The Aina Birnitis Dissertation-Completion Fellowship in the Humanities for Latvia
The Aina Birnitis Scholarship supports a year of research and writing to help advanced graduate students in the humanities in the last year of Ph.D. dissertation writing. The fellowship provides a $21,000 stipend for one year plus $1,000 for university fees.
The program encourages timely completion of the Ph.D. Applicants should be prepared to complete their dissertation within the period of their fellowship tenure and no later than fifteen months following the initial disbursement of funds unless an extension has been granted by the AABS.
The fellowship is supported by a bequest of Aina Birnitis, a librarian by profession living in Carlton, a suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
The application deadline for academic year 2025-2026 was February 1, 2025. Applications will be evaluated by the AABS 2024–2026 Grants Committee consisting of AABS VP for Professional Development Dr. Kaarel Piirimäe, AABS President Dr. Jörg Hackmann, and AABS Director-at-Large Dr. Dovilė Budrytė. Award notifications will be made in April 2025.
AWARD: $21,000 stipend for one year plus $1,000 for university fees
Application deadline
The application deadline for academic year 2025-2026 was February 1, 2025.
Award notifications will be made in April 2025.
Eligibility:
- The fellowship is open to Ph.D. candidates in the humanities preferably at a university in Latvia, the U.S., Canada, Australia, Great Britain, Germany or Sweden;
- Applicants must be citizens and permanent residents of Latvia;
- Applicants must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation by the application deadline;
- Unsuccessful applicants may reapply to this program only once;
- Applicants must be current AABS members at the time of application.
Selection Criteria:
- The intrinsic interest and substantive merit of the proposed project to the field of study in which it is proposed;
- The clarity of the intellectual agenda and an understanding of the appropriate methodology;
- The promise of the applicant as revealed in the supporting documentation;
- The likelihood of the applicant finishing the dissertation;
- The likelihood of the applicant maintaining residence in Latvia.
Eligible projects
Proposed projects must be in the humanities and related to Latvia or the Latvians. While preference is given to the study of the Latvian language and history, projects in other areas of the humanities: anthropology, archaeology, ethnography, fine and performing arts, folklore, gender studies, history, linguistics, literature, philosophy, and religion, will be considered. Projects in social sciences such as economics, sociology, or political science, as well as in law or international relations are eligible only if they are clearly humanistic (cultural or historical) in content and focus. The dissertation may be written in either Latvian or English.
Guidelines for Application:
1. Check that your AABS membership is active and omplete the online grant application form.
2. The application must include a proposal packet (single PDF file), which must consist of the following:
a) Proposal (no more than three pages) in English summarizing the proposed thesis of the research;
b) Bibliography (no more than one page);
c) One-page timeline for the expected completion of dissertation writing and defense;
d) One-page Curriculum Vitae;
e) Officially certified copies of university transcripts;
f) Completed chapter of the dissertation (neither introduction, nor conclusion);
g) A reference letter from the dissertation adviser that includes a statement on the viability of the proposed timeline for completion;
h) A second reference letter from another faculty member.
3. Once the application has been awarded, applicant must submit the following additional documentation:
a) Scanned copies of relevant pages of the passport of the Republic of Latvia indicating citizenship and permanent residence – or equivalent documentation.
Thinking of applying? Read reports from past winners here!
Terms of the agreement:
The fellowship will consist of four payments of $4,000 each made every three months, predicated on the recipient showing satisfactory progress in the writing of the dissertation. The fifth payment of $5,000 will be made upon the successful defense of the dissertation as certified by the university. In addition, the award will cover up to $1,000 of university fees related to translation or publication services.
It was the intention of Aina Birnitis that recipients of the fellowships were to maintain their residence in Latvia following the completion of their study. It is expected that the recipient will either reside in Latvia upon completion of the dissertation or return to Latvia within two years following the finishing of the dissertation.
Questions? Please contact us at [email protected].
Other Grants and Fellowships News
Finding Morta: Baumanis Grant Report from James Montgomery Baxenfield
AABS is pleased to congratulate James Montgomery Baxenfield for completing the fieldwork for his project "Finding Morta," for which he received the Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies. Combining scholarly research and creative production, Montgomery...
Preserving Baltic Roma Heritage: Baumanis Grant Report from Agnieška Avin
AABS is pleased to congratulate Agnieška Avin for the successful completion of her Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies. Avin used her Baumanis Grant to visit the national archives of the Baltic states and their collections on Roma people. Avin's...
First Female Presidents: Baumanis Grant Report from Ausra Park
AABS is pleased to congratulate Ausra Park for the successful application of her Baumanis Grant for Creative Projects in Baltic Studies to her ongoing project examining female heads of state in Central and Eastern Europe. In a transnational project, Park examines...