The Founding HSI
Doctoral Fellowship
The HSI Doctoral Fellowship gives exceptional scholars the financial independence to pursue ambitious doctoral research with depth and focus.
The Fellowship is a merit-based scholarship grant supporting doctoral study. It recognizes prior achievement and provides the financial conditions for serious independent inquiry. No employment or services to HSI are required as a condition of the award.
Inaugural award · Future cycle planned subject to funding and Board approval
Abdullah Ishak Khan
Doctoral student, Public Affairs
Steven J. Green School of International and Public Affairs
Florida International University
Abdullah holds an MBA from the Institute of Business Administration at the University of Dhaka and was a MEXT Young Leaders Program scholar at Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo. He served as Deputy Project Director of the $300 million Bangladesh–Japan Special Economic Zone infrastructure project, following earlier service in the Prime Minister’s Office of Bangladesh.
- Research focus
- Emerging-market governance · Infrastructure investment · Bilateral economic relations
- HSI program
- Governance & Diplomacy
Why the Fellowship exists
HSI created the Doctoral Fellowship to support scholars whose work addresses consequential institutional questions across its four research programs.
The Fellowship is designed to provide time, independence, and the financial conditions needed for serious doctoral inquiry. Fellows retain responsibility for their own academic agenda. HSI does not require research outputs or services in exchange for the award.
Work may align with
- Responsible AI
- Human Performance
- Planetary Futures
- Governance & Diplomacy
A Fellow’s work may also operate across the intersections between programs.
Eligibility
Applicants of all nationalities, including international students, are eligible.
Candidates must be enrolled in or admitted to a doctoral program, or comparable terminal academic program, at the time of award and continuation. Their academic and professional work must demonstrate clear alignment with at least one HSI research program.
The Fellowship is structured as a scholarship grant and does not require services in exchange.
Selection criteria
Criteria are evaluated in aggregate rather than independently.
Scholarly & professional excellence
Evidence of distinction in academic work, professional practice, or both.
Research alignment
Substantive connection to at least one HSI research program.
Leadership & public contribution
Evidence of leadership and an ability to carry ideas beyond the academy.
International engagement
Capacity to work across institutions, cultures, and regions.
Character & public purpose
Integrity, intellectual seriousness, and constructive engagement with difficult questions.
Trajectory
A credible path on which Fellowship support can materially strengthen the candidate’s contribution to their field.
Terms of the award
- Scholarship
- $36,000 per year in general scholarship support for doctoral study, including a monthly stipend and approved scholarship categories determined in coordination with the Fellow’s home institution.
- Conference travel
- Up to $12,000 per year through the Academic Conference Travel Grant, for relevant academic, policy, and industry conferences, disbursed against receipts and brief academic justification.
- Duration
- The normal duration of the qualifying academic program, subject to annual HSI budget approval.
- Continuation
- Contingent solely on the Fellow remaining in good standing, confirmed annually. Fellows do not reapply.
The award does not require employment, services, publications, public engagements, or other deliverables to HSI.
No application cycle is currently open.
HSI plans a future Fellowship cycle subject to funding and approval by the Institute’s Board. The Institute will not open a cycle unless it is in a position to fund the award for its intended duration.
When a cycle opens, selection will be conducted by HSI’s Fellowship Committee, drawn from members of the Strategic Council and the Board of Directors. Candidates may be identified through nominations from HSI advisors, Board members, and academic partners, or through a published application cycle.
Register interestAward administration
The Fellowship is structured as a scholarship grant for the support of academic study. It is not compensation for services, and the Fellow is not an employee, contractor, or agent of HSI.
The allocation of the Annual Award between monthly stipend and approved non-stipend categories is determined in coordination with the Fellow’s institution at the start of each Fellowship year and documented for internal record.
Approved scholarship categories include research support, health and wellness, professional development, books and equipment, and qualifying institutional fees. Brief annual confirmation of continued enrollment is provided as a matter of administrative record.
Fellows are responsible for their own personal tax compliance.
Fellows agree to represent themselves with integrity in scholarly and public settings, to comply with the academic and ethical standards of their home institutions, and, where they choose to acknowledge HSI affiliation in published work, to do so accurately. Fellows are expected to disclose any potential conflicts of interest and to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with HSI's mission and values.
Detailed application materials and the Fellowship Award Agreement are available on request.
Interested in a future Fellowship cycle?
Prospective applicants and academic partners interested in nominating candidates may register interest with the Institute. HSI will contact them when a future cycle is confirmed.