Guidelines for Egyptian Research Associate Scholar Fellowships at the American Research Center in Egypt (ARCE)

Fields of Study: Anthropology, Archaeology, Architecture, Art, Art History, Comparative Literature, Coptic Studies, Economics, Egyptology, Ethnomusicology, Gender Studies, History, Humanistic Social Sciences, Islamic Studies, Literature, Music, Political Science, and Religious Studies.

Research Associates: Independent scholars with funding from private sources may apply to ARCE for research associate status using the Research Fellowship application. Research associates receive the same administrative support in terms of clearances, permissions and mentoring as ARCE-funded fellows, but do not receive ARCE funding. Research associates will be charged a modest fee for services if their universities are not ARCE research supporting members. Applicants who are awarded alternate status will automatically be invited to conduct their research as ARCE Research Associates.

  • Applicant need not be American citizens but must be a student or faculty member at a U.S. university in the U.S.
  • Applicants may be ABD doctoral candidates, postdoctoral, faculty or independent scholars
  • An independent scholar is defined as someone holding a PhD or another terminal degree who may not affiliated with an academic or other institution on a temporary or permanent basis
  • The Application:  A completed Research Fellowship application consists of the following components:
  • An online application form
  • Two letters of recommendation are required for all applicants. All applicants will be best served by referrers who are fully aware of your knowledge, experience, and capacity to successfully engage in research in Egypt.
  • If you are a dissertation scholar, your proposed project should be addressed by both referrers, one of whom is preferably your advisor, as the scholar who presumably knows your project the best; additionally, at least one referrer should specifically address your language skills.
  • Graduate transcripts for pre-doctoral applicants. Please remove all password protections from transcripts prior to submission.

A 1500-word research proposal that:

  • Describes your intended research
  • Describes your research methodology(ies)
  • Demonstrates the need to consult sources in Egypt
  • Explains the scholarly significance of your research and your qualifications to undertake the research
  • Assesses the feasibility of completing your research within the proposed timeframe
  • Describes the final publication format (dissertation, book, chapter, etc.) of your research

Ministry Security Forms:

  • Antiquities applicants:
    • Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities (MoTA) security form
    • Passport style photograph with white background
    • One-page CV
  • Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) All other applicants:
    • Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) security form (Arabic)
    • Ministry of Higher Education (MoHE) application form (English)
    • 100–200-word Arabic abstract describing the proposed research (uploaded as a PDF document). Keep the language simple and do not use academic jargon.

MoTA-affiliated applicants:  Fellowships are not intended to support participation on an expedition as an expedition member. It is possible for you to associate with an expedition to access research materials in an expedition storeroom or to conduct independent research at an expedition site. If this describes your research, please contact Academic Programs Manager Djodi Deutsch, prior to submitting your application fellows@arce.org to determine its acceptability under the ARCE guidelines.

Important Note: All scholars conducting research with ARCE’s administrative or financial support require security clearance from the Egyptian government. If your research relies on interviews, public observation, questionnaires, participant observation, visual anthropology, or attending public events or if your research focuses on the military, religious movements, civilian-military relations, or politics in the current century it is unlikely you will gain clearance. Applicants should consult the Academic Programs Manager Djodi Deutsch, fellows@arce.org, prior to completing your application if any of those scenarios applies to you.

Application Deadline: January 15th, 2023 11:59 PM PST.

Apply here