Research Fellowships - American Institute of Indian Studies
Research Fellowships - American Institute of Indian Studies support doctoral students, senior and early career scholars with fieldwork and research travel to deepen knowledge of India, its people and culture.
Browse similar grants
Funder: American Institute of Indian Studies
Due Dates: October 9, 2026 (Application webinar) | November 7, 2026 (Mentoring requests) | November 19, 2026 (All fellowship applications)
Funding Amounts: Junior: $7,000; NEH Senior: $5,000 per month in India plus a roundtrip ticket
Summary: AIIS supports scholarly research and fieldwork in India through junior, NEH senior, and early career travel fellowships.
Key Information: Junior and senior fellows cannot concurrently hold another research fellowship or scholarship exceeding $10,000.
Description
The American Institute of Indian Studies (AIIS) supports research in India that advances knowledge of India, its people, and culture. Its research fellowship competition includes the Junior Research Fellowship, AIIS NEH Senior Research Fellowship, and Early Career Scholar Travel Fellowship. Projects must justify why research needs to take place in India and explain their relationship to existing scholarship.
The program emphasizes clearly defined research questions, a strong rationale, and a well-developed research design and methodology. Junior fellowships support dissertation fieldwork across a wide range of disciplines, including humanities, social sciences, Development Studies, Natural Resources Management, Public Health, and Regional Planning. NEH senior fellowships support well-developed, new projects in the humanities or humanistic social sciences. Early career travel applications also address anticipated research output. AIIS assists fellows with research documentation and offers proposal mentoring for eligible junior applicants.
