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North America: FOX International Fellowship

Program description

The Free University Berlin will prospectively offer one spot at Yale University (New Haven, Connecticut) for the participation at the FOX International Fellowship Program.

This program is a 10-month research stay for PhD students who are writing their thesis in the field of Economics, Political Science, International Relations, Law, Global Health, Business and Finance, Management, Environmental Policy or Contemporary History with preference for topics of contemporary, applied, institutional relevance to issues of war and peace, economic growth or stagnation. It is not possible to attend courses during your stay.

Applicants have to demonstrate a high motivation in their research as well as significant potential for leadership. The goal of the FOX program is to promote potential "citizen ambassadors" who will contribute to a more peaceful world order. The scholarship therefore not only supports a research project but specifically an individual person.

Application

Application deadline

For the academic year 2025/26: 19th November 2024

Duration

The FOX program is a 10-month research stay. The academic year in North America will usually start in August and end in May of the following year.

Prerequisites

  1. Application is open to fully enrolled PhD students of Free University Berlin.
  2. Applicants should have a very good level of English proficiency – please read below for further information.
  3. The exchange is primarily intended for research purposes. Attending courses as an auditor might be possible if an agreement with the teaching professor is made; transcripts cannot be issued.

Application documents

Please submit your application documents as early as possible to clarify potential questions or issues in time. Feel free to visit us during our office hours for a personal consultation.

The following documents should arrive at the office for student mobility on the application deadline at the very latest:

Online application form

You will find the link to the application form here and it will be online about 4 weeks before the application deadline.

Certificate of enrollment

With details of your study program and about which semester you are currently in. You can download your current certificate of enrollment from the student’s administration website.

Admission to doctoral studies

Official certificate as issued by the FUB.

A copy of your graduate degree certificate

Including the transcript of records with all courses completed in your graduate studies. The copy does not have to be certified.

For non-german undergraduate certificates: please also submit the grade conversion document from your uniassist procedure.

Study proposal

A detailed description of your research plan in English (no longer than 3-4 pages) including an explanation for your specific interest in the FOX program.

Two letters of recommendation

Two letters of recommendation by lecturers of a university; one of those from your dissertation advisor.

Please give your lecturer this form. The letter of recommendation should be sent as a PDF-document to the Büro für Internationale Studierendenmobilität directly by your lecturer. After the application process, the letter of recommendation will be archived; we do not hand the letters of recommendation to students or transmit them to others.

Proof of language proficiency

It is necessary for applicants to have a very good knowledge of the English language. The FOX program requires either the TOEFL or IELTS test as proof of English proficiency. Language certificates may not be older than 2 years, the relevant date concerning this is the application deadline of the program. The minimum of the TOEFL scores is 90 - 100 and the minimum of the IELTS scores is 7.0 - 8.0.

TOEFL (official score report)
We only accept the official score report of the internet based TOEFL (iBt). The test result cannot be older than two years. When booking an appointment to the TOEFL-test, please make sure to provide the institution code of Free University Berlin-Student Exchange Office (C507) in order for the test result to be sent to our office. You will receive an examinee score report and can view your test scores online. For the application we accept a scan or the PDF of your online score report or your examinee score report.

IELTS (official test report form)

The test results must not be older than two years. For the application we accept a scan or the PDF of your online score report or your test report form.

Should you have passed one of the language proficiency test within the past 2 years, please submit a copy of your test result with your application. The test result should be submitted by the deadline. Please note that without a test result you won't be invited for an interview.

Please name each document as follows:

YourLastName_DocumentTitle (e.g. Schmid_StudyProposal). All documents (except for the letter of recommendation) should be sent  as separate PDF-documents within one zip folder, which should also have your last name.

You will receive a confirmation of receipt within a week of submitting your application. Should you not hear from us after a full week has passed, please contact us as soon as possible. However, please refrain from sending several emails after having handed in your application, as this slows down our working process.

 

Financing

The partner university offers students a full tuition waiver as well as the coverage of travel costs, accommodation, health insurance, and a grant to cover additional living costs. The scholarship is granted for a 10-month period, beginning in August.

Please note that living expenses may exceed the grant awarded.

Further information

Tuition waiver

 A nomination by the Free University for one of our partner universities always includes a full tuition waiver; further information can be found on the pages for each partner university. 

Enrollment as non-degree student

Our exchange agreements always include an enrollment as a non-degree student for the duration of your stay. It is not possible to graduate from the partner universities.

Up-to-dateness of the published capacities

Please note that because the exchange is based on reciprocity, the final number of spots available at each partner university can only be published shortly before the application deadlines.