The Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the Study of the Tainan Region, 2015

The Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the Study of the Tainan Region, 2015

GUIDELINES

Purpose of the scholarship

The purpose of the scholarship is to nourish interest in the Tainan region, to enhance knowledge about its past and present, and to prepare the new generations to future developments. The scholarship aims also to encourage M.A. and Ph.D. candidates to pursue their humanities or social science studies on the Tainan area.

Organisers

• The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region is funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.
• Other institutions are collaborating to take care of the process: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research.

Applicants’ qualifications

Applicants applying to the Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship must meet the following requirements:

1. Must be either M.A. students or Ph.D. candidates in a university or a college in Taiwan or outside Taiwan
2. Must write a M.A. dissertation or Ph.D. thesis on a subject relating to the Tainan area, in the humanities or social sciences
3. Must complete the dissertation/thesis in two years (2017) after application

Number of recipients and amount of scholarship

1. Two Ph.D. scholarships; each will be granted at NTD 100,000
2. Five M.A. scholarships; each will be granted at NTD 50,000
3. The scholarship will be divided into two portions and respectively be granted in two times: 2/5 in September 2015; 3/5 after the completion of the dissertation/thesis and the submission of the dissertation/thesis to the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government
4. In order to encourage fieldwork research, the recipients are eligible to apply to stay at the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research for short periods. In that case, they are required to submit to the Committee of the Research Center a localized fieldwork proposal.

Application deadline and period of selection

1. Applications will be received between February 1st and April 30th, 2015. The envelope containing the application must be postmarked by the 30th of April, at the latest.
2. The selection process will last until late August 2015(see appendix 1).

Application

Applicants must include in their application the following items:

1. Application form (see appendix 2), (three copies plus one electronic version on CD)
2. Research proposal (three copies plus one electronic version on CD), including:
   i) title of the proposed research and its problematic, including: importance of the research in its field, motivation and purpose of the research, related literature review, methodology
   ii) estimate of the possible achievements and limits of the research
   iii) research progress schedule
   iv) bibliography
3. Attestation of registration for the year (e.g. student card with the stamp of registration, or copy of school reports)
4. Two recommendation letters (one letter must be from the applicant’s supervisor)

Selection process

1. The applications received by the Foundation will first be examined by a Pre-selection Committee to assess the prerequisites of the applicants and their topics. The research proposals are then externally evaluated. Finally, on the basis of the reviewers’ reports, a Selection Committee will determine the list of the scholarship recipients (see appendix 1)
2. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government will notify every scholarship recipient via letter
3. Within three months after scholarship recipients complete their dissertation/thesis and pass their defense, they are required to submit four copies of their dissertation/thesis plus two electronic version on CD to the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.

Important information

1. The list of recipients will be announced September 1, 2015 and be posted on the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government and the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research (ICTAHR) website.
2. If scholarship recipients are unable to complete their dissertation/thesis, they must inform the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government. The Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government has the right to withdraw the scholarship and to claim back the money already granted.
3. The scholarship recipients must follow ethical and academic rules of conduct vis-à-vis the research or the writing of their dissertation/thesis; otherwise, the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government has the right to withdraw the scholarship and to claim back the money already granted.
4. The recipients are required to acknowledge the support of the “The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region” in their dissertation/thesis and any subsequent publications or presentations based on their dissertation/thesis.
5. The recipients are encouraged to submit an excerpt adapted from their dissertation to the journal Tainan Texts and Documents, published by the the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government.
6. Scholarship recipients are encouraged, after they completed their fieldwork, to select and provide the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research with a copy of the first hand field data they think could help other students or scholars in their research and constitute valuable archives for the study of the Tainan area.
7. The Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the study of the Tainan Region is funded by the Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government. Other institutions are collaborating to take care of the process:
   the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research.
8. The application has to be sent by post to: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research. On the envelop please add the mention : “Tainan Research Postgraduate Scholarship for the Study of the Tainan Region – Application” to the following address: the International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research, No. 245, Liu-an Village, Jiali District, Tainan City, 72242, Taiwan. Tel: 886 (0)6 7212338, E-mail: ic.tahr@gmail.com. Contact: Mr Wen Sheng-Chih
9. The announcement of the Tainan research Postgraduate Scholarship can be found on the following websites: Cultural Affairs Bureau of Tainan City Government and International Center for Tainan Area Humanities and Social Sciences Research 

For complete details and application form, click here.