Public Intellectuals Program

Round IX

Application Form

Welcome to the application for the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations' Public Intellectuals Program (PIP) Round IX (2025-2027).

Eligibility: Eligible applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents. Academics must have a terminal degree (i.e.: PhD, JD, MD, EdD, MFA) and several years of experience teaching and/or researching China. Those in other professional fields must have several years of experience in China-related work. All must have demonstrated expertise on China.

Priority is given to candidates aged 32–46 who are based in the United States or Greater China.

Application Deadline: Sunday, May 11, 2025, 11:59 pm (Eastern Time)

Application and Selection: Applicants must complete this application form which includes an essay of no more than 800 words focused on how you would benefit from the PIP program and how the program would benefit from your participation, short supplementary questions, a current CV, and the names of and contact information for two references (one professional and one personal). 

Applicants can expect to receive an update on their application status by late July 2025. For more detailed information on the application, please visit https://www.ncuscr.org/applications-pip-9/.

More information: Information sessions for prospective applicants will be held on April 15, 2pm (ET) and April 16, 8pm (ET). For information on the first eight rounds of PIP, including a database and a list of 160 PIP fellows, please go to http://www.ncuscr.org/pip. For further inquiries, please contact pipapplication@ncuscr.org.

References and Questions

Please submit the relevant information for two references (one professional/academic and one personal) who can speak to your background, qualifications, and strengths. Please note we will contact references at our discretion.

Professional Reference

Name

Title

Affiliation

Phone

Relationship to you

Personal Reference

Name

Title

Affiliation

Phone

Relationship to you

Personal Statement

How would you benefit from the PIP program? How would your institution, field, and/or community benefit? Conversely, how would the program benefit from your participation? (800 word limit)

Short Questions

1. In recent years, have you made any adjustments in how you engage with China in your work, teach about China, or support your students? If so, please elaborate on the changes and what factors influenced them (e.g., institutional policies, personal perspectives, or other considerations). (250 word limit)

2. Please name two writers (scholars, journalists, or creative writers) under the age of 50—one from your field and one outside of it—whose work on China has changed your mind about something or that you have found especially illuminating. Please explain your answers. (250 word limit)

Please answer two of the five questions below:

3. Have you ever shared your China expertise with a group or public audience outside of your academic or professional field, either formally or informally? What worked and what did not? Learning from this experience, what might you do differently? (250 word limit)

4. What non-academic Chinese writer, filmmaker, artist or book, film, works of art, etc. has been influential in shaping your thinking? (250 word limit)

5. President Xi Jinping has said he wants to dramatically increase the number of Americans coming to China, but political disputes and unfavorable public opinion are working against this goal. What recommendations do you have to make China more attractive to young Americans? (250 word limit)

6. If you had an hour with your Mayor, Governor, State Secretary of Education, or another relevant local official (choose one), what three things would you advise them to prioritize in the next year to enhance understanding of China and stabilize relations? (250 word limit)

7. If you were awarded five million dollars by an American foundation interested in advancing China Studies in the United States, how would you allocate the funds? What priorities would you focus on and why? (250 word limit)

Curriculum Vitae

Please try to format your CV so that it does not exceed six pages

Anthropology	Architecture/Urban Planning
Arts (Films, Theater, Dance, etc.)	Communications/Media
Economics	Education
Environmental Studies	Geography
History	Languages and Literature
Law	Military/Security
Philosophy/Religion	Political Science
Public Health/Medicine	Science and Technology
Sociology	Interdisciplinary or Other

Personal and Professional Information

Email Address:

Phone Numbers:

References and Questions