The IIE Scholar Rescue Fund (IIE-SRF) provides fellowships for professors, researchers, and public intellectuals who face threats to their lives and careers in their home countries. These year-long fellowships support temporary academic positions at institutions of higher learning anywhere in the world where IIE-SRF fellows can continue their work in safety. In most cases, IIE-SRF fellows are eligible to apply for a second and final year of fellowship support.
Since 2002 IIE-SRF has received more than 3,000 requests for assistance from scholars in over 100 countries. We have awarded IIE-SRF fellowships to 710 scholars from 56 countries, placing them at 370 host partner institutions in 43 countries around the world.
Eligibility Criteria
Professors, senior researchers, and public intellectuals from any country, academic field, or discipline may qualify. Applications are reviewed for academic qualifications, the quality/potential of the applicant's work, and the severity of the threats that the applicant faces. Preference is given to scholars who:
- are facing or have recently fled from immediate, severe, and targeted threats to their lives and/or careers in their home countries or countries of residence;
- hold a Ph.D. or highest degree in their field and/or who have extensive teaching or research experience at a university, college, or other institution of higher learning;
- demonstrate superior academic accomplishment and promise;
- will benefit their home and/or host academic communities.
We encourage applications from women and members of ethnic, racial, cultural, or religious minority groups, or those otherwise underrepresented in their fields.
Please note that IIE-SRF does not grant fellowships to students seeking to continue their studies, including Ph.D. study, or to complete an academic training program. In addition, IIE-SRF typically does not consider applications from individuals who have been displaced or in exile for more than two years, or who hold citizenship or other permanent status in a second country.
Applicants interested in the Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scholars must meet the IIE-SRF eligibility criteria.
Because of high demand for IIE-SRF assistance, the program is not able to grant fellowship support to all applicants who meet the minimum eligibility requirements.
Instructions and Application
Applicants may apply directly or may have a third party submit application materials on their behalf. The required application materials include:
- Application coversheet
- Current CV or resume. Please include the following information :
- Academic degrees (degree-granting institution, field, and date of degree award);
- Current position (location, dates of employment, professional title, and responsibilities);
- Previous academic positions (in chronological order, including location, dates of employment, professional title, and responsibilities);
- A detailed list of your academic publications (journal articles, books, chapters, exhibitions) including full citations with the name of publication, title of work, date of publication, and page numbers, if possible;
- Other relevant academic work (including supervision of master’s and Ph.D. theses, conference presentations, grants / honors / awards, professional affiliations).
- Academic statement. Please provide a thorough statement detailing your academic and professional background and experience, including a thorough description of your academic research interests. Please be sure to include a description of the activities that you have undertaken in your academic positions as well as an explanation of the activities (research, teaching, publishing, etc.) you would undertake during a fellowship. Please note that academic statements are generally a minimum of one page.
- Personal statement. Please provide a thorough statement explaining why you are applying to IIE-SRF for support. Include a clear and detailed account of the threats or risks that you have been facing, and the reasons that you cannot continue your work in your home country at this time. Please note that personal statements are generally a minimum of one page.
- Two (2) academic / professional letters of reference from academic and/or professional colleagues who can speak to your research, publications, teaching, or other advanced academic experience. When appropriate, letters should describe your unique expertise and/or contributions to specific intellectual issues / questions.
- Two (2) personal letters of reference from colleagues or persons who are aware of the difficulties that you have been facing as well as your professional background.
[IIE-SRF requires a minimum of three (3) reference letters. (Four are generally recommended.) Letters from colleagues both inside and outside of your home country are preferred. Please note that IIE-SRF requires original reference letters. Letters should not use identical text. Each referee should speak to his/her particular knowledge of your academic background and/or circumstances. When possible, please have your referees compose their letters on official letterhead and send them to IIE-SRF directly at srf@iie.org.]
- A copy of your Ph.D. or higher degree
- Samples of your most current writing or research publications.
- A letter from an accredited institution of higher learning that may be able to host your fellowship. This is not a requirement.
To request an initial assessment of his /her eligibility, an applicant may first submit the application coversheet, a current CV, academic statement, and personal statement for review.
Applicants interested in the Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scholars should indicate their interest in their application materials. In the application review process, IIE-SRF will assess each applicant’s eligibility for the Baden-Württemberg Fund for Persecuted Scholars and will engage each eligible candidate on a case-by-case basis to determine (a) the applicant’s interest in the program and (b) the likelihood of a nomination to the Baden-Württemberg Fund Selection Committee.
For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.