The Doctorate Research Fellows Program at the Faculty of Law

Overview of the Program

1. The Faculty of Law launched its Research Fellows program in the 2007/8 academic year. The program is intended for outstanding research students who are interested in devoting all their time and energy to research activities in the Faculty. The program is open to students who are registered at the Law Faculty as research students (LL.D. degree) in the ordinary or direct track. As detailed below, candidates who are not yet registered at the Law Faculty as research students may also apply for the program, provided they meet the conditions of admission for LL.D. students.
    
2. The participants in the program will serve as research fellows in the Faculty for three years. As detailed below, research fellows will be entitled to a living stipend during their time in the program. In the 2013/14 academic year, the stipend is expected to be in the range NIS 6,500 – 7,300; the precise sum will be determined at the beginning of the year. Students in the direct track, who are considered by the university to be LL.M. students in their initial stage, will be entitled to a full scholarship subject to the approval of the university authorities. If approval is not received, they will receive the maximum permitted scholarship for LL.M. students (NIS 6,000) during their initial stage. Research fellows will also be entitled to a work space at the Faculty.
    
3. Research fellows will be integrated in the academic activities of one of the research workshops (“forums”) active in the Faculty. Research fellows will devote their time fully to research work, although they will be able to teach up to four academic points a year within the framework of the Faculty (see below). Ongoing payment of the living stipend is dependent on adequate progress toward the doctorate thesis as detailed below.

Conditions of the Program

1. Subject to the conditions detailed below, research fellows will be entitled to receive a living stipend during their time in the program. Research fellows will also be entitled to a work space at the Faculty.
    
2. Research fellows will be integrated in the academic activities of one of the research workshops (“forums”) active in the Faculty, related to their doctoral thesis. Each forum includes faculty members, experts from outside the university, and graduate students working in the relevant field. Involvement in the forum’s activities will include attending academic meetings held by the forum; presenting research work to the forum members; and regular meetings with forum members and with researchers from Israel and abroad who are being hosted as part of the forum’s activities. In the case of forums that are running a special research project, the forum members will attempt to involve the research fellows in the research in a way that contributes to their work. The Faculty website will include a special section providing a brief description of the research fellows in the Faculty.
    
3. Research fellows will devote their time fully to research work, although they will be able to teach up to four academic points a year within the framework of the Faculty of Law at the Hebrew University and to pursue academic activity within the forum in which they are placed. The scholarship is not intended for students who are working outside the university while pursuing their studies.
    
4. As a general rule, participants in the program must submit a research proposal approved by their supervisor to the Research Students Authority within 12 months from joining the Research Fellows program (at the latest). Research fellows will usually be required to complete writing their doctorate within three years from the date of joining the program, or four years in the case of fellows admitted to the program prior to the approval of their doctorate research program. In special cases, the committee will be entitled to extend the scholarship period by one additional year (a fourth year).
    
5. The Committee for Advanced Studies (“the Committee”) is entitled to recommend that the Dean of the Faculty allow an exceptionally outstanding research fellow to visit a leading university outside Israel for the purpose of studies or research during his/her time in the program, and to provide financial assistance to this end.
    
6. As a general rule, participation in the program will be for a single continuous period of three years. Fellows may ask the Committee to allow them to suspend their participation in the program for a period of not more than one year, stating their reasons for this request.
    
7. Research fellows will be required to inform the Committee of any scholarships or prizes they receive in addition to the living stipend awarded for the period of the stipend. University scholarships will be offset in full from the sum of the living stipend (in other words, these payments will be considered part of the Research Fellows stipend for any purpose and mater). External scholarships will be offset partially at a rate to be determined by the Committee (usually half the sum). Research fellows will be required to make an effort to secure competitive scholarships both from the Hebrew University and from other sources. Specifically, they will submit their candidacy for any university scholarship if asked to do so by the Committee.
    
8. By June 15th each year (or by another date as determined by the Committee), research fellows will submit a report to the Committee detailing their progress in their research over the course of the year. The report will include a detailed description of their activities over the year, additional sources of income (if any), and plans for the coming year. A letter will be attached from the supervisor detailing the fellow’s research progress.
    
9. Even if a period of three years has not yet passed, the fellow’s participation in the program will terminate at the end of the academic year (i.e. September 30th) in which the research fellow submitted a doctorate thesis to the university’s Research Students Authority.
    
10. The Committee will be entitled to order the cessation of participation of a research fellow in the program if it emerges that the fellow has discontinued his/her studies; failed to make adequate progress in the research work; or violated the undertaking not to engage in other activities and to devote his/her time fully to research work. The Committee will be entitled to instruct the research fellow to repay sums he/she received over the course of that year. The Committee will only be entitled to exercise this authority after consulting with the research fellow’s instructor or the coordinator of the relevant forum, and after giving the fellow an opportunity to state his/her case.

Conditions of Admission to the Program

1.  The Committee for Advanced Studies will select the research fellows each year in consultation with the coordinators of active forums in the Faculty.
    
2. The decision to admit students to the program will be based on an evaluation of academic excellence and clear research potential.
    
3.   Admission of new candidates to the program:
    

   1. Students registered as research students (LL.D.) in the ordinary or direct track in the Law Faculty are entitled to submit an application to the program. 
       
   2. Applications will also be accepted from persons who are not yet registered as research students in the Law Faculty, but who meet the conditions of admission for LL.D. studies. 
       
   3. Students admitted to the program may only begin to serve as research fellows after they have been registered as research students at the Faculty. Students may only continue to serve in this capacity for as long as they are registered as stated. 
       
   4. The application to join the program will be submitted to the coordinator of Doctorate Studies in the Faculty, using the form attached at the end of this document. The application will include all the details specified in the form, including a commitment to observe the conditions of the program. We recommend that candidates contact the coordinator of the forum they are applying to join at the time they submit their application, in order to present their research plan. The chairperson of the Committee can provide details concerning the active forums in the Faculty and the forum coordinators. 
       
   5. As a general rule, participation in the program will begin on October 1st of the year in which the candidates were admitted to the program. 
       
   6. The application to join the program must be submitted by January 15th of the year preceding the year in which the applicant wishes to begin the program (or by another date as published by the Committee). The Committee will inform applicants whether they have been admitted to the program approximately one month later. In unusual instances involving exceptionally outstanding candidates, the Committee is entitled to examine applications submitted after the above-mentioned deadline. 
       
   7. Students will be admitted to the program for three years, provided that the Committee approves their annual application to continue their participation as detailed below. In special cases, the Committee will be entitled to extend the period of participation in the program by one additional year (a fourth year).

Application to approve continued participation in the program:

1. At the end of each year of participation in the program, research fellows may ask the Committee to approve their participation for an additional year, up to a total period of three years (or four years, as noted above). An application to approve continued participation in the program must be submitted by June 15th (or by another date as published by the Committee). 
    
2. The request to approve continued participation in the program will include a report detailing the fellow’s progress in his/her research over the course of the year. The report will include a detailed description of activities undertaken over the year, additional sources of income (if any), and plans for the coming year. A letter will be attached from the supervisor detailing the fellow’s research progress. 
    
3. The Committee will approve continued participation in the program for an additional year on the basis of its evaluation of the fellow’s research progress and other activities.