American Philosophical Society

2023-2024 Residential Fellowship Opportunities, Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society

The Library & Museum of the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia invites applications for sabbatical, postdoctoral, predoctoral, and short-term research fellowships for projects in all fields working on research projects utilizing its collections.

The APS's Library & Museum’s collections make it among the premier institutions for documenting and exhibiting the history of the American Revolution and founding, the history of science from Newton to NASA, and Indigenous languages and cultures. The Society’s collections include more than 14 million pages of manuscripts, 275,000 bound volumes, 250,000 images, thousands of hours of audio tape, and 3,360 three-dimensional artifacts and fine art objects. It is home to three research centers: the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR), which has worked with over 80 Native American and Indigenous communities since 2014; the Center for Digital Scholarship, which interprets and expands access to APS collections through digital projects and open source data; and the David Center for the American Revolution, a partnership with the David Library of the American Revolution that formed a new research center for the American Revolution at the APS and brought the David Library’s collection of Revolutionary-era manuscripts, hundreds of rare books and pamphlets, 8,000 reference volumes, and 9,000 reels of microfilm to Philadelphia.

Comprehensive, searchable guides and finding aids to our collections are available online at https://www.amphilsoc.org/library/search-collections and http://amphilsoc.pastperfectonline.com/.

See individual fellowship descriptions below for more information and instructions on how to apply. For a complete listing of all APS grant and fellowship opportunities, visit www.amphilsoc.org/grants/fellowships.

Long-Term Residential Fellowships

Deadline: January 20, 2023

APS-NEH Sabbatical Fellowships

This fellowship supports mid-career or senior scholars in all fields seeking sabbatical support for the completion of a book project. These opportunities are funded by The National Endowment for the Humanities and provide six or twelve months of research support in the Society’s collections for persons who have already completed their formal professional training. 

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116133

Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Postdoctoral Fellowship 

This 12-month fellowship offers $45-60K plus a $5,000 research stipend for a recent doctoral graduate, a professor at any level seeking sabbatical support for a research project, or an independent postdoctoral scholar working closely with an Indigenous community on a project. Applications are open to scholars in any field and all periods of time. Preference will be given to those who have sustained personal engagement or experience with Indigenous communities.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116128

Mellon Foundation Native American Scholars Initiative (NASI) Predoctoral Fellowship

This fellowship offers $25,000 for an advanced doctoral degree student working toward the completion of the dissertation. Applications are open to scholars in any field and all periods of time. Preference will be given to those who have sustained personal engagement or experience with Indigenous communities. 

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116118

David Center for the American Revolution Postdoctoral Fellowship

This 24-month fellowship offers $50,000 per year for two years to support a recent Ph.D., professor seeking sabbatical support, or an independent scholar working on a project about the American Revolution and Founding Era. 

To apply, please submit materials to http://apply.interfolio.com/116138

David Center for the American Revolution Predoctoral Fellowship

This 12-month fellowship offers $25,000 to an advanced Ph.D. student finishing a dissertation about the American Revolution and Founding Era. 

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116302

Friends of the American Philosophical Society Predoctoral Fellowship 

This 12-month fellowship offers $25,000 to support twelve months of work on dissertation topics in all fields reflected in the APS’s Library & Museum’s collections.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116313

John C. Slater Predoctoral Fellowship in the History of Science

This 12-month fellowship offers $25,000 to support twelve months of work on dissertation topics pertaining to the history of science, broadly defined.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116305 

Short-Term Residential Research Fellowships

Deadline: March 3, 2023

Digital Humanities Fellowships

The American Philosophical Society offers fellowships to scholars working to interpret archival materials through emerging technologies for up to 2 months to advance a digital research project.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116950

David Center for the American Revolution Short-Term Research Fellowship

These one month fellowships provide $3,000 for researchers working on projects about the American Revolution and Founding Era who show a demonstrated need to use the APS’s Library & Museum collections.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116940

David Center for the American Revolution Research Fellowships for International Scholars

These short-term fellowships support research by scholars based outside the United States seeking to examine materials at the APS's Library & Museum or other archives in the United States related to topics on the American Revolution and Founding Era. Applicants must submit a timeline at the time of application outlining the duration and locations of the proposed work.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116947

Swan Foundation Short-Term Resident Research Fellowship for Revolutionary-Era Material Culture

This fellowship provides one month of support to work in the artifact collections of the Swan Historical Foundation, the American Philosophical Society, and other repositories in the Greater Philadelphia Region.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116953

Short-Term Resident Research Fellowships

One- to three-month fellowships are available for Ph.D. candidates, holders of the Ph.D., and degreed independent scholars, within any field of study that requires using the collections of the APS's Library & Museum.

To apply, please submit materials to https://apply.interfolio.com/116937

The American Philosophical Society is committed to maintaining the highest standards of scholarly excellence while supporting a working and intellectual environment that fosters an inclusive atmosphere for learning, prizes diverse origins and points of view, advances equal opportunities to learn and communicate, and encourages the widest possible access to its collections. The APS has titled these goals the APS IDEA (Inclusivity, Diversity, Equality, and Access) for its enduring institutional commitment to these values.