Fellowships

The Humanities Center offers residential fellowships to scholars from Stanford and elsewhere at all career stages, giving them the opportunity to pursue their work in a supportive intellectual community.

Fellowships for External Faculty

External fellowships are intended primarily for individuals currently teaching in or affiliated with an academic institution, but independent scholars may apply. Faculty fellowships are awarded across the spectrum of academic ranks (assistant, associate, and full professor) and a goal of the selection process is to create a diverse community of scholars. Applicants who are members of traditionally under-represented groups are encouraged to apply. There are no citizenship requirements for these fellowships; non-U.S. nationals are welcome to apply. Awards are made from an applicant pool of approximately 350.

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Fellowships for Stanford Faculty

Internal Faculty Fellowships are intended primarily for active Stanford Academic Council faculty, but lecturers and senior lecturers with continuing appointments and emeriti faculty may also apply. One goal of the fellowship selection process is to create a diverse community of scholars across the spectrum of academic fields and ranks. Scholars who are members of traditionally under-represented groups are encouraged to apply.

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Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities

The Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities brings to Stanford outstanding early career scholars to be part of a vibrant cross-disciplinary community. Fellows teach two courses per year, and participate in an active program of scholarly exchange with Stanford faculty, Stanford Humanities Center fellows at all stages of career, and established scholars from around the world.

Founded in the 1970s with a generous grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, the fellowships were brought together into a coherent program under the leadership of Seth Lerer in 2001, to encourage interdisciplinary collaboration. Lerer developed the program into a genuine community of scholars, fostering intense dialogue across disciplines based primarily on regular and close engagement by the fellows with one another’s work.

The Mellon Fellowship is currently directed by Kären Wigen, Frances & Charles Field Professor in History.

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Fellowships for Stanford Graduate Students

The Stanford Humanities Center awards three highly selective fellowships for Stanford doctoral students in the humanities and the interpretive social sciences: the SHC Dissertation Prize fellowship; the Mellon Dissertation fellowship (in collaboration with the School of Humanities and Sciences); and the Next Generation Scholar fellowship.

The application deadline for all three fellowships occurs in early February. Graduate students may apply to the SHC Dissertation Prize/Mellon Dissertation fellowships or the Next Generation Scholar fellowship but not DP/Mellon and Next Generation Scholar in the same application cycle. 

The SHC Dissertation Prize fellowships and Mellon Foundation Dissertation fellowships are awarded to advanced graduate students who are completing their dissertations. SHC Dissertation Prize fellows are required to spend the academic year (fall/winter/spring quarters) taking part in the daily life of the Humanities Center. Mellon dissertation fellows are required to meet the campus residency expectations set by their dean/department. The application cycle opens in fall quarter each year, with a deadline in early February. 

For more information and to apply, please see the SHC Dissertation Prize fellowships and Mellon Foundation Dissertation fellowships application page.

The Next Generation Scholar fellowship (formerly Career Launch fellowship) supports Stanford graduate students in year 7 or above whose work demonstrates the highest distinction and the promise of future achievement. These fellowships are intended to serve as a bridge between the end of the university’s formal support and the transition to a postdoctoral fellowship or faculty position. In addition to completing the dissertation, fellows pursue professional development part-time during one quarter (e.g., teach a course connected to the fellow’s research profile, develop skills in the digital humanities, engage closely with a public humanities initiative, or another endeavor of the fellow’s choosing). The application cycle opens in fall quarter each year, with a deadline in early February.

For more information and to apply, please see the Next Generation Scholar Fellowship application page.

Fellowships for Stanford Undergraduate Students

Since 2013 the Humanities Center has been awarding Hume Honors Fellowships to eight to ten seniors writing an honor’s thesis in one of Stanford’s humanities departments. Fellows are chosen from candidates nominated by faculty across the humanities at Stanford. 

In the stimulating scholarly environment of the Humanities Center, undergraduate fellows benefit from a year-long association as a cohort, as well as with graduate students and faculty fellows in residence. These intensive intellectual interactions are meant to enable the students to deepen their scholarly focus and expose them to advanced and inspiring research in the humanities.

The Hume Honors Fellowships are made possible by a gift to the endowment by Mr. George and Dr. Leslie P. Hume.

Please contact Svetlana Turetskaya, International and Academic Programs Manager, by email or call (650) 690-0763 if you have questions about this fellowship.

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Fellowships for International Visitors

Each year, the Stanford Humanities Center brings high profile international scholars to Stanford for short-term residencies. Stanford departments, programs, and research centers and institutes are each eligible to nominate one candidate for consideration for a residency. During their stay, the international scholars are asked to share their research through a series of presentations, and engage with faculty and students to develop ongoing intellectual collaborations. Often, these experts are working in similar fields or on complementary projects to their campus counterparts. A selection committee made up of faculty and administrators from Stanford’s humanities and social science disciplines appoints approximately six scholars per year to come to Stanford. Visitors are chosen for their ability to expose the campus to new and relevant research agendas or geographic regions, and the likelihood that the residency will result in lasting scholarly contributions. 

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The particular configuration of the SHC’s seminars and workshops, and the general interaction of people, means this was by far the most stimulating research center in which I have worked.

Nigel
Smith
Marta Sutton Weeks External Fellow
,
Department of English, Princeton University
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