Visiting Scholars
As part of its global mission to improve the quality of public policymaking through research, teaching, and policy engagement, the Sanford School of Public Policy and DCID host both short- and long-term visiting scholars on a highly selective basis. Preference is given to requests from universities and other research and public policy-oriented organizations with which the School has collaborative institutional relationships.
Most visiting scholars have a PhD and come to DCID to perform independent research related to their field under the guidance of a faculty advisor. Applicants should indicate their research interests and identify faculty in DCID with whom they would like to work during their time at Duke. Applicants should also include a recent curriculum vitae and their research proposal, and confirm that their funding will be sufficient to cover monthly subsistence costs, health insurance, and the School’s administrative fee (based on the length of the scholar’s visit).
Visiting scholars may visit DCID for up to one year, during which time they can audit classes offered by MIDP and have full access to the Duke University Libraries and computing resources in the Sanford and Rubenstein Hall Buildings. The administrative fee for visiting scholars is $6,000 per semester; the minimum monthly living expenses required by Duke University for visa issuance purposes for an individual is $2,361.45 per month.
Considerations
- The candidate must have a research proposal of interest to one of the DCID faculty, and this faculty must be available to advise the scholar
- The candidate must have a strong command of the English language
- The candidate must be highly recommended by professional colleagues
- The candidate must have appropriate institutional sponsorship/financial support from his/her sponsoring organization
- Preferably, an institutional relationship exists between the candidate’s employer/university and the Sanford School of Public Policy/DCID
How to Apply
Interested candidates should contact Dr. Francis Lethem, Professor of the Practice Emeritus, at francis.lethem@duke.edu
Domestic visiting scholar applicants and applicants to the Magdalena Yesil Visiting Professorship (Armenia) program, please contact Shana Lassiter (shana.lassiter@duke.edu), Assistant Dean for Academic Programs at the Sanford School.
In your inquiry, please include:
- Letter/email indicating the reasons for your interest in DCID and general agreement with the principles outlined above
- Research proposal
- CV or resume, including your picture
- Letter of support regarding your scholarship/policy work from two professional supervisors or colleagues
- A copy of your top two publications
- Proposed dates of visit
- Funding source meeting above requirements
- Optional: Your TOEFL or IELTS score if coming from a non-English speaking country
Current Visiting Scholars
Bui Hai Thiem is the 2021-2022 Fulbright Visiting Scholar at the Duke Center for International Development. He is director of the Research Project Management Unit and member of the Research Council at the Institute for Legislative Studies, National Assembly Standing Committee of Vietnam. He is also a member and secretary of the Research Council on Philosophy, Political Science, and Sociology at the National Foundation for Science and Technology Development (NAFOSTED) under the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology.
He holds a PhD in political science at the University of Queensland (UQ), Australia, an MA in International Studies from SOAS, University of London, and a BA in International Relations from Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam. His research focuses on civil society, constitutional politics, human rights, and electoral governance in Vietnam and has been published on a number of prestigious scholarly peer-reviewed journals. He was a visiting researcher at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights, University of Oslo in 2012, an Australian Leadership Award Scholar 2011-2015, British Chevening Scholar 2004-2005, an Asia Foundation Development Fellow in 2014, YSEALI Professional Fellow at the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington DC in 2015. He has received many research grants and has been a speaker and panelist at various international and domestic conferences and workshops. He has been an interviewer for the British FCO Chevening Scholarship and the Australian Government Awards Scholarship in Vietnam since 2016. He has been teaching various courses on development studies, public policy, constitution, human rights at Hanoi University, Hanoi Law University, Vietnam-Japan University (VNU), Diplomatic Academy of Vietnam, Academy of Journalism in Hanoi.
