How to Apply
Eligibility
Applicants must be tenure-track UI faculty in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences that are actively engaged in social science research. Applicants who are active CSSI researcher affiliates will be given priority.
Applicants are not allowed to combine the CSSI Faculty Fellowship with any other fellowship or course buyout.
Expectations
Fellows are expected to regularly use their CSSI office space, provide brief monthly updates on progress toward their goal, present results of their work to the CSSI researcher affiliate community and staff, and submit a draft of their work to CSSI leadership upon the conclusion of the residency period. Fellows are also expected to acknowledge the CSSI in any publications or presentations supported by this fellowship, and to notify the CSSI communications team of all publications, presentations, and grants, related to the fellowship.
Deadlines
Applications are due January 12th, 2026.
Application Process
Submit the following information to CSSI through the Apply Now button below.
COVER PAGE
Title of Project
Applicant full name, title, department, college
5-6 descriptive keywords
Abstract (100-200 words). Provide a succinct overview of the proposed project. State the research question(s). The abstract should be written for someone who is not an expert in the area. Assume the reviewers do not have technical knowledge in a specific field of study. Please avoid technical jargon, field-specific terminology, or acronyms.
Residency Length. Indicate whether application is for a one semester or one year residency.
Course Release. Indicate which semester course release will be used (Fall 2026 or Spring 2027).
PROPOSAL NARRATIVE
The proposal narrative should be no more than three pages (size 11 Times New Roman font; double spaced) and include all subheadings below. The proposal narrative should be uploaded as a pdf in the application portal.
Significance. Provide a brief explanation of the human/social/behavioral problem(s) being addressed, explain why it is important, and describe its relevance to CSSI’s mission.
Scientific Foundation. Summarize the conceptual/theoretical/methodological framework and empirical evidence that provides the foundation for the proposed project.
Research Design and Analysis. Summarize the research design and proposed analyses that align with the research question(s).
Future Potential. Describe the anticipated outcomes in operational terms. For example, discuss how the project is expected to lead to a proposal for external funding, book manuscript, or journal article.
Timeline. Provide the anticipated timeline for accomplishing the project’s goals.
Investigator Information. Describe the roles of any collaborators in the proposal. For key personnel, include titles and brief descriptions of their expertise.
Reference List. Not included in the three-page maximum requirement.
ADDITIONAL ATTACHMENTS
Curriculum Vitae or Biographical Sketch
Letter of Support from DEO (Required). Applications must be accompanied by a brief letter of support (no more than three sentences) from the applicant’s DEO confirming support for the application and potential course release.
Application Evaluation
Applications will be evaluated on (1) intellectual rigor and scholarly creativity of the project, (2) potential to make a significant impact in the applicant’s field and the social sciences more generally, (3) adherence to proposal structure, and (4) relevance to the mission of CSSI.
CSSI administration will review the applications and provide a decision within three weeks from the date of submission. During that time, applicants may be invited to briefly discuss their proposal with CSSI leadership.
2025 Faculty Research Fellow
Elizabeth Menninga
Rebel Group Similarity and Cooperation in Multi-Dyadic Civil Wars
Project Abstract
In this project, we seek to examine cooperation across all active government-rebel group dyads in a conflict. We argue that unique information is revealed via cooperation that cannot be revealed on the battlefield and argue that such information shapes subsequent cooperation and conflict within and across conflict dyads. Thus, we explore the direct and indirect effects of cooperation, arguing that rebel groups learn not only from their own past interactions with the government but also from the evolution of cooperation between other groups and the government. Our expectations differ depending on the level of (dis)similarity between the focal rebel group and other groups challenging the state. Thus, our first step is to measure rebel group similarity using a latent space model to project rebel groups into a latent space and extract a measure of similarity based on the closeness of groups in that space. Our second step is to evaluate to what extent groups learn from past cooperation during civil wars, conditioned by their level of similarity with those previously cooperating groups.