We are pleased to announce the fourth year of the ESOC Mentorship Program. The purpose of this program is to support an international community of early-career investigators engaged in top-notch empirical and theoretical research on conflict. This one-year program term will foster scholarship through relationship building, professional development, and access to research resources.

Background

Since its inception in 2009, more than 50 graduate students and post-docs have been supported by the Empirical Studies of Conflict Project (ESOC), and 25 ESOC alumni now hold tenure-track positions at leading research universities in six countries. Given the unique position ESOC has in bridging resources across institutions, we’ve developed this program to support the growing number of young investigators in our community.

Program Requirements and Eligibility

Once selected, each ESOC mentee will be paired with a faculty mentor from the ESOC community based on academic and career interests. Each mentee will have the opportunity to interact with their mentor as follows during the course of 12 months:

• Engage in at least three one on one virtual meetings with their mentor to discuss research projects
• Attend a virtual introductory networking session with all mentors and mentees present  
• Participate in weekly Princeton ESOC lab meetings as desired
• Receive a CV-review and in-depth comments on at least one working paper, as well as feedback and advice on networking, conferences, tenure letter writers, and other career guidance
• Visit their mentor for a 1 to 2 week campus visit to attend seminars and build relationships – lodging costs will be covered by ESOC and/or hosts, should COVID-19 travel restrictions allow.
• Present virtually at least once during the Princeton ESOC lab meetings. (More presentations there and elsewhere are encouraged.)

Candidates should generally be either at the postdoctoral fellow or junior faculty level, planning to pursue a career in research. While we fully expect this program to bring in familiar faces already engaged in ESOC projects, we also welcome scholars who bring fresh perspectives based on their backgrounds, countries and/or regions of focus, techniques, topics, and research questions.

Application Process

ESOC leadership will review applications and select 4-5 mentees per calendar year. Interested applicants should submit their CV and a brief 1-2 paragraph statement on how engaging with ESOC network might be beneficial to their career. Please submit applications to Kristen DeCaires Gall, ESOC Assistant Director, at [email protected] with subject line “ESOC Mentorship Program Application” by Friday, November 11th, at 5 PM EST. Feedback to applicants will be provided by end of November.