CID Emerging Inequality Scholar Award

Background

The Stone Center for Inequality Dynamics (CID) was founded at the Institute for Social Research (ISR) as a partnership between ISR, the Institute’s Survey Research Center, and the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts in 2019. CID is an open and multidisciplinary research incubator, bringing together students and faculty from a variety of fields across the social sciences. As a center for foundational research, it sustains a broad approach to the study of socio-economic inequality as a population-wide and relational phenomenon; that is, the study of groups along the entire distribution of socio-economic standing – from the very wealthy to those in debt, from those moving in and out of poverty to those transferring fortunes – and the causal connections between these groups. 

From its founding, CID has focused on supporting the next generation of scholars. We strive to advance foundational research on inequality by building a cohesive and vibrant intellectual community across campus and a democratic and egalitarian organization that involves scholars from all careers stages and multiple social science disciplines. Graduate students are one of the main engines of this community. The CID Emerging Inequality Scholar Award offers an intellectual community with a culture of ample interaction and continuous feedback for students interested in becoming leaders in research on socio-economic inequality.

Benefits

In addition to an active intellectual community filled with professional development opportunities, benefits include:

• Tuition and research funding as specified below (summer funding available)
• Work on own project of choice
• Access to flexible working space, including open and shared work spaces with external monitors, zones for writing, for collaboration, for meetings, and for social gathering

Eligibility

The competition is open to graduate students at the University of Michigan who have achieved candidacy by the Award term start date and are doing research on the topic of socio-economic inequality. We give particular consideration to students proposing research on an aspect of wealth inequality. Given the mission of the center, we especially encourage individuals from any groups racialized as non-white or who meet Rackham Merit Fellowship criteria to apply.

Terms

The CID Emerging Inequality Scholar Award will provide funding that is equivalent to funding provided by a 50% GSRA position for one semester plus a $3,000 research award. Additionally, the Award will provide funding for one semester of tuition and GradCare health and dental insurance coverage during the term of the Award.

The research funds may be spent on research-related travel, the acquisition and analysis of data, the hiring of an hourly research assistant, or other research-related expenses with prior approval.

The Award is intended for use within one year. Recipients may not hold the Award in conjunction with another award/fellowship. See the ISR Fellowships & Awards Homepage for specific award amounts and application deadlines, updated at the beginning of each calendar year.

The Award recipient is expected to:

• Become an active member of our intellectual community
• Present their project goals at a CID lab meeting towards the beginning of the Award
• Submit a written report of their project’s outcomes (in manuscript form) as a final report within one year of the start of the Award
• Acknowledge ISR and this Award’s support in publications and presentations resulting from the proposed project

Application Procedures

The application for the CID Emerging Inequality Scholar Award can be accessed here: https://umichisr.infoready4.com/#competitionDetail/1890500

Applications are due Friday, February 10, 2023 at 5:00 pm.

The application includes:

1. Proposal – A brief description of the project, including how the project meets the goals of the Award, research questions and design, and a brief description of the proposed use of the Award’s resources [maximum 2 single-spaced pages not counting the reference list or any tables/figures].
2. Personal Statement – A brief description of the applicant’s prior educational, research, and/or life experiences as they relate to the project, their interest in contributing to interdisciplinary inequality research, and their contributions to diversity, equity, and inclusion [maximum 1 single-spaced page].
3. CV
4. Names and contact information for two professional references (advisor or other faculty members with knowledge of the applicant’s project, their qualifications, and their likelihood of completing the proposed research)

As part of the application, there is also a form with several questions about the project to be supported, including project, methodology, timeline, deliverables, etc. Answers to these are expected to be brief (around 2-3 sentences) and can be drawn from the proposal itself.

To support this fund and make future awards possible, please visit our Next Generation Giving Page.