs (lectures and workshops), co-taught seminars (to be developed by faculty across the New School), and PhD fellowships. The initiative is funded by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and co-directed by Robin Wagner-Pacifici, the University in Exile Professor of Sociology, and Daniel Sauter, Associate Professor of Art, Media and Technology at Parsons.
What is the Integrative PhD fellowship?
The Integrative PhD fellowship will support fourteen Ph.D. students over four years, providing fellows with full stipends for two years while they take a minimum of two courses introducing them to digital media or digital design.
Is the Integrative PhD Fellowship Program a new degree program?
It is not a degree program and will not accept PhD applications. Integrative PhD fellows will be able to cultivate and enhance their traditional social science skills—including hermeneutics, comparative and historical analysis, ethnography, visual theory, and psychometrics—with contemporary methods of coding, mapping, digital media and data visualization. Eligible students must be accepted to one of the existing PhD programs at the New School for Social Research.
How many fellows will be selected for the academic year 2019-20?
The first cohort of five fellows will be selected during the Spring 2019 semester, and will begin their fellowship in Fall 2019.
What does the fellowship entail?
Successful PhD fellows will each receive a $20,000 stipend for the academic year 2019-20, followed by a $20,000 stipend for the academic year 2020-21—given active student status and good standing throughout the fellowship period. In return, doctoral fellows commit to participate in public fellowship events, workshops, and are expected to present their own work as part of the fellowship cohort at least once per year. In addition, doctoral fellows commit to completing two Integrative PhD Fellowship Program seminars during the funding period, and submit a brief fellowship report by the end of the fellowship.
What about the course tuition?
NSSR will cover the course tuition for two required Integrative PhD Fellowship Program seminars. You commit to completing one course during the first year of the fellowship, and another during the second year. Course tuition will only be covered if Integrative PhD courses are completed as electives in your degree program, and counted towards your 60 credit hours. If you do not complete one seminar during the first year of the fellowship, you waive your funding eligibility for the second year.
Can I apply for the fellowship if I have completed my PhD coursework?
You are eligible to apply and be selected for the Integrative PhD fellowship if you have joined NSSR as a student accepted into a Ph.D. program since Fall 2015. Irrespective of where you are in the process of completing your Ph.D., you must complete two courses listed as Integrative PhD Fellowship Program courses. If you have completed your 60 credit hours, you commit to audit those courses—which will appear on your transcript as audited courses. This commitment includes meeting all described course obligations. NSSR will cover the audit fee for two required courses. Tuition and audit fees for more than two courses will not be covered.
Who will choose the fellows?
An advisory board comprised of faculty from the New School of Social Research, the School of Public Engagement, and the Parsons School for Design will select the fellows.
How do I apply for the fellowship?
To apply for the fellowship, you are required to complete an online form. There is no separate application form. The submission period begins on Tuesday, January 2nd, 2019
How are my PhD advisors involved?
Your main faculty advisor should be briefed on the Integrative PhD Fellowship Program and be willing to support your fellowship application. As a fellowship recipients, you are expected to keep your PhD advisors informed about your coursework and ensure that your advisors are abreast of information about your progress and presentation of your work.
What is the deadline for applying to this fellowship?
The submission period ends by midnight on Friday February 1st, 2019.
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What are the eligibility requirements for the fellowship?
To be eligible for the Integrative PhD fellowship, admission to one of the humanistic social sciences PhD programs at the New School for Social Research is required.
New School master students and PhD Students enrolled in a major outside the NSSR are not eligible for the fellowship, but will have an opportunity to join co-taught seminars developed as part of the Integrative PhD Fellowship Program—starting in Fall 2019.
Is there an application fee?
There is no application fee.
Will there be a work-requirement stipulation as part of the fellowship?
There is no work-requirement as part of the fellowship. However, you commit to completing one currently existing seminar in digital media or design as listed by the School of Public Engagement and Parsons School of Design, and one new collaborative seminar to be created as part of the Integrative PhD Fellowship Program. You commit also to participating in fellowship presentations, events, and workshops, and a brief fellowship report by the end for the funding period.
Can I have more than one fellowship at one time?
If you apply for both the GIDEST and Integrative PhD fellowships—and are a successful candidate for both—you will be asked to choose. You can only receive fellowship funding from one of those Mellon-funded fellowship grants. Other funding sources do not impact your selection as an Integrative PhD fellow.
Can I reapply?
Successful applicants are not eligible to reapply. Eligible doctoral candidates who have applied and have not been selected are welcome to reapply the following year.
When will I hear about the decision regarding the fellowship?
Fellows will be selected and notified during the Spring 2019 semester.
Will I need to contact fellowship administrators to let them know about my work and interest in the fellowship?
That will not be necessary. The submission process captures all necessary information to be eligible and competitive for the selection process.
What if I have a question that is not answered here?
If you have inquiries beyond this FAQ and the call for submission, you can reach us at integrativephd@newschool.edu