General Overview
Each year, the Center for Southeast Asian Studies offers Center Field Research Grants (one to four months), listed with link and more information below. The application deadline for all competitions is 11:59 p.m. Central Time on Friday, February 14, 2026. Further questions may be directed towards Dr. Michael Cullinane at (608) 263-1755 or mmcullin@wisc.edu.
CSEAS offers a limited number of field research grants for pre-dissertation, dissertation, and thesis research on Southeast Asia. These awards are supported from the Center’s endowment funds and are intended to provide limited support for field research and the acquisition of research-related materials. Grants will be awarded up to $5,000, depending on the nature of the research and the duration of the trip (from 1 to 4 months). These awards are not intended to cover the full cost of dissertation research but are aimed at providing funds: 1) to conduct pre-dissertation research aimed at enhancing major research proposals (Fulbright, SSRC, NSEP, etc.) for dissertation projects; and 2) to facilitate or supplement field research for dissertation projects themselves. These awards are also not intended for travel to conferences or for short-term visits (less than 1 month). Applicants can use these awards to conduct research in Southeast Asia or at archives with holdings of relevant Southeast Asian materials. Field research awards cannot be held concurrently with Center or FLAS fellowships or with major external grants. They can be utilized before and after such grants, particularly when they pertain to aspects of the research project that are not covered by other support.
Who is Eligible: Applicants must be graduate students at the University of Wisconsin-Madison with at least one year of graduate work completed. Pre-dissertators must have a letter from their departmental advisor clarifying that the field research is directly related to the intended dissertation (or thesis) topic and that it is aimed at strengthening the dissertation proposal and future applications for major dissertation research grants. Those applying for dissertation research must be dissertators by the time the field research begins.
Application materials and procedures: All applicants should submit a completed online Center Field Research Grant Application Form with the following materials uploaded directly to the online application(s) by February 14th.
- Official transcripts from all college / university study.
- A statement of purpose that provides specific plans for graduate study and research and/or describes ongoing work and progress in thesis and / or dissertation writing.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation sent by the recommenders directly to mmcullin@wisc.edu.