Postdoctoral Fellowships
Program in African American History (PAAH) Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships
The Mellon Scholars Research Fellowship Program promotes research in the Library Company’s collections to enhance the production of scholarly work in African American history of the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries.
The stipend is $50,000 for the academic year (September 1 through May 31). Applicants may be citizens of any country, and they must hold a PhD by September 1 of the year of residency.
Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Postdoctoral Fellowships
Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Postdoctoral Fellowships support research in the collections of the Library Company, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, and other nearby institutions into the origins and development of the early American economy, broadly conceived, to roughly 1850. The fellowships provide scholars the opportunity to investigate such topics as history of commerce, finance, technology, manufacturing, agriculture, internal improvements, and economic policy making.
The stipend is $50,000 for the academic year (September 1 to May 31) or $25,000 for the fall or spring semester. Fellows must reside in the Philadelphia area for the duration of their fellowship. Both senior scholars and early-career scholars are welcome to apply. Applicants may be citizens of any country, and they must hold a PhD by September 1 of the year of residency.
National Endowment for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowships
National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Postdoctoral Fellowships support advanced humanities research in residence at the Library Company on any subject relevant to its collections, which encompass rare printed, graphic, and manuscript material, art, and artifacts relating to the history of the United States and the Atlantic world from the 17th through the 19th centuries. NEH Postdoctoral Fellowships are tenable for four to nine months. The stipend is $5,000 per month.
Doctoral candidates must have completed all degree requirements, except for the actual conferral of the degree, by the application deadline. Applicants must be United States citizens or foreign nationals who have lived in the United States for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline.
Applications
Applications for 2023–24 postdoctoral fellowships have closed. Applications for 2024–25 fellowships will open later this year.
To apply, fill out the online application form and upload a single PDF file containing the following elements:
- a brief CV
- a ca. 150-word project abstract
- a two- to four-page description of your proposed research (single-spaced, not to exceed 1500 words)
- a writing sample of no more than 25 pages.
The proposal should make clear how Library Company collections (and, if relevant, Historical Society of Pennsylvania and nearby collections) will support your research. Application files should be named using this format: Lastname_Firstname_application.
In addition, two letters of recommendation in PDF format should be uploaded here directly by the writers; please ask recommenders to name files using this format: Lastname_Firstname_letter.
For more information
For assistance in determining how the Library Company’s collections might support a particular project, contact Librarian Emily Guthrie (eguthrie@librarycompany.org).
For general information about fellowships and application procedures, contact Fellowships Manager Christine Nelson (fellowships@librarycompany.org).
For more information about the PEAES award, contact PEAES Program Director Dr. Cathy Matson (cmatson@udel.edu).
For more information about the PAAH award, contact PAAH Program Director Dr. Deirdre Cooper Owens (paahdirector@librarycompany.org).