Lee Kong Chian Fellowship on Contemporary Southeast Asia

APPLICATIONS OPEN

About the Lee Kong Chian Fellowship on Southeast Asia

Important Note: The Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Fellowship is no longer offered as a joint-residency programme. Fellows appointed through NUS will be hosted at NUS, while those appointed through Stanford will be hosted at Stanford’s Asia-Pacific Research Centre (APARC). Applicants who wish to pursue the fellowship at Stanford should apply through the Stanford application portal.

The Lee Kong Chian Fellowship is the core of the Lee Kong Chian NUS-Stanford Initiative on Southeast Asia, a joint effort established by the National University of Singapore and Stanford University to raise the visibility, extent, and quality of scholarship on contemporary Southeast Asia since 2007.

Lee Kong Chian fellows spend three to four months at NUS pursuing research and writing projects focused on or related to contemporary Southeast Asia. One or two candidates may be awarded fellowships each year. The fellowship offers a unique opportunity for scholars and professionals to advance their research, contribute to the growing body of scholarship on contemporary Southeast Asia, and immerse themselves in a vibrant intellectual community by presenting their work and participating in seminars, workshops, and other academic activities organised across the university.

Interested individuals with ongoing professional academic positions related to the social sciences or humanities are encouraged to apply.

Appointments will begin and end within the period from 1 August 2027 to 31 May 2028. In determining the overall length of the fellowship, fellows’ preferences are taken into account.

Fellows will be based at NUS. The fellowship provides:

• One round-trip economy-class airfare between the fellow’s country of residence and NUS. Exceptions to this rule are discouraged but may be considered under special circumstances.
• A monthly stipend of S$10,600 for the duration of the fellowship.

*Please note that the above is subject to withholding tax required for foreign visiting professionals to Singapore to be borne by you. For information on your income tax liability, kindly visit the website of the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (http://www.iras.gov.sg).

Eligibility Criteria

1. Applicants should hold a PhD degree.
2. Applicants should hold a continuing faculty or research appointment at another university or research organisation.

Application Process

Applicants should submit the following items:

1. A project statement (not exceeding three pages) that addresses the candidate’s research project’s central analytic question(s), interpretation(s), and argument(s), explains its intellectual contribution to scholarship on Southeast Asia, and describes the writing and research envisaged during the fellowship. The statement should also clearly state the specific outcomes that the project is expected to achieve.
2. A detailed schedule of the proposed fellowship period, including dates of anticipated residence at NUS.
3. A sample of published, English-language work by the candidate that is directly or indirectly related to the research project.
4. The candidate’s full curriculum vitae including a list of publications.
5. Applicants who have identified a potential host at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, NUS, should state this in their application and provide a letter of support and a work plan detailing the proposed collaboration over the fellowship period. Kindly note that this is not a requirement. Applicants who have not identified a host or obtained a letter of support are welcome to apply.

Please send your application to nusstanfordsea@nus.edu.sg by 22 January 2027. Results will be announced by the middle of March 2027.

Contact
For questions about the Lee Kong Chian Fellowship and the application process, please contact:

Victoria Tian
Email: nusstanfordsea@nus.edu.sg
Lee Kong Chian NUS-SU Initiative on Southeast Asia
Research Division, Dean’s Office, FASS
National University of Singapore
The Shaw Foundation Building
5 Arts Link, Block AS7, Level 6
Singapore 117570
Telephone: (65) ​6516 7663
Fax: (65) 6773 6878