CEAS Student Grants

COVID-19 and CEAS Grants

The most up-to-date information regarding international travel and CEAS grants can be found on the COVID-19 and MacMillan Grants website.  Because the pandemic is fast-moving, and national, local, and Yale policies may change in response, the MacMillan Center will continue to update this page as new information becomes available, so check back regularly.

Continuously updated information for all Yale affiliates, including graduate students, faculty, and staff, can also be found on the COVID-19 Information website. Research at Yale offers general guidance for faculty and researchers at Yale.


The Council on East Asian Studies offers the following grant opportunities.  Please click on the grant titles below for more information.

CEAS Field Research Grants

The Council on East Asian Studies offers CEAS Field Research Grants to aid Yale University graduate students in the Arts & Sciences who expect to be engaged in research on their doctoral dissertations during the summer and/or next academic year. Applicants who apply for the CEAS Field Research Grant may not apply for the CEAS Summer Travel & Research Grant, which is for pre-dissertation research only.

Eligibility: Grants are for research generally outside the United States and are available to registered Yale graduate students who have completed, or will complete, all pre-dissertation work before the next academic year. The approved dissertation research must focus primarily on China, Japan, and/or Korea. 

Award: Because grants will, in most instances, be supplementary to support provided from the Whitney and Betty MacMillan Center for International and Area Studies at Yale (MacMillan Center) or outside resources, the usual awards will not exceed $7,000. Students who have applied to other sources of funds (both within Yale and at the national level such as ACLS, SSRC, Japan Foundation, and Monbusho) and have been turned down may be eligible for a maximum grant of $15,000.

Reporting Requirements: Recipients of a CEAS Field Research Grant must submit a four-page (no less than 1,000 words) project report in English detailing the student’s progress and a summary of the report in the relevant foreign language (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, or Korean). If the project is more than one term, then students are required to submit an interim and final report.  Reports must be accompanied by itemized original receipts for all expenses above $75 covered by the grant. Detailed requirements on reporting are provided in award letters. Accepting a CEAS Field Research Grant obligates one to fulfill these requirements.

Please visit the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Website for complete details.

CEAS Summer Travel & Research Grants

The Council on East Asian Studies offers CEAS Summer Travel & Research Grants to support Yale University graduate student summer field research or other forms of pre-dissertation preparation in East Asia (primarily China, Japan, and Korea). Applicants who apply for the CEAS Summer Travel & Research Grant may not apply for the CEAS Field Research Grant, which is for dissertation research only.

Eligibility: All students enrolled in M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at Yale University are eligible to apply. Applications from graduate students from the Yale professional schools will also be considered. Priority will be given to students with demonstrated long-term academic commitment to East Asia, or those who need first-hand exposure to Asia to complete a course of academic study.

This grant is for pre-dissertation research only.  Graduate students who expect to be working on their doctoral dissertations during the summer and/or next academic year are ineligible to apply.

Award: Grants generally range from $1,500 to $8,000 and can be applied to travel, room and board, and other legitimate research expenses.

Reporting Requirements:  Recipients of a CEAS Summer Travel Research Grant must submit a three page (no less than 750 words) project report in English upon completion of their project and a summary of the report in the relevant foreign language (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, or Korean).  Reports must be accompanied by itemized original receipts for all expenses above $75 covered by the grant. Detailed requirements on reporting are provided in award letters. Accepting a CEAS Summer Travel Research Grant obligates one to fulfill these requirements.

Please visit the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Website for complete details.

CEAS Summer Language Mini-Grants

The Council on East Asian Studies offers the CEAS Summer Language Mini-Grants to Yale University graduate students for summer language study of Chinese, Japanese, Korean, or other East Asian languages (such as Mongolian or Tibetan).

Eligibility: All students enrolled in M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences are eligible to apply. Applications from graduate students from the Yale professional schools will also be considered. Priority will be given to those who must undertake summer language study to meet specific degree requirements.

Award: Grants generally range from $1,500 to $6,000 and can be applied to tuition, room and board at summer language programs, as well as expenses in hiring tutors for specialized, advanced language training.

Reporting Requirements: Recipients of a CEAS Summer Language Mini-Grant must submit a two page (no less than 500 words) project report in English upon completion of their language study and a summary of the report in the relevant foreign language (e.g. Chinese, Japanese, or Korean).  Reports must be accompanied by itemized original receipts for all expenses above $75 covered by the grant. Detailed requirements on reporting are provided in award letters. Accepting a CEAS Summer Language Mini-Grant obligates one to fulfill these requirements.

Please visit the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Website for complete details.

