The APRA Foundation Berlin Philosophy Dissertation Fellowship

Mission Statement

The purpose of the APRA Foundation Philosophy Dissertation Fellowship is to motivate pursuit of a well-rounded education in philosophy that prepares the applicant to flourish in a variety of professional environments - whether academic or otherwise - that demand cross-cultural knowledge, logical reasoning, and recognition of the extent to which Western culture is rooted in the more ancient cultures of the Near and Far East. To this end, it requires of the applicant prior completion of a background program of philosophical study that extends beyond the scope of most undergraduate and graduate degree requirements, in its inclusion of required coursework in logic, Eastern philosophy, and the Arabic and Jewish thinkers in Medieval philosophy. In this way, the Fellowship Applicant Credentials below establish a foundation for advanced philosophical study that cultivates both familiarity with philosophical approaches from a variety of non-Western traditions, and also the shared tools of consistent reasoning and analysis through which to reintegrate them into meaningful relation with the Western tradition. This will serve all Fellowship applicants well whether they actually win the Fellowship or not.

Fellowship Application Guidelines

I. APPLICANT CREDENTIALS. All applicants must submit to APRA all of the following documents in PDF format:

1. Official college or university transcripts for the following courses, verifying for each a passing grade of A- (= 1.5) or better:

1.1. Introduction to Logic
1.2. Intermediate Logic
1.3. Ancient Indian Philosophy
[including Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, and Mimamsa]
1.4. Ancient Chinese Philosophy
[including Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism]
1.5. Ancient Greek & Roman Philosophy
1.6. Medieval Philosophy
[including Al-Farabi, Avicenna, Averroes and Maimonides]
1.7. Rationalism & Empiricism
[Descartes, Spinoza, Leibniz; Locke, Berkeley, Hume]
1.8. Kant
1.9. 19th Century Philosophy
1.10. Metaphysics & Epistemology
1.11. Ethics & Political Philosophy
1.12. Philosophy of Science
1.13. Philosophy of Language

2. Official course syllabi listing all assigned readings for each of the above courses.

3. One course term paper in English, selected from one of (1.3)-(1.13) above, of 10-20 pages, typed and double-spaced. The covering page of the paper should identify the course name, semester date, and instructor, as well as the applicant.

4. Contact information (name, email address, telephone number, institution street address) for three recommenders, including the instructor identified in 3 above, who have taught the applicant in any of the courses listed in 1 above.

5. Curriculum vitae, including contact information (name, email address, telephone number, street address) for the applicant.

II. APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS. There is no fixed annual deadline for applications. These are considered on a rolling basis. Only complete applications meeting all of the requirements listed in I above should be submitted as a digital file on CD or USB stick and sent via Registered Mail to

Incomplete applications will not be considered.

III. INSTITUTIONAL ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS. Subsequent to the selection by APRA of the Fellow, but in advance of the onset of the Fellowship grant, the Fellow must submit to APRA the following documents in PDF format from his or her official university affiliation:

1. A signed letter, on official university letterhead stationery, from the Dean of the Fellow's graduate philosophy program, certifying the Fellow's status as a Ph.D. candidate in good standing;

2. A signed letter, on official university letterhead stationery, from the Fellow's dissertation advisor, certifying the Fellow's status as his or her doctoral student.

IV. GRANT GUIDELINES. Following receipt of both documents described in III above, the APRA Foundation will grant to the Fellow:

€12,000.00/year divided into 12 sequential monthly payments of €1,000.00 each, for a period of 36 sequential months, to be electronically wired directly into the fellow's designated bank account. The payments run from September of the first year of work through August concluding the third sequential year of work.

V. FELLOW REQUIREMENTS. In return, the Fellow is required to submit to APRA the following documents in PDF format:

1. An annual progress report of 500 words on the dissertation, due on 31 August, during the three-year term of the Fellowship.

2. A copy of the completed dissertation for the APRA Foundation archive, to be delivered within 14 days following its successful defense at the Fellow's university.

The Fellowship is portable to any accredited philosophy dissertation program in the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, or North America. It is the responsibility of the Fellow to gain admission to such a doctoral program at an accredited institution, to obtain a dissertation advisor, and to discharge the academic and administrative requirements described above. The Fellow agrees to teach no more than one course per semester at the most, in addition to researching and writing the dissertation, during the Fellowship period.