Saperstein Symposium on the Science of Peace

Summer funding for Ph.D. students

Call for applications

Up to 10 summer Ph.D. fellowships at the Wayne State Center for Peace and Conflict Studies in Detroit, Michigan, June 23 through Jul. 18, 2025. Review of applications begins March 3, 2025.

A generous new endowment has been established to support Ph.D. students whose research relates to peace and conflict studies. The Saperstein Symposium on the Science of Peace invites Ph.D. student applicants, from across the social and behavioral sciences, for a paid, in-person summer visit to Wayne State University to focus on research, writing and scholarly exchange relevant to peace and conflict. Fellows receive a travel allowance, on-campus housing and dining and a stipend of up to $3,000. Up to 10 fellowships will be awarded each year through at least 2029.

The center aims to provide Ph.D. students the time, space and resources to focus on their research and thus help position them for a career advancing the science of peace. Funded fellows will reside on campus and have access to workspaces, meeting rooms and if desired, expert consulting for writing, theorizing, methodology and data science. In short, the fellowship program aims to support your best work.

About the symposium

Although most of your time will be spent on research, writing and informal interactions with colleagues, there will be afternoon meetings, most days, at the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies. The meetings provide a collegial, mutually supportive context to discuss research and solicit feedback. There will also be faculty-led seminars on war and peace, global threats, intergroup violence, human aggression and community or culturally embedded violence. Notably, the summer of 2025 marks the 80^th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings, so we'll discuss the threat of weapons of mass destruction. An ongoing theme will be how technological advances open new directions for research: Much as nuclear weapons reshaped the 20^th century, the potential weaponization of 21^st-century technologies, including weaponized (dis)information, could alter thinking and behavior for societies and individuals alike.

Weekly outings: Given Detroit’s wonderfully rich and complex history as a backdrop, we'll host weekly visits to museums and historical sites relevant to peace and conflict. The aim is to provide a context for informal discussion and collegial exchange.

About the funders

Dr. Alvin and Harriet Saperstein are Detroit-area philanthropists and advocates for safe communities and international peace. Alvin Saperstein is a retired physics professor and nuclear non-proliferation activist. Harriet Saperstein is a sociologist who worked in urban planning and development for Detroit and nationally. Fellowships are also supported by the Wayne State College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, which aims to provide a vibrant, welcoming and diverse on-campus presence for national and international scholars.

About the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies at Wayne State University

Our mission is to support projects, programs and research in areas of scholarship related to international and domestic peace, war, arms control, globalization, multicultural awareness, social justice, gender-responsive peacebuilding and constructive conflict resolution. The mission of Wayne State University is to create and advance knowledge, prepare a diverse student body to thrive and positively impact local and global communities.

Application

Eligibility

To be eligible for funding, the applicant must be:

1) U.S. citizen or permanent resident.

2) Currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program.

3) Conducting research related to the social and behavioral sciences (broadly defined, e.g., anthropology, economics, history, political science, psychology, sociology).

We naturally welcome applicants who do not require funding (are self-funded) and applicants in the natural sciences who conduct cross-disciplinary or interdisciplinary research relevant to human behavior and societal patterns.

Deadlines and dates

The review of applications begins on March 3, 2025, but we will accept applications until all positions are filled. Invited applicants must commit to attend by Apr. 14, 2025, after which wait-listed applicants will be invited.

Review process

Wayne State is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people from underrepresented groups, and people from justice-impacted communities. Applications will be reviewed by an internal, interdisciplinary committee. The committee must balance the applicants’ strengths with multiple other stakeholder priorities, including but not limited to the thematic aims of the symposium, the ensuring of sufficient scholarly representation from across the social and behavioral sciences, intentions of the endowment, strategic priorities of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies and the institutional policies and priorities of the Wayne State University College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, including its ongoing commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. The committee is not expected to provide feedback on individual applications.

Apply

Fields with asterisks (*) are required.

First name *

Last name *

Email *

Address line 1 *

Address line 2

City *

State/province/region *

Postal/zip code *

Country *

Background

Discipline or area of study *

Year in Ph.D. program *

Institution name *

CV *

Motivation statement

Please describe your research topic, methodologies, reasons for applying and a proposed work plan (500-1000 words is ideal).

Research topic: Describe your research interests and its relevance to the science of peace and conflict. The Center encourages basic research as well as applied research that has the potential to advance theory.

Methodologies: Describe your research methods (quantitative, qualitative, statistical sciences, data science, experiments or surveys with human subjects, archival data, observation, etc.).

Explain why you're applying (e.g., this fellowship is a good fit for you), how your research would benefit and/or why the timing is right. The evaluation committee wants your Ph.D. to be at a stage where you are ready to make full use of the opportunity.

Work plan: What will you do? Describe the specific projects you are likely to work on and how you would use your time. The evaluation committee wants to be confident that your time is well spent. Be mindful that the fellowship is in-person at Wayne State University, during a specific summer period. It is ideally suited for Ph.D. students who are well prepared to bring their ongoing work and make backup plans, if necessary.

Letter statement *

Additional notes regarding letter statement

Attendance

The fellowships are in-person only, on-campus only (no virtual/remote) and assume full-time participation during normal working hours. Fellowships include a residential requirement and the stipend is not to be combined with other work activities during the fellowship period. Please affirm the following. *

I commit to fully attend, in-person from Jun. 23 to Jul. 18.

If there are exceptional circumstances that will limit your potential visit to a specific date range, please explain.

Housing

On-campus housing and meal plans are provided. Please describe any exceptional circumstance that would affect your accommodation planning. Learn more about campus housing general information and campus dining.

Do you expect to be able to live on-campus? *

Yes, I plan to reside on-campus during the fellowship.

No, I will commute to campus daily (Mon-Fri), at my own expense.

If you'll be commuting to campus, please explain.

Stipend eligibility requirement

A stipend of up to $3,000 is provided to help support full-time participation in research, writing and attendance. The full stipend is meant for fellows who receive no other income sources during the summer (e.g., those on nine-month Ph.D. contracts). Fellows with other summer funding, or 12-month contracts, can receive a partial stipend if there is sufficient justification (and if permitted by their home institution). Stipends cannot be combined with other planned work activities during the normal working hours of the fellowship period (teaching, grants, contract work, etc.).

Stipend election *

I will not hold other employment during the period of the fellowship and request a full ($3,000) stipend.

I have another source of support during the fellowship and request a partial stipend.

I do not require a stipend.

If you have another source of support, please explain.

Recommendation

Please provide the contact information of a Ph.D. advisor/referee. Your advisor/referee is welcome to email a support letter later to peace@wayne.edu.

Ph.D. advisor/referee name *

Ph.D. advisor/referee email contact *

Contact

Pamela Letkowski (pamela.letkowski@wayne.edu) is the administrative assistant handling questions about the Saperstein Symposium on the Science of Peace (planning, administration and fellowship applications).

General administrative assistant: Andrea Ritter, andrea.ritter@wayne.edu
Director of the Center for Peace and Conflict Studies: Dr. N. Pontus Leander, leander@wayne.edu