Conference Program Information
Deadline for Applications: March 9, 2026
All applications must be submitted using Slideroom. The France-Stanford Center for Interdisciplinary Studies invites proposals for collaborative research projects to be held during academic year 2026-27 (September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2027). Late applications are unlikely to be accepted.
Notification of grant recipients will occur in late spring/early summer.
Overview
The conferences or workshops may be held at Stanford or at any French research institution.
They should address significant issues of common interest to scholars from France and Stanford, and particularly, but not exclusively, those subject to differences of disciplinary or interdisciplinary approach in or between the two countries. The topics proposed may be either historical or contemporary in their temporal focus and relevant to the two societies. They may fall primarily or entirely within the purview of schools or departments like those of the humanities, social sciences, natural and formal sciences, business, earth sciences, education, engineering, law and medicine. Alternatively, they may bring together scholars from across different schools and/or departments.
Eligibility
Proposal Specifications
Proposals should specify the intellectual rationale for the topic, indicate why the proposed topic would be a suitable candidate for funding by the Center, provide examples of potential participants, identify possible organizers, set forth a tentative budget and other sources of funding, and propose a tentative date. Applicants should also specify the kind of meeting they seek to hold—i.e., conference, workshop, or symposium. Informal inquiries made prior to writing a formal proposal would be welcome.
Researchers from francophone countries outside of France
We are also especially interested in considering projects involving researchers from francophone countries outside of France.
Joint Applications
Applications must be submitted jointly by researchers affiliated with any Stanford department and a French educational or research institution who are eligible to serve as principal investigators.
Citizenship
Please note that applicants based at a French institution need not possess French citizenship. Likewise, applicants based at Stanford need not possess U.S. citizenship.
Additional Program Details
Lead Teams
Conferences or workshops must be led by program coordinators at Stanford and in France or at Stanford, in France and in another francophone country. They will be responsible for planning, coordinating the partnership and submitting the application.
Stanford PIs are responsible for contacting their departmental administrative support before submitting their application to confirm that administrative support can be provided for the conference/workshop organization, should the proposal be selected.
Proposals
Proposals should be for conferences or workshops that bring together participants from Stanford and France, but also from other francophone countries, and U.S. institutions, thereby expanding the network of productive relationships between academics. That said, there must be significant representation from Stanford. Given available Center resources, fundable conferences should envision 20-40 participants each. Workshops are expected to include fewer participants—on the order of five to ten. Participants should be roughly equally divided between France, the United States, and the francophone country represented. Please be sure to follow the instructions for submission. These include, inter alia, page and word limits for various parts of the proposal, as well as limits on the list of references to prior scholarship in the field.
Budget
The amount of funding provided depends on a variety of factors, including, not least, the size and scope of the conference or workshop proposed. See examples of conferences and workshops funded by the Center. Please note, however, that proposals that contemplate cost sharing with another funding source(s) may have an advantage over those whose only source is funding from the France-Stanford Center. Moreover, in selecting proposals to fund, the Center gives some weight to ensuring an overall balance between (1) events held at Stanford and those held in France and (2) those primarily concerning the sciences and those primarily concerning the humanities.
Questions?
Questions can be directed to:
- fgriffit [at] stanford.edu (Fiona Griffiths), Center Director
- emeng [at] stanford.edu (Emily Engstrand) Program Manager