The University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass Amherst) and the Kyiv School of Economics (KSE) are pleased to announce a Virtual Scholar in Residence Program. The Program will provide a mechanism for Ukrainian scholars to collaborate with research centers and faculty at UMass Amherst on scholarly topics of mutual interest. Collaborations with those based in the Isenberg School of Management and the School of Social and Behavioral Sciences will be given priority. The accepted scholars will be affiliated with the Kyiv School of Economics for the duration of the program.

While preference will be given to scholars currently in Ukraine, Ukrainian scholars displaced by conflict may also be considered. Applicants, whose research engages with the war, relief efforts, reconstruction, and/or envisioning a post-war Ukraine, are especially encouraged to apply.  The candidate should have a terminal degree and not be currently a student.

The chosen scholars will be expected to contribute to the academic life of UMass Amherst centers and departments by giving talks and engaging with faculty and graduate students in ways determined by the successful candidate and their UMass AMherst host as confirmed by the UMass Amherst Faculty Steering Committee. Scholars are expected to participate in academic life of KSE and UMass during the period of their appointment (presenting at seminars, engaging with students, or teaching, etc – depending on the outcomes of the interview).

UMass Amherst will provide library affiliation and access to research databases and facilities as appropriate and allowable by federal and state laws and regulations and licensing considerations.

Each project’s duration will be 5 months.  Each Ukrainian scholar will receive $5000 through the KSE Foundation and will be paid in several instalments during the program.

Applicants should submit the following two items, as a single pdf in English, by email to [email protected]and fill in this form:

• Short Curriculum Vita (1 page maximum)

• Statement (1 page maximum) that describes the candidate’s scholarly project, potential affiliation at UMA (list below), and need.

After a first-round evaluation by KSE, the applications will be forwarded to UMass Amherst. Placement and matches for scholars nominated by KSE will be determined by the Faculty Steering Committee at UMass Amherst. UMass Amherst reserves the sole discretion to accept a nomination of a scholar for the Program.

It is anticipated that 5 scholars will be selected in the second  round.

Timeline:

• September 26, 2022 — Applications open

• October 10, 2022 — Applications close

• October 24, 2022 — Scholars are notified of their acceptance into the program

• November 1, 2022 — Projects commence

• April 15, 2023 — Projects end – short report due

(This timeline considers a 4 week break in December/January.)

Collaborations may continue between the successful candidate and UMass Amherst host after this period by mutual agreement, although any additional resources will have to be negotiated separately.

The following centers/departments have expressed special interest in hosting Virtual Scholars in the first round. The list below is not exhaustive and affiliations with other centers/departments may be possible.  We expect other Centers and departments to be added to a second round of applications in the early Fall of 2022.

College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

• Anthropology Department

• Center for Justice, Law, and Societies

• Communication Department

• Computational Social Science Institute

• Data Analytics and Computational Social Science

• Economics Department

• Energy Transition Institute

• Political Science Department

• Resource Economics Department

• Russian, Eurasian and Polish Studies Program

• School of Public Policy

• Sociology Department