The purpose of SCANCOR is the strengthening of the international organizational research community without regard to disciplinary boundaries. One of the perks of visiting SCANCOR is to network and learn from others. Social science scholars are welcome at all stages in their careers. Stanford accepts applications from full-time doctoral students, post-doctoral scholars, and full-time faculty from our member institutions.

All appointments at SCANCOR Stanford are residential fellowships; visitors are expected to be in residence at SCANCOR throughout their stay. Visitors are expected to be active participants in the intellectual life of SCANCOR and engaged in their own ongoing research while in residence. Weekly seminar: Serving as the hub of SCANCOR’s activities, the weekly seminar on Stanford’s campus connects visiting scholars with faculty. Incoming scholars are encouraged and expected to participate.

Visiting Scholar appointments do not provide monetary perquisites.

Appointment length: Appointments are typically for one or two Stanford quarters (maximum three quarters, which amounts to one academic year).  Longer stays are generally encouraged. Applicants to the Spring cohort are for 1-quarter only, as SCANCOR does not host visitors over the summer.

For those currently enrolled in a doctoral program, please read the following before applying: Predoctoral visitors to SCANCOR are appointed to Visiting Student Researcher (VSR) status at Stanford University. VSRs maintain a non-matriculated student status. VSRs may not enroll in courses for credit. If accepted to the program, please note that Stanford charges a monthly fee for VSR status. For 2026-2027, this fee is $1,418 per month (this fee is only applicable to SCANCOR visitors who are enrolled in a doctoral program at their home institution, during their SCANCOR appointment). There are also health insurance charges. Regarding admissions, please note that PhD students who are later in their PhD program will be considered before those who have just started.

Eligibility: Danish, Finnish, and Norwegian applicants must be affiliated with one of the SCANCOR member institutions in those countries (see Funders for more information). Swedish applicants associated with any accredited institution are eligible. Finally, applicants who hold a full-time position (doctoral student, postdoc, faculty) with any of our affiliate member institutions are eligible. (see Funders for more information). Scholars who do not have a full-time affiliation with a member institution are not eligible to apply.

Visa process: US federal government regulations require Visiting Scholars and VSRs  to obtain J-1 visas for the period of residence at SCANCOR. The US federal government also requests proof of funding for the time of the visit, and proof of sufficient proficiency in the English language such as a TOEFL score (or equivalent test of 89 or higher, or signed documentation from an academic institution or English language school.) Finally, there are health insurance requirements that must be maintained for the duration of the stay.

Deferrals: We cannot accommodate requests for deferrals for any reason, including funding. If accepted and your plans change, you would have to re-apply at a more suitable time.

To apply: submit a curriculum vitae, a professional self-description including statement of goals and motivation to apply, and an example of writing in English (e.g., paper, article, chapter). Applicants without PhD in hand at time of application should ask the chair of the dissertation committee (or other supervisor) to provide a signed letter of reference.