Taiwan Foundation for Democracy (TFD) Visiting Fellowships

As the first national democracy assistance foundation in Asia, the TFD promotes research on global democracy and human rights to deepen understanding of democratic development theories and practices. To that end, the TFD has established a Visiting Fellowship Program to support international scholars and practitioners interested in carrying out field research in Taiwan or conducting studies that compare or contrast Taiwan’s democratic experiences with those of other countries. The TFD offers three categories of fellowships that may be of interest to graduate students: Postdoctoral Fellowships, Dissertation Fellowships, and Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellowships.

Postdoctoral Fellowship: The Postdoctoral Fellowship is designed for international scholars who have recently received their PhDs and wish to conduct research to begin their academic careers. The TFD hopes that through an active exchange of ideas and expertise with Taiwanese academics, practitioners, NGOs, and think tanks, Postdoctoral Fellows may share their experience to further encourage the study of democracy and human rights in Taiwan and internationally.

Dissertation Fellowship: As the TFD recognizes the importance of supporting the next generation of democracy and human rights scholars and practitioners, the Dissertation Fellowship is designed to provide a unique opportunity to share Taiwan’s democracy and human rights development with international doctoral candidates who are pursuing relevant research.

Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellowship: Unlike the Dissertation Fellowship and the Postdoctoral Fellowship, which are designed for academic research, the Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellowship encourages international students and practitioners to undertake practical projects that improve the quality of democracy or human rights protection in Taiwan. The TFD hopes that Democracy and Human Rights Fellows can both make substantial contributions to democracy and human rights in Taiwan and take valuable knowledge back to their own countries.

Award

• The Fellowship will include a monthly stipend to assist with living expenses in Taiwan and the cost of a round-trip plane ticket to Taipei for fellows who are outside Taiwan.
• The duration of the research funded by TFD generally falls within a range between 3-6 months.
• The monthly stipend for the Dissertation Fellowship falls within a range of NT$40,000 – NT$45,000 per month, while it falls within a range of NT$45,000 – NT$ 55,000 for the other categories, according to the evaluation of our reviewers.

Eligibility

Postdoctoral Fellowship

• You have a PhD in a field that is relevant to your proposed research.
• You received your PhD no more than seven years ago.
• You intend to undertake research related to Taiwan’s democracy or human rights.
• You are not a citizen of Taiwan.

Dissertation Fellowship

• You are enrolled in a full-time PhD program or equivalent in a field related to your proposed research topic.
• You have completed all your PhD requirements (except for your dissertation) before your application.
• You intend to undertake research related to Taiwan’s democracy or human rights.
• You are not a citizen of Taiwan.

Democracy and Human Rights Service Fellowship

• You are a practitioner devoted to the promotion or building of democracy or human rights (and have an MA in a relevant field or at least two years of relevant work experience) at the time of application.
• You intend to undertake a project designed to promote democracy or human rights in Taiwan.
• You are not a citizen of Taiwan.