Martine Aublet Foundation research grants: call for applications for the 2019-2020 academic year
Since 2011, the Fondation Martine Aublet, under the aegis of the Fondation de France, has been working closely with the Department of Research and Education at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, which aims to strengthen the links between heritage and university, and between art and science, by favouring an inter-disciplinary approach. Over the last 10 years, more than a hundred scholarship holders have benefited from this research aid.
Doctoral research grants
The Foundation has created doctoral research grants worth €15,000 to fund field research by students in their first or second year of postgraduate studies. These grants are awarded for a non-renewable period of 12 months, from 1 October to 30 September.
The work must focus on the four major non-Western cultural areas: Africa, Asia, the Americas and Oceania. The disciplines involved cover a broad spectrum: anthropology, ethno-musicology, art history, history, archaeology, political sociology and linguistics.
The research methodology must be qualitative and involve ethnographic participant observation, the processing of archives and historiographical documentation (including collections), participation in archaeological excavations (and post-excavations) or the conduct of thematic and directive interviews.
In 2017, the Foundation also created two €5,000 prizes to help with publication (known as “thesis” prizes). These are awarded each year to winners who have defended their thesis and whose project stands out for its scientific interest, originality and ability to appeal to a wide audience.
Masters scholarships
In 2017, the Foundation also created master’s scholarships worth €2,000 to provide more comprehensive support for students continuing their studies. These grants are awarded in the form of a cheque paid in one instalment.
The research project initiated by the master’s degree must contribute to enriching knowledge of the extra-European collections of French museums (same major cultural areas and same methodology as the doctoral grants).
Practical details
In order to ensure that the Foundation’s grants have a high profile and scientific legitimacy, the system for assessing applications comprises two bodies: the first consists of a committee of rapporteurs made up of 14 academics whose task is to write a brief report on each application and draw up a ranking of the applications. This ranking is then forwarded to the second body, the Scientific Council, which brings together the Foundation’s Board of Directors, including its Chairman, the Chairman of the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac, and four university professors (Dominique Michelet, Thomas Fillitz, Pierre-Yves Manguin & Carlo Severi). The final selection of the winners is then made.
These grants are open to all students, regardless of nationality, enrolled in the year of their application in a French higher education establishment or in a co-tutored programme with a foreign university. The text of the thesis may be in English or French. Winners receive their grant from the Foundation in the form of two annual instalments. They will be required to submit a brief report (financial and scientific) to the Foundation halfway through their research, and a full report at the end of their research.
Applications for doctoral and master’s research grants must be made using a form that can be downloaded from the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac website during the application period.
Applications for doctoral research grants must be accompanied by a letter from the thesis supervisor attesting to the quality of the subject presented.
The application file for master’s scholarships must be accompanied by a letter from the master’s programme director attesting to the student’s enrolment in the master’s programme and the student’s qualifications.
To be registered, the complete application must be sent twice (for legal and archival reasons) before midnight on 11 June 2019:electronically to the following address: bourses.martineaublet@quaibranly.fr (the various documents will be grouped together in a single .pdf file, which may not exceed 5MB in size, entitled as follows: NOMDUCANDIDAT_bourseFMA_DOC_2019.pdf or NOMDUCANDIDAT_bourseFMA_MASTER_2019.pdf)
by post (marked “Bourses Martine Aublet Fondation” on the envelope) with the completed, dated and signed application form, to the following addressFondation Martine Aublet
Research and Teaching Department
Quai Branly Museum – Jacques Chirac
222 rue de l’Université
75343 Paris Cedex 07
Students intending to register for the first year of a thesis (or the first year of a master’s degree) at the start of the 2019/2020 academic year must enclose with their application a certificate from their future thesis (or master’s) supervisor confirming their registration. They must send a copy of their student card in September 2019.
The list of applications admitted to the competition will be posted on the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac website during the first week of July 2019.
The list of winners will be posted on the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac website and distributed on 10 October 2019. The award ceremony will take place on the afternoon of Monday 21 October 2019 at the Musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac (grant holders must attend).