Charles Kao Fund Research Grants

The Councils on East Asian and Southeast Asian Studies offers the Charles Kao Fund Research Grants to Yale College undergraduate and Yale University graduate students for summer research in East and Southeast Asia. Research should focus on the impact of technology transfer processes between Asia and the West and/or among East Asia and Southeast Asia, and the social, cultural, and political transformations in these regions.

The theme of technology transfer may be interpreted in a variety of ways and should provide the focus for the project, but successful projects will be the ones which best place this within a sociological, cultural, or political context. Previous winning projects have focused on the following topics:

  • Artisanal Production and Alternative Economies in Inter-Asian Fair Trade Networks
  • Bridges to Power: Electrical Engineering and the Struggle for Sovereignty in Modern China, 1908-1949
  • Climate Resilience and Shifting Monsoons: Agricultural Adaptation at the Village Level in Communities of East Flores, Indonesia
  • Community-Level Responses to Mekong River Hydropower
  • (In)Fertility and In-Vitro Fertilization in Urban China: A Case Study of Yali, Motherhood and Womanhood
  • Revitalizing the Yutori Sedai: The Changing Nature of Japanese Entrepreneurship
  • Vaccinating the Nation: Immunology and Public Health in Modern China

Eligibility: All students of Yale College (including graduating seniors), graduate students in M.A. and Ph.D. programs in the Yale Graduate School of Arts & Sciences, and graduate students in the Yale professional schools. 

In general, applications from international students proposing research projects in their country of origin are ineligible.

Priority will be given to students with demonstrated long-term academic commitment to and professional preparation for work in East or Southeast Asia, who have already acquired the necessary level of language proficiency to complete their proposed research work, or who need substantial first-hand exposure to Asia to complete a course of academic study. In their application, students should specify how their proposals address the issue of “technology transfer.”

Award: Grant requests of up to $5,000 to support field research or other creative projects in Asia will be entertained.  Applications for internships will not be considered.

Reporting Requirements: Recipients of a Charles Kao Fund Research Grant must submit a three page (no less than 750 words) project report upon their return from abroad. This report should include a detailed summary of the student’s research, as well as all itemized original receipts for all expenses above $75 covered by the grant. Detailed requirements on reporting are provided in award letters. Accepting a Charles Kao Grant obligates one to fulfill these requirements.

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL undergraduate students must adhere to the Yale University International Travel Policy.

Please visit the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Website for complete details.

CEAS Senior Essay Research Grants

The Council on East Asian Studies at The MacMillan Center offers CEAS Senior Essay Research Grants to support Yale University undergraduate student research in preparation for their senior essays.  The senior essay must have a focus on the East Asia region (primarily China, Japan, and Korea).  The research can be performed during the summer or the academic year.

Eligibility: Any undergraduate student in Yale College is eligible to apply. Priority will be given to East Asian Studies majors and students with demonstrated long-term academic commitment to East Asia, or those who need first-hand exposure to East Asia to complete their essay.

Award: Grant requests of up to $3,000 to support senior essay research in East Asia will be entertained.  Applications for internships will not be considered.

Reporting Requirements: Recipients of a CEAS Senior Essay Research Grant must submit a two page (no less than 500 words) project report upon their return from abroad. This report should include a detailed summary of the student’s research and an explanation on how the research will contribute or be incorporated into the senior essay.  Reports must be accompanied by itemized original receipts for all expenses above $75 covered by the grant. Detailed requirements on reporting are provided in award letters. Accepting a CEAS Senior Essay Research Grant obligates one to fulfill these requirements.

IMPORTANT NOTE: ALL undergraduate students must adhere to the Yale University International Travel Policy.

Please visit the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Website for complete details.

Applying for CEAS Grants

All applications must be submitted on-line through the Yale University Student Grants & Fellowships Database.

The deadline for the CEAS Field, Summer Travel & Research, Summer Language Mini-, and Charles Kao Fund Research grants is 11:30 PM, Friday, February 2, 2024.

The deadline for the CEAS Senior Essay Research Grant is dependent on when the proposed research trip is taking place.  For trips taking place during:

October, November, or Winter Recess, 2023

September 29th, 2023

Spring Recess, 2024

February 9th, 2024

Summer Recess, 2024

April 17th, 2024

Please be sure to read application instructions carefully. It is the applicant’s responsibility to see that a complete application, including letter of recommendation and transcript, is submitted on-line before the deadline.  Applications cannot be considered without complete information (i.e., project proposal; timetable of research; budget including information about other possible sources of funding; resume; Yale transcript; and letter of recommendation).

PLEASE NOTE: Budget proposals for all projects taking place in East Asia (China, Taiwan, Japan, Korea) must conform to CEAS budget guidelines. Please contact eastasian.studies@yale.edu with questions.

Please submit all materials in PDF format only.

All applicants will be notified of the results of the relevant award competition via email by mid-April 2024.