The Les Aspin '60 Summer Fellowships at the Jackson School of Global Affairs provide funding for research, internships or other educational projects on U.S. national security or international affairs impacting U.S. national security (the “Project Areas”). The Fellowship was established by the Yale College Class of 1960 to honor the memory of their classmate, Les Aspin, former member of Congress and United States Secretary of Defense. The Class of 1986 has assumed administrative responsibility for naming Aspin Fellows, with continued involvement of members of the Class of 1960.
Fellowship proposals will be evaluated considering a candidate’s previous educational and work-related accomplishments and experience and how these and the proposed project relate to the candidate’s future goals in one of the Project Areas.
Grants will be awarded to sophomores and juniors in Yale College for research projects on Project Areas. The projects may be with, for example, a U.S. government agency, non-profit corporation or other nongovernmental domestic or international agency or organization. Normally, Aspin Fellows will conduct their projects during the summer following their sophomore or junior year.
Preference is given to students in the Global Affairs major. Preference is also given for proposals related to diplomacy, defense, intelligence and other significant areas of foreign policy. Other relevant issues, broadly interpreted, may include policy related to economic, military, technological, trade, educational, environmental or foreign aid arenas.
Note: Applicants may NOT apply to both the Heinz fellowship and the Les Aspin fellowship.
Proposed Fellowship grant budgets Grants may be used for travel, living and related expenses.
Candidates selected as finalists by the Jackson School of Global Affairs faculty committee will be interviewed by a committee comprised of Yale representatives of the Classes of 1986 and 1960. Finalists are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves with Mr. Aspin's history. Interviews of selected finalists with the Alumni selection committee will all be scheduled to be held at the Jackson School in one day in late March or early April, and subsequently the selected Aspin Fellowships will be announced shortly after the interview day.
* Plan with foresight for the summer and be prepared to alter your project on account of travel restrictions. Please be prepared to carry out your project remotely if travel is not possible. Make sure to check the Yale College Travel Policy and entry requirements of your proposed destination (check the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Embassy websites).
Note: To view the Request link, you must have at least filled out the Project Title and Brief Description.
IMPORTANT NOTE: All undergraduate students must adhere to the Yale University International Travel Policy.
Yale University policy requires that certain types of research projects involving human subjects be reviewed and approved by an Institutional Review Board (IRB) prior to the start of the study to ensure that the project meets University Policy and any other applicable regulations. To see if your project needs to be reviewed, for advice on working with human subjects, and for more information about the IRB process and requirements go to http://www.yale.edu/hsc/Investigator/Student_projects.pdf.