Visiting Scholar Application

Overview

The Puentes Consortium, a binational consortium of universities from the U.S. and Mexico, made up of the Universidad de las Américas Puebla, the Universidad de Monterrey, the Instituto Tecnológico de Monterrey, and Rice University, has created a fund to support the exchange of faculty members and PhD students (or equivalent) among the institutions of the consortium. Since its founding in 2009, the Puentes Consortium has facilitated research on issues related to the U.S. and Mexico, providing a distinctive voice to a binational community of scholars. The projects carried out by the researchers are generally multidisciplinary in nature and address relevant topics for the two countries with a special emphasis on research impacting public policy issues.

Objectives

The Puentes Consortium Visiting Scholar Program aims to foster collaboration amongst scholars in order to investigate some of the most pressing questions relating to U.S. and Mexico relations. The Visiting Scholar Program enables scholars at member institutions to collaborate on research projects together by providing the opportunity for scholars to visit institutions and develop their work together. This fund is intended to support an international scholarly visit of up to six (6) research professors and/or doctoral students from member universities.

The research visit is to be carried out at one of the universities within the consortium. Preference will be given to international scholarly visits, although scholarly visits to member institutions in the same country will be considered. An evaluation committee will choose the six best proposals on a merit basis, with positive consideration for research topics relevant to both countries. The visit takes place during the summer for a period of 4-8 weeks. The exact dates will be determined between the researcher and the receiving academic institution. Eight week visit proposal will be given priority.  The period for the visit should be between June 1st and July 31 each year. Visits during other times of the year could be consider and must be discussed with Academic hosts and Puentes administration; however, preference will be given to summer proposals.

The selected candidates will receive an invitation letter from the Consortium. This letter will include all the necessary information to process a J-1 visa at the American Consulate or the National Institute of Migration (INM) if traveling to the U.S. All U.S. applicants with legal status in the U.S. will be eligible for a business visa to travel to Mexico and the host institution will provide an offer letter indicating visa requirements.

Funding Available

To visiting scholars from Mexico traveling to the US, the Puentes Consortium will award up to $7,500 USD to each scholar to cover the costs associated with the visit to the university of their interest. This includes airfare, room and board, medical insurance, and expenses associated with J-1 or INM visa applications. Please be aware that this amount is subject to 14% U.S. federal tax deduction. Granted awards will vary according to stay duration as specified below:

To visiting scholars from the US traveling to Mexico, the Puentes Consortium will award up to $5,000 USD to each scholar to cover the costs associated with the visit to the university of their interest. This includes airfare, room and board, medical insurance, and expenses associated with visa applications. This amount is subject to U.S. tax deduction  depending on the granted amount. Granted awards will vary according to stay duration as specified below:

To visiting scholars from Mexico traveling within Mexico, the Puentes Consortium will award up to $4,500 USD to each scholar to cover the costs of the visit including airfare and room and board. This amount is subject to Mexican tax deductions.

To visiting scholars from the U.S. traveling to other U.S. Universities. The Puentes Consortium will award up to $5,000 USD to each scholar to cover the costs associated with the visit to the university of their interest (Rice U. or U of Miami). This includes airfare, room and board and medical insurance (if needed). This amount is subject to U.S. tax deduction depending on the granted amount. Granted awards will vary according to stay duration as specified below:

Eligibility

Projects must be aligned with the Consortium’s objective of addressing issues that affect the binational relationship between Mexico and the U.S. and, ideally with an inclination towards public policy. Transdisciplinary research proposals are highly encouraged. Puentes funds for visiting scholars are available to:

• Research Professors/Associates who can present a research project in which he/she is currently working on and which should have a substantial progress at the time of application.
• Ph.D. Students who have completed their second year of doctoral studies or other equivalent terminal degree

Application Requirements for Professors/Associates:

• Research scholars must present a research project in which he/she is currently working on and which should have substantial progress at the time of the application.
• Applicants must establish academic contacts within the host institution as a preliminary step, in order to ensure collaboration during their research stay. Ideally, researchers should be hosted within departments or faculties where they could be provided a working desk, and/or library and lab access if necessary. We highly encourage to begging doing research on potential hosts and academic departments before starting your application process.
• Applicants must provide a research proposal that clearly details the benefits on their research agenda and a work plan to be followed during their research visit. Researchers and scholars must submit a letter of support from your department head or appropriate university leadership.
• The stay must produce tangible advancement in which the corresponding recognition is made to the Puentes Consortium (i.e. book, article, paper, etc.). This product is to be expected within a reasonable period after the completion of the visit.
• Projects may be the work of just one scholar and/or team-based proposals.

Applicant Requirements for Ph.D. Candidates:

• Applicants must have completed their second year of doctoral studies or other equivalent stage.
• Applicants must be developing research for which they should be able to present substantial progress and/or have an advanced doctoral dissertation endorsed in a letter by his/her supervisor.

Application Materials

All proposals must be submitted through the application provided under the “Apply Now” button at the bottom of the page. Proposals should be submitted by December 16, 2022, and should include all of the listed criteria below. Applications may be submitted in English or Spanish.

1. Cover page

Please provide your name and the university and department that you are affiliated with, as well as the postal address and phone number you can be reached at. Please include the title of your proposal and one paragraph about the research purpose of your proposal.

2. Project description

Explain your research objectives and your work plan. Please specify how your research outcomes build on binational Mexico-U.S. public policy and relevance of the research topic or knowledge transfer. Do not exceed 5 pages, font size 12. Add an abbreviated CV including a list of related “relevant” publications or awards (limited to 3 pages). Please make sure to specify the number of weeks you are requesting funding for. 

3. Ph.D. students must provide a letter of endorsement from their Ph.D. supervisor.

4. Researchers and scholars must submit a letter of support from your department head or appropriate university leadership.

5. Proof of collaboration arrangement/agreement with your academic host. Please provide proof of collaboration with a faculty member at the proposed host university and specify the desired department. Please be aware that finding the right academic fit within the host University might take some time and effort. Consider having identified your host scholar before working on the rest of the application. 

Evaluation Criteria

Following submission, your proposal will be reviewed by a committee of qualified faculty members from contributing universities and will give favor to projects including international mobility, but relevant domestic projects will be considered.

Proposals will be assessed by the following criteria:

1. Quality of research and its potential impact. Proposals should state clear objectives and should describe specific outcomes and benefits of their visit.
2. Relevance of their proposed agenda
3. Ability to leverage research outcomes for high impact products such as scientific papers, books, journals, etc.
4. Likelihood of creating and/or consolidating academic networks within the Consortium.

COVID-19 Updates

All applicants that receive a Puentes grant and decide to travel to any of our member universities must comply at all times with the COVID -19 protocols proper to their host institution.

Important Dates

Opening of call for proposals: October 1st (every year)

Deadline: December 16, 2022

Communication of results: February 2023

For questions about the Puentes Visiting Scholar Program, please contact Ivonne Cruz at telephone number +1 (713) 348-3582 or by email at ivonne.cruz@rice.edu.

COMPLETE PROPOSAL CHECKLIST

Complete proposals must be sent in PDF format

• Cover
• Project Description
• Abbreviated CV (including relevant publications) (3 pages max)
• Letter of endorsement (Ph.D. supervisor/head of department)
• Proof of collaboration with faculty member(s) from host institution