SEAREG Postdoctoral Fellowship

All application materials must be submitted by Sunday, Nov. 1 at 12 p.m. Eastern Standard Time (U.S.). 

View application.

To be eligible for consideration, all applicants must have:

• Completed their PhD in a three-year window that precedes the start of the Postdoc Fellowship (May 2024-May 2027)
• Received their PhD from an institution based in North America (the United States, Canada or Mexico)
• Engaged with Southeast Asia seriously as a region in the course of their dissertation research, and their ongoing research agenda should align with SEAREG’s priorities as outlined in the organization’s constitution.¹  

Eligible applicants will have completed their PhD in a social sciences discipline—political science, sociology, economics, or a related discipline. The researcher will not necessarily be expected to conduct research on the country of their host institution, but their two-page research proposal should indicate how the host university is nonetheless an excellent fit for their postdoc agenda.

¹SEAREG’s Constitution reads: SEAREG promotes research on Southeast Asia that is theoretically informed, analytically sophisticated, and methodologically precise and diverse. The organization provides intellectual infrastructure and resources to support promising new research by social scientists committed to the synergies of discipline, area, and method. SEAREG’s goal is to develop a community of scholars of Southeast Asia who have strong methodological skills, rigorous social science training, and a firm commitment to understanding the workings of Southeast Asian countries. We especially emphasize the synthesis of deep area knowledge with rigorous and transparent academic research techniques. 

Required application materials include the following:

• One-page cover letter 
• Two-page research proposal that outlines:
  • What the researcher hopes to accomplish during their Postdoctoral Fellowship;
  • How they are going to engage the host institution;
  • Their mentor and the rationale for the pairing; 
  • What their intended outputs will be
• Letter of support from the mentor at host institution (two-page maximum). Mentors must be full-time, permanent faculty; each mentor can only support one application.
• Two writing samples, which may include published articles, working papers, or dissertation chapters that highlight their scholarship on Southeast Asia 
• Two letters of recommendation

SEAREG focuses on social sciences disciplines. While political sciences and economics are core fields, SEAREG has had cultural anthropologists present at our conferences. A key consideration is whether the research engages with Southeast Asia in a meaningful way.

Yes, provided there is a letter from your advisor that all graduation requirements have been completed.

SEAREG is choosing to focus on North American applicants as it establishes the postdoc program for a variety of reasons. We engaged in conversations with multiple groups about the program design, including our sponsors.

Yes.

Applicants must have received a PhD from an institution in North America, which suggests a certain level of English proficiency.

Yes, please reach out to the faculty if you have potential pairings in mind. If they aren’t familiar with SEAREG Postdoctoral Fellowship, you can loop SEAREG's program manager Jack Daly into the conversation.

We would encourage you to discuss potential arrangements with the partner institutions. The SEAREG website outlines initial expectations—it is possible different institutions might have varying expectations of a regular, in-person presence.

The salary will be subject to final negotiations with the partner institution. It can be expected to be competitive. Additionally, there will be a small research account, and travel to SEAREG’s annual workshop in Southeast Asia will be supported.

The postdoc will be an employee.

It cannot be held at the same time as other appointments. We encourage transparency during the application process with your other potential roles.

Please include what you hope to accomplish during the Postdoctoral Fellowship, how you would like to engage with the host institution, who your mentor would be and the rationale for the pairing, and your intended outputs. Projects should be feasible and explain why the partner institution would be an appropriate match.

SEAREG will look to consider new partners in future years, although there are administrative considerations with any potential location that mean SEAREG cannot make any predictions about future sites.