Application Deadline: 25 August 2025
The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Faculty of Social Sciences, Chiang Mai University, is pleased to announce an opening for 3 to 4 research fellows as part of the Research Fellowship Program for Advanced Scholars from Myanmar. This initiative aims to support early-career and mid-career scholars who are already engaged in independent or institutional research and seek to advance their academic contributions in the context of Myanmar’s ongoing political, social, and environmental transitions.
The program seeks to strengthen the research capacity of Myanmar scholars working under challenging circumstances, to support critical & field-based research that addresses pressing issues in Myanmar and the region while encouraging interdisciplinary, participatory, and decolonial approaches to knowledge production and to build platforms for scholarly exchange and regional/international collaboration .
Eligibility
Applicants must be Myanmar nationals; hold at least a Master’s degree or demonstrate equivalent research experience; be actively engaged in independent or collaborative research; have a research proposal relevant to current socio-political, cultural, environmental, or economic conditions in Myanmar; demonstrate a track record of academic writing, publications, or research outputs.
Fellowship Provisions
Selected fellows will receive a monthly stipend and a supplementary research grant, along with access to mentorship and peer-learning platforms. They will have the opportunity to present their research at regional workshops or conferences and receive publication support for producing a working paper as the fellowship’s final output. Fellows are expected to commit to full-time participation in the program. A co-working space, library access, and Wi-Fi will be provided.
Priority Themes
- Agrarian transformation, rural change, and land governance
- Resource governance, including the political economy of resource extraction, rare earth mining, and their social and environmental impacts
- Inclusive Burma, focusing on diversity, equity, ethnic relations, and the participation of marginalized communities in shaping the country’s future.
- Social movements, activism, and civil society resilience
Application Requirements
- A cover letter describing yourself, academic interest and how you can contribute to the program
- Updated CV
- Research proposal (max 3 pages)
- Writing sample (published or unpublished work)
- List of at least 2 referees with one letter of recommendation (academic or professional) directly sent from the referee to office@rcsd-cmu.com. under the heading recommendation letter [Name of applicant]
- Only shortlisted candidates will be contacted for an interview
Timeline
Application Deadline: 25 August 2025
Announcement of Selected Fellows: 31 August 2025
Fellowship Period: 15 September 2025 – 14 September 2026
Submission
Please submit all application materials by email to: office@rcsd-cmu.com. with the subject line: Research Fellowship Application – [Your Name]
For further inquiries, contact: office@rcsd-cmu.com
More about the fellowship
This fellowship program supports critical and engaged research on the intersecting transformations reshaping Burma/Myanmar and the broader Southeast Asian region. The country is undergoing significant agrarian transformation, marked by shifts in rural change, land governance, and the reconfiguration of livelihoods. These changes are often driven by large-scale infrastructure development, state and private investments, and transnational interests, frequently resulting in land grabbing, displacement, and heightened socio-economic inequality.
Simultaneously, intensified resource extraction—including rare earth mining—has raised urgent concerns around resource governance, the political economy of development, and the social and environmental impacts on local communities. These extractive and infrastructural processes are deeply entangled with struggles over identity, territory, and authority.
Within this landscape, the pursuit of an inclusive Burma remains both critical and contested. Research that centers diversity, equity, ethnic relations, and the role of marginalized communities in shaping governance and futures is vital. In response to shrinking civic space, social movements, activism, and civil society resilience have emerged as key forces resisting exclusion and asserting alternative visions of justice and democracy.
The fellowship invites scholars to undertake interdisciplinary, grounded research that addresses these complex and interlinked themes. We particularly welcome proposals that challenge dominant narratives, foreground local perspectives, and contribute meaningfully to academic, policy, and community dialogues.