Folger Institute Fellowship Programs 2018, USA

Each year, the Folger Institute awards approximately seven long-term and forty-five short-term fellowships. Residential fellowships are supported by grants and endowments from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation; partner organizations such as the American Council of Learned Societies, the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies, the Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, the Renaissance Society of America, the Society for the Study of Early Modern Women; and the Folger’s many generous private supporters, who have created lasting legacies via our named endowments.

Long-term Fellowships

Long-term fellowships support scholars in residence for six to nine months with a monthly stipend of $5,555.55 for up to $50,000.  Scholars must hold a terminal degree in their field in order to be eligible for a long-term fellowship.  To evaluate our applications each year, the Fellowships Program assembles an external committee of respected scholars, aiming for disciplinary, methodological, and geographical diversity.  Committee membership changes annually.  The committee is charged with evaluating applications based on the proposed topic’s impact, its relevance to the field, the originality and sophistication of the scholar’s approach, the feasibility of the scholar’s research objectives, and their expected use of Folger collections.  Particular weight is accorded to the project’s impact, relevance, and approach.  The Folger Institute’s Assistant Director for Fellowships, Dr. Amanda Herbert, chairs the committee meeting and reviews the committee’s recommendations with the Executive Director, Dr. Kathleen Lynch, in light of the Folger’s standards of professional ethics, priorities, and policies about conflicts of interest (all of which are described to the committee members in advance).  

The application portal for the next fellowship competition will open on September 1, 2017. The next deadline for long-term fellowship applications is November 1, 2017 for periods of residence from July 2018 through June 2019.

Short-term Fellowships

Short-term fellowships support scholars in residence for one to three months with a monthly stipend of $2,500.  Scholars must hold a terminal degree in their field in order to be eligible for a short-term fellowship.  To evaluate our applications each year, the Fellowships Program assembles external and internal committees of respected scholars, aiming for disciplinary, methodological, and geographical diversity.  Committee membership changes annually.  The committee is charged with evaluating applications based on the proposed topic’s impact, its relevance to the field, the originality and sophistication of the scholar’s approach, the feasibility of the scholar’s research objectives, and their expected use of Folger collections.  Particular weight is accorded to the scholar’s stated plan of work, and how their efforts will be concentrated in the Folger’s collections.  The Folger Institute’s Assistant Director for Fellowships, Dr. Amanda Herbert, chairs the committee meeting and reviews the committee’s recommendations with the Executive Director, Dr. Kathleen Lynch, in light of the Folger’s standards of professional ethics, priorities, and policies about conflicts of interest (all of which are described to the committee members in advance).  At its discretion, the Folger may supplement committee recommendations.

The Folger has now opened its short-term fellowships to members of the performing arts community, as well as scholars working at archives, museums, and libraries. We welcome applications from archivists, creative artists, curators, librarians, performers, and playwrights whose research will benefit from focused engagement with the Folger collections. 

The next deadline for application is March 1, 2018 for a period of residence from June 2018 through June 2019, which offers scholars an opportunity to undertake a three-month fellowship during the summer months.  The short-term fellowship application portal will open December 15, 2017.

For more information please click "Further Official Information" below.