Apply for the Byron Hanke Fellowship

Applications for the 2025 scholarship are open and will be accepted through May 1, 2025.

The Foundation for Community Association Research (FCAR) awards its Byron Hanke Fellowship to selected graduate students to implement research projects related to the development, management and governance of common interest communities and their community associations. Find out more about Byron Hanke.

Prior to sending in an application please read information below regarding the eligibility requirements, areas and topics of study, evaluation and selection, and stipends and payments. All information on eligibility and deadlines is up to date.

Eligibility Requirements

Applicants must be enrolled, at time of application and through the research period, in a graduate level program (masters, doctoral, legal) at an accredited higher education institution in the United States or Canada. Students from any relevant discipline may apply for the Hanke Fellowship, provided their research project relates to community associations and/or common interest communities.

Areas and Topics of Study

Projects may focus on applied or theoretical research and must be done in conjunction with the fellow’s graduate studies. The application should clearly explain the purpose and anticipated outcomes of the project and show how it will expand or enhance existing theory, knowledge, or data collection and help to advance the Foundation’s mission. Before applying, please review the definition of a community association/common interest community.

Within the field of community associations and common-interest communities, Hanke Fellowship projects are accepted for the following topics:

Preparing for the Next Financial Crisis: Community Associations in Lien Priority, Insolvency or Foreclosure
How Community Associations respond to aging infrastructure and aging residents
Quantifying how Community Associations impact home values and resale activity
How Community Associations manage risks related to technology use and data collection
Trends in Community Association efforts to conserve resources and protect the environment

Applicants may submit proposals on other relevant topics with the understanding that preference will be given to proposals that address priority topics.

Projects may focus on either applied or theoretical research. The Foundation is especially interested in substantive papers from the social sciences, which place community association housing within political or economic organizational models. In all cases, the topic must have the approval of the graduate student’s general academic adviser, or of another full-time faculty member who will supervise the Hanke Fellow’s project. The project topic must have potential of furthering understanding of residential community associations.

Learn more about research projects awarded to past Byron Hanke Fellowship recipients.

Deliverables

Hanke Fellows conduct specific research activity and use results and analysis to produce a comprehensive paper or thesis that relates to one the Foundation’s priority research topics. The proposed project must be approved by the academic adviser who will supervise the Fellowship project. The research paper must be original, substantive and available for copyright and publication by the Foundation.

Evaluation and Selection

The Foundation appoints a committee of qualified community association experts to oversee the Hanke Fellowship program. The Committee reviews applications and identifies eligible candidates with projects of interest for phone or in-person interviews. Fellowship decisions are usually announced in the summer to facilitate implementation at the start of the fall term.

Evaluation of applications is based on the project description and its relevance to the Foundation’s mission, goals and constituent interests. Consideration is given to the applicant’s academic record and goals, research and writing skills, and personal recommendations. Awards are based on merit, without regard to gender, age, race, ethnicity, religious beliefs or disabilities.

Note that immediate family of current CAI trustees and Foundation board members are not eligible to receive a Hanke Fellowship.

Stipends and Payments

Stipends and payments come from the Foundation for Community Association Research and are sent to recipients in three equal payments.

The first comes upon acceptance of the fellowship and his or her academic institution’s certification that the student is both currently enrolled in the appropriate graduate program, and is authorized to accept a Hanke Fellowship.
The second installment of the stipend will be paid at the beginning of the second academic term following the first payment, upon confirmation of satisfactory progress by the Hanke Fellow’s academic or project advisor. The funds must be used for tuition, books, or other expenses of the Fellow’s graduate education, as documented by receipts submitted to the Foundation.
The final installment of the stipend will be paid upon completion of the project. The Hanke Fellow will also be obligated to provide to the Foundation a copy of the final project, in accordance with the Fellow’s application. The Foundation may publish the project if it is deemed appropriate.

The Hanke Fellowship stipends range from $3,000-$5,000 over one year, or as determined by the Foundation. The Foundation Executive Committee maintains the right to determine the amount of the stipend.

Application Process

Project abstracts and applications should be sent directly to the Foundation for Community Association Research at foundation@caionline.org or to 6402 Arlington Boulevard, Suite 500, Falls Church, VA 22042, attn: Hanke Fellowship. For more information, contact the Foundation at (888) 224-4321 or foundation@caionline.org.