Administered by the WISCOMP initiative, the Scholar of Peace Fellowship Program encourages innovative, multi-disciplinary and theoretical engagement and research on issues that emerge at the inter - section of the discourses on gender, security and conflict transformation. The Fellowships are seen as an important step to encourage more women and men to work in these crucial areas.

The Scholar of Peace Fellowships are awarded under three categories:
Academic Research, Media Projects and Special Projects.
The awards cover periods ranging from three months to one year.

Academic Research Fellowships lead to the production of a publishable monograph by the end of the grant period. While fellowships are available to scholars at any stage of their careers, proven ability for independent research is a prerequisite for proposals under this category.

Media Fellowships are designed to support young and mid-career journalists seeking to focus on in-depth stories.

Special Projects seek to identify and support exceptional expertise and talent that explore innovative approaches and use creative media such as art, theater, films, dance and installations. Fellowships under this category encourage NGO workers, activists, grassroots practitioners, artists, policymakers and full-time professionals to bring their learning and expertise to a wider audience.

Areas of study have included:
militarization and armed conflict, justice and reconciliation, law and governance, migration, identity, politics, human rights, conflict resolution, multi-track peace initiatives, gender and peacebuilding, alternative formulations of security, among various others.

“Working through the fellowship has given an opportunity that comes rarely in career-driven lives – the chance to apply professional knowledge gained to far deeper strands of thought and the opportunity to academically engage with key insights into the impulses that govern conflict.”

–
Ms. Alpana Kishore
Scholar
of Peace Fellow 2006 (Media) ‘Kashmir: Layers of Nationality,
Identity and Ethnicity’

“When the WISCOMP initiative was established, it was an act of faith that the introduction of women’s perspectives in the security discourse would broaden our understanding of security issues. But today, it has far surpassed anything we could have hoped for. It is a testimony to WISCOMP’s work that its members now sit on the National Security Advisory Board. It is one small step for women, but a giant leap forward for humankind.”

- Prof. Gowher Rizvi
Director, Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and
Innovation, Harvard University, Cambridge, USA