Given the recent lapse in federal funding and subsequent government shutdown, we are anticipating a delay with the fellowship selection process. Call for Applications



The Wilson Center's Latin American Program is launching a call for applications from Venezuelan citizens currently residing in Venezuela, for a three-to-four month residential fellowship at the Wilson Center in Washington, D.C.



The year 2019 marks the launch of the Wilson Center’s Abraham F. Lowenthal Public Policy Fellowship. Named for the founding director of the Latin American Program, the Fellowship aims to attract distinguished scholars, public intellectuals, and policy makers from Latin America and the Caribbean to the Center on a continual basis. In establishing the Abraham F. Lowenthal Public Policy Fellowship, the Latin American Program has sought to guarantee that those living and working in Latin America and the Caribbean have a permanent presence at the Wilson Center. Fellows enjoy a conducive environment in which to carry out original, policy-relevant research and have an opportunity to interact with a broad range of individuals and institutions in the Washington, D.C., policy community.

Given the deep governance, economic, and humanitarian crisis in Venezuela, we issue the first call for applications to Venezuelan citizens currently residing in Venezuela. We seek applications focusing on critical aspects of the country’s politics, political economy, or international relations, including the refugee crisis that is having a profound impact on Venezuela’s neighbors.

The residential fellowship will begin in April 2019 and will not exceed four months.

Please review application instructions below and direct any questions or inquiries to lap@wilsoncenter.org .

An online portal is available for application submissions here .

Who is Eligible?

Applicants must be citizens of Venezuela and currently reside in Venezuela. Applicants must hold a valid passport and be eligible to obtain a J-1 visa. We welcome applications from outstanding women and men from a wide variety of backgrounds, including business, civil society, academia, journalism, and other professions.

A command of spoken English is necessary since the Wilson Center encourages the exchange of ideas among its fellows and with the broader Washington policy community.

Applicants must have an undergraduate or graduate degree and a minimum of five years of relevant work experience. The fellowship is not open to current students or to those working on a Master’s-level or doctoral dissertation.

Benefits & Access

The residential fellowship will take place at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington, D.C. Each fellow will be assigned a furnished office available to him or her every day around the clock. The Center is located in the heart of Washington, D.C., and includes conference rooms, a reference library, and a dining room. The building is a smoke-free environment.

The Wilson Center Library provides loan privileges with the Library of Congress and access to digital resources, its book and journal collections, and to university and special libraries in the area, and other research facilities.

Windows-based personal computers are provided, and each fellow is offered a part-time research assistant. Although fellows are responsible for locating their own housing in the Washington, D.C. area, the Center provides written materials to help facilitate the search process, if desired.

Fellows are provided with a monthly stipend and are required to purchase health insurance unless they have a medical plan that covers them while in the United States. The fellowship includes round-trip airfare in economy class to and from Washington, D.C.

Length of Appointment

The Fellowship is for a minimum of three months and a maximum of four months.

Selection Process

Applications will be reviewed by the Wilson Center’s Latin American Program as well as outside experts. Specific application criteria are outlined below. The deadline for receipt of applications is December 31, 2018. Appointment decisions will be made by January 18, 2019, for fellowships beginning in April 2019.

Selection Criteria

Significance of the proposed research, including the importance and originality of the project;

The quality of the proposal in organization, clarity, and scope; and the capabilities and achievements of the applicant and the likelihood that he or she will accomplish the proposed project.

Projects should involve fresh research, in terms of both the overall issue and the applicant’s previous work. It is essential that projects have relevance to public and private decision makers, and fellows should want, and be prepared, to interact with policymakers throughout the Washington policy community and with others at the Wilson Center working on similar issues.

Please review application instructions below.

All applicants should submit their materials online through the online portal, or by emailing your application to lap@wilsoncenter.org. Application materials should be submitted in English in the order listed below within a single PDF file .

A current CV indicating educational and professional background, nationality, date of birth, and contact information (address, email, and telephone number). Only the first three pages of an applicant’s CV will be accepted.

A project proposal not to exceed five double-spaced, typed pages, using a 12-point font.

A short bibliography (optional and not to exceed one page) for the project that includes relevant print or online sources.

An indication of why residency at the Center will be beneficial to the project.

The names and contact information for two references, with an indication of how they know the applicant.

Please make sure your project is clear to individuals outside your own field and explain its practical significance. Applications that are not in English or submitted in a single PDF file will not be accepted.

Download the Fellowship Flyer here.

ABOUT THE FELLOWSHIP





The fellowship program honors the founding director of the Wilson Center's Latin American Program. Since the 1970s, Abraham "Abe" Lowenthal has remained a towering figure in modern Latin American studies, admired in the United States and throughout the region for his landmark work on democratic governance, transitions from authoritarian rule, and U.S. relations with Latin America and the Caribbean.



To support and sustain the Wilson Center's work on critical issues in the region, please consider contributing to the longevity of the fellowship, which will sponsor a diverse exchange of Latin American scholars, experts, and thought leaders throughout the region for short-term, policy oriented research projects in Washington, D.C.



Your contribution is tax-deductible and will support the long-term exchange of knowledge and people.