Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies

 

1. The Center for Chinese Studies (CCS) has the following provisions for its research grant program.
2. This program is aim at foreign professors, associate professors, assistant professors (including post-doctoral researchers) and doctoral candidates in departments related to Chinese studies at foreign universities, as well as researchers at related foreign academic institutes.

The research should be undertaken in Taiwan, and be focused mainly on Taiwan or Chinese studies.

3. CCS provides assistance with research expenses, research materials, liaison with universities and research institutions, and use of CCS facilities, etc.
4. Research tenure is one months to one year.
5. Applications should be submitted to the CCS by May 31 of each year before the year in which grants are intended to be used; notification of CCS’s decision will be given by the end of August of the same year after a careful review.

Applications should include the following documents:

• Application form
• Curriculum Vitae (including a list of publications)
• Research plan
• Letter(s) of recommendation

6. Grantees are entitled to travel subsidies and research subsidies.

Eligibility for travel subsidies is restricted to foreign scholars who currently reside abroad; those already in Taiwan are not eligible.

7. Subsidies available under the Research Grant Program are as follows:

• Travel subsidies: One direct round trip economy class air ticket from the domicile of the grantee to Taipei will be provided by CCS. Travel expenses will be reimbursed upon the grantee’s arrival in Taiwan on the basis of the ticket stub and receipt.
• Research subsidies: To be paid at the beginning of each month and divided into four levels: professor (including post-doctoral researcher), associate professor, assistant professor, and doctoral candidate.

Researchers at academic/research institutes will also receive grants according to the above scale. The actual amount of research subsidies is determined by CCS and any adjustments to those amounts will be decided upon by the CCS Advisory Committee.

8. Grantees must sign a contract with CCS and observe the following regulations:

• No outside employment is allowed without the prior approval of CCS. Concurrent acceptance of a grant from any other organization in the R.O.C. is not permitted.
• Participation in all scholarly research activities arranged by CCS is required.
• All regulations must be observed when using CCS and National Central Library facilities.
• A research report or paper must be submitted to CCS by the end of a grantee’s research tenure.

9. Grantees who fail to observe Article 8 will have their research subsidies terminated by CCS.
10. Scholars who receive a grant under the Program must wait a minimum of three years after completion of their research projects before applying again.
11. Any additions to the above provisions will be handled by CCS as authorized by the CCS Advisory Committee.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Center for Chinese Studies

 

The Center for Chinese Studies (CCS) was established in 1981 under the guidance of the Ministry of Education as the Resource and Information Center for Chinese Studies. The name was changed in 1987 to its current appellation. The purpose for its establishment was to promote research in Chinese studies, both in Taiwan (the Republic of China) and overseas, and to facilitate communication among scholars and institutions worldwide.

CCS is housed in the National Central Library, with the Director-General of NCL serving concurrently as CCS Director. Its future development is guided by an advisory committee whose members are appointed by the Minister of Education. CCS is split into Materials and Liaison Divisions.

 

Our main services are as follows:

1. Chinese studies resource services
2. Research grants for international scholars
3. Publication of the Chinese Studies, the Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies, and other reference works
4. Organizing and participating in academic activities held in Taiwan or abroad

 

Chinese Studies Resources

CCS maintains collections of domestic and foreign works on Chinese studies. These include foreign doctoral dissertations, facsimiles of rare books that do not exist in Taiwan’s collections, microfilms of Dunhuang manuscripts, and sinological research materials and important scholarly databases from foreign countries and mainland China. Located on the sixth floor of the National Central Library (NCL) are the CCS Materials Division and the Matteo Ricci & Pacific Studies Reading Room, which provide a variety of circulation and advisory services.

The Center’s website (http://ccs.ncl.edu.tw) provides more information on these services, and contains a number of specialist subject databases, such as the Full-Text Database of CCS Publications; Bibliographies of Research on the Classics, on Han Scholars, on Wei-Jin Xuan Xue Philosophy, on Tun-huang Studies; and Contents of the Combined Collection of Ming Authors, etc.

 

Publications

CCS publishes two quarterly periodicals. The Chinese Studies is an international academic journal focused on publishing articles and book reviews on Chinese literature, history, and philosophy, providing local and overseas scholars with an opportunity to publish their work in Chinese or English. It enjoys a high academic reputation, consistently ranked by the Ministry of Science and Technology as among the best periodicals in Taiwan, and is designated a Taiwan Humanities Citation Index (THCI) Core journal.

The Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies reports on developments in local and overseas Chinese studies research and includes research summaries, academic conferences, and introduces sinologists and Chinese studies institutions. It provides regular updates on the activities of research institutes and university departments.

Both the Chinese Studies and the Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies are simultaneously published in paper and electronic editions.

From 2006, the Center also began publishing the E-Newsletter for Research in Chinese Studies in order to present academic news in a timely fashion. The E-Newsletter is sent out to subscribers free of charge via email every month. Reference books and proceedings are also compiled and published occasionally.

 

Research Grant for International Scholars

Since 1989, CCS has offered the Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies, which every year provides research stipends and travel subsidies to international scholars of Chinese studies who have plans to conduct research in Taiwan. Professors, associate professors, assistant professors, doctoral candidates, as well as researchers at foreign institutions are eligible for the grant. Grants are available for periods ranging from three months to one year. The Center requires grant recipients to present a research paper at the end of their research tenure. CCS also regularly arranges seminars and other cultural activities for visiting scholars. To date, the Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies has supported over 400 scholars from more than 40 countries; in 2011, the Center set up a membership group comprised of all past grant recipients, the “Center for Chinese Studies Scholars Worldwide,” to strengthen its contact with previous visiting scholars.

Due to the success of the Research Grant for Foreign Scholars in Chinese Studies, in September 2010 the Center was tasked with administering the Taiwan Fellowship, a new grant offered by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

 

Academic Activities

In order to promote interaction and exchange between scholars in Taiwan and overseas, CCS regularly collaborates with other academic institutions to sponsor international academic conferences and symposia. Recent examples include the International Conference on New Territory for Chinese Studies, and the International Conference on Chinese Books, Knowledge Construction.

The Center also actively participates in international organizations such as the Association for Asian Studies (AAS) and the European Association for Chinese Studies (EACS). By holding book exhibitions at their annual meetings, CCS provides a showcase for Chinese studies research carried out and published in Taiwan.

 

Interested applicants may download the application form here: Application Form.