Visiting Scholars
As an essential part of the center’s mission to provide opportunities for students, faculty and the public to learn about Europe, European integration, and the European Union, the Center for European Studies welcomes scholars from around the world to participate in its Visiting Scholar Program. The Visiting Scholar Program targets a diversity of visiting scholars whose research dovetails with that of leading faculty members at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill:
- CES Visiting Scholars in Residence
- Visiting PhD Scholars
- German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Professors
The Visiting Scholars Program at the Center for European Studies mutually enriches its participants by expanding research networks, allowing for collaborative projects, and broadening the international visibility and impact of their work.
Current
CES Visiting Scholars
The Center for European Studies Visiting Scholars in Residence program affords scholars at various stages in their academic career the opportunity to spend extended periods of time at UNC-Chapel Hill. This opportunity allows for research and professional development for visiting scholars, strengthening ties between CES and departments with similar goals in the US and abroad. Visitors will benefit from UNC-Chapel Hill’s world class library system, working with the center’s TransAtlantic Masters students and affiliated doctoral students, and partnering with leading faculty in various EU fields. CES Visiting Scholars in Resident are fully integrated in the activities of the center’s activities, participating in working groups, giving guest lectures and public talks, and teaching courses, when appropriate.
German Academic Exchange (DAAD) Professors
DAAD professors are German academics who teach at North American universities for up to five years in a wide variety of fields such as political science, history, anthropology and philosophy. The Center for European Studies at UNC-Chapel Hill is pleased to host DAAD professors on a regular basis. More about DAAD Visiting Professorships.
Visiting Scholar/Affiliate Faculty
Past Visiting Scholars
Thuy Dung is a BIGSSS-departs Ph.D. Fellow at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. She conducts research on Global Regulatory Governance, focusing on the intermediary actors operating in transnational and state regulation process of labor standards.
Eloisa Harris is a BIGSSS-departs Ph.D. Fellow at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. Eloisa’s work focuses on immigration, the welfare state and the dynamics of political conflict in European democracies at the intersection of these two issue areas. Find Eloisa on Twitter: @eloisah01.
Jessie Barton Hronešová is a Marie Sklodowska-Curie Global Fellow at University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill and at Ca’ Foscari University in Venice, funded by the European Union. She was an Economic & Social Research Council postdoctoral research fellow at the Oxford Department of International Development from 2019 to 2021, and she is also a Chatham House Associate Fellow at the Europe Programme. Jessie holds a DPhil in Politics (2018) and MPhil in Russian and East European Studies (2011), both from from the University of Oxford (St Antony’s College), an MRes in Government from the London School of Economics, and an undergraduate degree in International Area Studies from the Charles University in Prague
Jessie’s research interests are in political transitions, democratic backsliding, post-war reconstruction, transitional justice and the rule of law in post-war and transitional contexts with regional expertise in the former Yugoslavia and Central Europe. Her publications include The Struggle for Redress: Victim Capital in Bosnia and Herzegovina (2020), Post-War Ethno-National Identities of Young People in Bosnia and Herzegovina, (2012), and several academic journals (most recent for the Journal of Peacebuilding & Development). She is currently working on a research project called VICTIMEUR which investigates how frames of victimhood have featured in the politics of post-socialist Europe in the past two decades, and whether and how such frames have influenced the current illiberal trends across the region.
Hannah’s research interests are sample survey methodology, comparability and harmonization in labor market statistics, and occupational epidemiology. Her research during her stay at JMCE will focus on the policy relevance and quality of experimental labor market transition estimates from the EU Labour Force Survey.
Hawa Noor Mohammed is a BIGSSS-departs Ph.D. Fellow at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. Her research interests include Political Violence, Political Religion, Globalization, Social Inequality, International Security, Conflict Resolution, and Transitional Justice among others.
Thomas Myksvoll is a PhD student at the University of Bergen and a research fellow at Norce Research. His research focuses on the Norwegian Local and Regional Government Reforms, with a particular focus on political-administrative relations, territorial consolidation and multilevel governance.
Dominic Nyhuis is DAAD Professor at the Center for European Studies. He received his PhD from the University of Mannheim, Germany, for a project on the link between district preferences and candidate communication in German elections. In his research on European and German politics, he focuses on party politics, legislatures, and subnational politics. With a background in quantitative methods, he is particularly interested in how the digital transformation impacts upon research in the social sciences. To this end, he has worked on the automated collection of large-scale web data, as well as tools for the analysis of text and video data. Funded by the German Research Foundation, he currently runs a project in collaboration with researchers at the University of Mannheim and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, to investigate how computer vision can inform research on legislative politics. He is also part of a research group that builds a syntax-aware text analysis system to improve the study of legislative text.
Priyadarshani Premarathne is a BIGSSS-departs Ph.D. Fellow at the Bremen International Graduate School of Social Sciences. Her research interests include Gender and Social Inequality, Sociology of work and employment, and Work life balance and quality of life.
Become a Fellow
Those wishing to apply for visiting research scholar association with the Center for European Studies, as a PhD student or faculty, should begin by approaching a member of University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill faculty for research collaboration. Once a UNC faculty member is found, the interested visiting scholar should contact Victoria Vass (vvass@email.unc.edu) to provide a CV, a proposal outlining their research, and the name and department of their UNC faculty collaborator. If your proposal is accepted, you will be sent the necessary paperwork for J-1 visa processing. The completed paperwork must be received by the department at least 9 months prior to arrival at UNC. All visiting scholars will be subject to an administrative fee of $750.
- A visit, up to 5 years, with the primary intent of research and/or teaching – classes may not be taken for credit on a J-1 visa.
- Minimum income of $2000/month for the duration of the stay in the United States – CES cannot offer funding for visiting scholars at this time.
- Sufficient English language proficiency – please see proficiency requirements.
- Medical insurance for the duration of the stay in the United States which covers:
- Benefits of at least $100,000 per accident or illness
- Repatriation of remains of at least $25,000
- Expenses associated with the medical evacuation of the visitor to their home country of at least $50,000
- A deductible of no more than $500
Insurance that meets these requirements is available for purchase through UNC – please see enrollment information.
- A basic criminal background check must be completed prior to arrival at UNC – this will be sent after the initial processing of visa paperwork.
- Housing is the responsibility of the visiting scholar – please refer to International Student and Scholar Services (ISSS) for assistance.
- Office space is limited – please work with your faculty sponsor to find space in their department.
External Funding
Visiting Scholars hosted by the Center for European Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel hill are funded through a variety of means. Below we provide a list of external grants and fellowships for academics and practitioners that would allow for an extended research period at the UNC-Chapel Hill.