CJS Summer Research/Internship Fellowships

Student Eligibility

• Applicants must be currently enrolled in a University of Michigan graduate degree program in any school/college at the master’s or doctoral level as of the application deadline.
• Students must be in good academic standing.
• Fellowship recipients must return to U-M to continue in a graduate degree program in the fall term following the completion of the funded summer experience. Students who are graduating at the end of the winter term or at the end of the summer are not eligible to apply.

Project Eligibility

• The proposed project must be substantively related to Japanese Studies, broadly speaking. Comparative study of Japan with other countries is acceptable. Inclusion of Japan as a case in quantitative analysis of country-level data is not sufficient to meet this condition. [Important Note: That the research or program site is located in Japan, that the project has collaborators at Japanese institutions, or that the data comes from Japanese sources, are NOT, by themselves, sufficient to meet this condition.]
• The following types of projects are eligible:
  • Independent research, including master’s thesis and Ph.D. dissertation research. 
  • Summer internships related to Japanese Studies that utilize Japanese language and Japanese Studies skills.
  • Summer study abroad programs related to Japanese Studies.
• Internship must be at least 30 days in length and require at least 75% time commitment (of a typical work week).
• Summer study abroad programs should be for academic credit (credits need not transfer to U-M). Faculty-led short term group study programs are eligible.
• Enrollment in summer programs that focus on learning the Japanese language are not eligible. Students interested in summer intensive language study should apply to the CJS Summer Language Fellowship.

Summer fellowship awards are capped at $5,000. Fellowship awards are disbursed at the beginning of the Spring-Summer term in a single payment to the student account.

March 1 annually for activities beginning May 1 of the same year.

All application materials should be submitted through the online application on the International Institute Fellowships and Grants online portal.

Application Components

• Online application form
• Statement of Purpose of no more than 1000 words describing your proposed project. Be as specific as possible regarding your planned activities and timetable. Discuss how your project is relevant to Japanese Studies.
• Budget Statement: See sample budget statement on the online application portal for an example. Budget for research projects may include international travel (airfare, lodging, meals), and direct research expenses (e.g., books, photocopying, library/museum fees, subject fees). Budget for internships may include international travel, housing, meals, and local commuting costs. Budget for study abroad programs may include tuition/program fee, housing/meals, and international travel.
• One academic letter of recommendation: Request the letter from the online portal.
• Curriculum Vitae (CV) or Résumé
• Current U-M Transcript

Apply using the CJS Summer Research-Internship Fellowship online application on the International Institute Fellowships and Grants online portal.

Award announcement will be made at the end of March. CJS does not respond to inquiries about competition outcomes by telephone or email.

Students who are awarded summer fellowships are required to complete a short fellowship report summarizing their activities and expenses. Reports are due on September 30. Fellowship recipients will be sent an email with instructions when the online portal is ready to accept reports.

• Narrative Report (Free format; PDF or Word): Please write a narrative report of about 500 words of your activities during the fellowship period.  In the narrative, explain any changes that you made to activities proposed in your fellowship application statement of purpose.
• Expense Report (Download Excel Template): Please provide a summary of your project-related expenses.  You do not need to itemize expenses beyond the categories listed in the template.  Receipts do not need to be attached to this report but we strongly recommend that you keep them for your records.  We may ask to see them if there are any questions, or if there is an audit.