Cold War Military History Dissertation Grant
John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History & Strategic Analysis, Virginia Military Institute
The John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History & Strategic Analysis at the Virginia Military Institute, Lexington, Virginia, will award a $5,000 grant for the best doctoral dissertation project in Cold War military history. The grant award is made possible by the generous support of the late John A. Adams and George J. Collins, Jr.
Eligibility:
We invite submissions from Ph.D. candidates in history or a related field currently working on a doctoral dissertation project that represents innovative scholarship in history or a related field and covers any aspect of Cold War military history, including international security affairs and strategic analysis. The dissertation may not be defended before May 01, 2027.
Procedures:
Submissions are due electronically to the Adams Center at the Virginia Military Institute by Friday, March 12, 2027.
Submissions must include all of the following:
- An application letter that briefly explains the project’s purpose and current status, including progress-to-date (max. 1 page)
- A prospectus that describes in more detail the project and its significance and innovative character. It should also include a timeline and show how the grant will facilitate necessary research and contribute to the completion of the dissertation (max. 5 pages)
- Curriculum Vitae (max. 3 pages)
- One letter of recommendation from the dissertation advisor or a member of the dissertation committee (max. 1-2 pages)
A panel of judges will examine all submissions; the Adams Center will announce the grant recipient in early May 2027.
Submissions to: adamscenter@vmi.edu
Questions? Contact:
Dr. Jochen S. Arndt
Professor and Deputy Director, John A. Adams ’71 Center for Military History & Strategic Analysis
Department of History
Virginia Military Institute
Lexington, VA 24450
arndtjs@vmi.edu
Past Dissertation Grant Recipients:
| Mark Thomas-Patterson, “To Secure a New Order: U.S. Nuclear Security and the Collapse of the Soviet Union,” University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. |
| Tristan Krause, “A Dramatic Sequel to the War: Americans, Germans, and the Search for the Missing, 1945-1955” |
| Yuki Minami, “The Zainichi Volunteers in the Korean War,” Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. |
| Thao Nguyen, “The Vietnamese Women in the Black Market of South Vietnam,” University of Michigan. |
| Johanne Marie Skov, “Britain Rising like a Phoenix from the Ashes: How Britain Landed the 1985 Al Yamamah Arms Deal with Saudi Arabia in the Context of Cold War Western Intra-Bloc Rivalry, 1979-1985,” Lancaster University, UK. |
| Meghan Ashley Vance, “Cold War Soldiering: The U.S. Army in Germany, 1945–1958,” Texas A&M University. |
| Heather M. Haley, “Unsuitable and Incompatible: Ensign Vernon ‘Copy’ Berg, Bisexuality, and the Cold War U.S. Navy,” Auburn University. |
| Eric Perinovic, “Ex Machina: The F-104G Starfighter, the Federal Republic of Germany, and the Origins of the Modern European Military Aviation Sector,” Temple University. |
| Hosub Shim, “The Forgotten Army: A History of the Republic of Korea Forces’ in the Vietnam War, 1965–1973,” University of Kansas. |
| Kate Tietzen, “Iraq in the Cold War and beyond the fall of the Soviet Union, 1968–2003,” Kansas State University. |
| Susan Colbourn, “Defining Détente: The North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s Struggle for Identity, 1975–1983,” University of Toronto, Canada. |
| Kuan-jen Chen, “U.S. Maritime Policy in East Asia during the Cold War era, 1945–1979,” University of Cambridge, UK. |
| Nathaniel R. Weber, “U.S. Military Assistance and Advisory Groups, 1945–1965,” Texas A&M University. |
| Brett M. Reilly, “International Military Advising and the Armed Forces of the State of Vietnam and Republic of Vietnam, 1948–1975,” University of Wisconsin. |
| Fatih Tokatli, “Turkish-American Military Cooperation and Transformation of Turkish Military in the Cold War, 1947–1954,” Bilkent University, Türkiye. |