Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships
Gail M. Pesyna, Program Director

These awards are intended to enhance the careers of the very best young faculty members in the interdisciplinary field of Industry Studies.

2006 Sloan Industry Studies Fellows
2005 Sloan Industry Studies Fellows

Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships Brochure
Click here to print nomination form

    The Alfred P. Sloan Foundation is pleased to announce the availability of Industry Studies Fellowships to support the development of industry studies, a multidisciplinary field of research on industries that is grounded in direct observation. The Sloan Industry Studies Program, which includes twenty-six Sloan Industry Centers as well as affiliated faculty members working independently in many other university settings, encourages research cooperation between academics and industry in order to stimulate new lines of inquiry and broaden the impact of related scholarship.

    Modeled after the prestigious Sloan Research Fellowships for early-career scientists, Industry Studies Fellowships are intended to recognize and support junior faculty members in a wide range of academic disciplines. Awards are made to scholars who show the most outstanding promise of making important contributions to understanding the complex systems of companies, product and labor markets, institutions and their interactions that shape the multifaceted environment of modern industrial enterprises.

    The historical roots of industry studies extend back to intellectual leaders such as Adam Smith (1723-1790) and Alfred Marshall (1842-1924), who demonstrated that the scientific foundation and social effects of economic analysis are enhanced by grounding scholarship in the direct observation of production processes and in the practical experience of industry. The creation of the Sloan Industry Centers program in 1990 was based on the fundamental principle of academic research grounded in direct observation that involves interaction by scholars with people in their workplaces.

    To qualify as industry studies research, a candidate’s scholarship should demonstrate significant personal investment in developing an understanding of the markets, firms and institutions that characterize a particular industry. Generally this involves the integration of direct observation with appropriate theory and analysis. Therefore, the role of direct observation should be evident in the research of any fellowship candidate, as reflected in the selection of the topics addressed, the methodologies employed, related analysis, and/or the interpretation of findings. The candidate’s research may be multidisciplinary or it may contribute to a single discipline; however, narrowly technical research within a single discipline will not usually qualify as industry studies.

    The Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships will be awarded to up to five (5) junior faculty members who are conducting such research on a topic important to a specific industry. At its discretion, the Foundation may choose to award more than five fellowships in a given year. The Foundation anticipates that financial assistance at this crucial point in a scholar’s early career, even in modest amounts, will produce research results that ultimately may provide important benefits to industrial development and economic competitiveness.

    Sloan Industry Studies Fellows, once chosen, are free to pursue any direction of original investigation in industry studies, subject to an expectation that they will establish or maintain close working relationships within a chosen industry.

Procedures

1. Who is eligible

      Candidates for Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships are required to hold a Ph.D. (or equivalent) in economics, management, engineering, political science, sociology, or in a related or interdisciplinary field, and must be members of the regular faculty (i.e., tenure track) of a college or university in the United States or Canada. They may be no more than six years from completion of the most recent Ph.D. or equivalent as of the year of their nomination, unless special circumstances such as military service, a significant change of field, or child rearing are involved or unless they have held a faculty appointment for less than two years. If any of the above circumstances apply, the nomination letter (see below) should provide a clear explanation. While Fellows are expected to be at an early stage of their academic careers, there should be strong evidence of relevant research accomplishments. Candidates in all fields are normally below the rank of associate professor and do not hold tenure, but these are not strict requirements. The Foundation welcomes nominations of all candidates who meet the high standards of this program, and strongly encourages the participation of women and members of underrepresented minority groups.

     Nomination for the fellowship award in any given year does not preclude re-nomination of that candidate in a subsequent year, as long as the prerequisites for nomination are met and the candidate did not receive a fellowship in a previous year.

2.  The nominating and selection process

     Candidates may be nominated by Directors and faculty members at the Sloan Industry Centers, Affiliates of the Sloan Industry Studies program, department heads, or other senior scholars. Candidates and nominators are not required to have a formal relationship with a Sloan Industry Center. Direct applications are not accepted. Nomination forms are available at www.sloan.org. In addition to this form, the nominator should submit a letter describing the candidate's qualifications and must see that the Foundation receives three supporting letters directly from other scholars or professionals, preferably not at the same institution.  Missing support letters are generally detrimental to a nominee’s prospects.  The nominee’s curriculum vitae, a list of academic and professional publications, plus one copy of no more than two representative publications (single-sided, letter-size paper), and a brief statement (one to two pages) by the nominee describing his/her significant independent work and an initial plan for research in a specific industry should accompany the nomination form and letter.

    These materials must describe the extent to which the nominee has experience in conducting observation-based, field research; detailed studies of this (or another) industry; and/or collaborative, interdisciplinary work. Strong evidence of the nominee's independent capabilities to contribute to the field of industry studies, as defined above, is one of the most important considerations in the review process. The nominee’s scholarship should demonstrate excellence by evidence such as peer review, public recognition, awards, and similar markers of achievement.  In the review process, significant weight is attached to the nominee’s tangible record of scholarship once established in a faculty position.

     Nominations are due by October 15 for awards to begin in the following academic year. Nominations are reviewed and candidates selected by a Program Committee of scholars representing the participating disciplines from the industry studies community. Candidates selected for awards are notified early in February.

Nomination forms and supporting letters should be mailed to:

Sloan Industry Studies Fellowships
Gail M. Pesyna, Program Director
Alfred P. Sloan Foundation
Suite 2550
630 Fifth Avenue
New York, NY 10111-0242

3.  Terms of awards

      Fellowships are awarded for a two-year period; if unexpended funds remain at the end of two years, an extension of the termination date may be obtained.  Extensions are limited to a maximum of two years; funds remaining at the end of that period must be returned to the Foundation.  When a Fellow transfers to another institution during the term of the fellowship, the Foundation will transfer unexpended funds to the new institution.  The size of the award is $45,000 for the two-year period.

     Funds are awarded directly to the Fellow's institution and may be used by the Fellow for such purposes as travel to field locations, survey design and implementation, research assistance, faculty course buy-outs, summer support, or any other activity directly related to the Fellow's research. They may not be used to augment an existing full-time salary or for indirect or overhead charges by the Fellow's institution. Expenditures must be approved by the Fellow's department chair and must be in accord with the policies of the institution.

4.  Reporting

     The Fellow's institution is required to report annually on expenditures from the fellowship grant, and the Fellow must submit a brief annual research progress report and a final report. Reprints or preprints of academic papers may be submitted in lieu of such reports.

Evolution of the Program

The Sloan Industry Studies Fellowship program was launched in 2004, with the first awards granted for the 2005-2006 academic year. Six Fellows were selected in 2004 and four Fellows were selected in 2005 on the basis of their exceptional promise to contribute to the field of industry studies, to the advancement of knowledge, and to the U.S. industrial development and economic competitiveness.