Fellowships & Grants

Last updated November 2012

The APS has assisted thousands of scholars in the past and encourages all eligible current candidates to apply for our grants and fellowships. We continuously review our application forms and submission procedures to make them as simple and as clear as possible, but we do require that applicants and referees use these forms and procedures.

Franklin Research Grants, Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grants, Library Resident Research Fellowships, and Phillips Fund for Native American Research Grants Applications should be submitted through our online application portal. See links to the portal on the individual program pages. The APS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biological Science, the Daland Fellowship in Clinical Investigation, and the Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellowship do not use the portal. Downloadable application forms and submission instructions are on the individual program pages..

Special Features Within the Franklin Research Grants

APS/British Academy Fellowship for Research in London
In collaboration with the British Academy, the APS offers an exchange postdoctoral fellowship for a minimum of one and a maximum of two months’ research in the archives and libraries of London during 2013. This award includes travel expenses between the United States and United Kingdom and a monthly subsistence paid by the APS. Candidates should use the Franklin application form, specifying that they are asking for the British Academy Fellowship, and apply by October 1; applicants not selected for the British Academy Fellowship will be considered for a Franklin Research Grant.

APS/Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities Fellowship for Research in Edinburgh
In collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH) at the University of Edinburgh, the APS offers a visiting fellowship of between two and four months for research in Edinburgh in the calendar year 2013 in any aspect of the humanities and social sciences. To maximize the benefits of the fellowship, applicants are strongly encouraged to schedule their visit to overlap with one of the two main teaching semesters (January–March and September–December). This award, available to scholars of postdoctoral or equivalent standing, includes travel expenses between the United States and the United Kingdom, a private office, library and research facilities at the IASH, and a monthly subsistence paid by the APS. Travel expenses and the monthly subsistence amount will not exceed a maximum of $6,000. Candidates should use the Franklin application form, specifying that they are asking for the IASH Fellowship, and apply by October 1; applicants not selected for the IASH Fellowship will be considered for a Franklin Research Grant. Further information about the IASH, including current research themes, is available at http://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/.

Scope and Purpose of Programs

Since 1933 the American Philosophical Society has awarded research grants to more than 15,000 scholars. In 2011–2012 the Society awarded more than $700,000 to 160 scholars, and we expect to continue, if not exceed, this level of support in 2012–2013. We maintain eight grant or fellowship programs in a wide range of fields. Our Franklin, Lewis and Clark, Lewis and Clark Astrobiology, Library Fellowship, and Phillips programs award small grants ($1,000 to $6,000) for modest research purposes. Our Biological Science, Daland, and Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowship programs award much larger amounts ($40,000 to $60,000) in highly selective competitions.

Awards are made for non-commercial research only. The Society makes no grants for academic study or classroom presentation, for travel to conferences, for non-scholarly projects, for assistance with translation, or for the preparation of materials for use by students. The Society does not pay overhead or indirect costs to any institution or costs of publication.

Who Is Eligible?

Applicants may be U.S. citizens and residents of the United States or American citizens resident abroad. Foreign nationals not affiliated with U.S. institutions are eligible to apply for projects to be carried out in the United States, although applicants to the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology must be U.S. citizens, U.S. residents, or foreign nationals formally affiliated with a U.S. institution. Grant recipients may reapply after an interval of two years.

Grants are made to individuals. Institutions are not eligible to apply.

See specific programs for additional information.

Deadlines

The deadlines for the following programs are RECEIPT deadlines for all materials, including letters of support, unless otherwise noted. If the posted deadline falls on a weekend or a holiday, the deadline is the following business day.

APS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biological Science: March 1; notification in June
Daland Fellowships: September 1 (in 2012, September 17); notification in January
Franklin Research Grants: October 1 and December 1 (in 2012, December 3); notifications in February and April
Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research: February 1 for applications, January 26 for letters of support; notification in May
Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology: February 1; notification in May
Library Resident Fellowships: March 1; notification in May
Mellon Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellowships: January 9; notification in early April
Phillips Fund Grants: March 1; notification in May

Contact Information

Questions concerning the BIOLOGICAL SCIENCE, DALAND, FRANKLIN, LEWIS AND CLARK, and PHILLIPS programs should be directed to Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants and Fellowships, at LMusumeci [at] amphilsoc [dot] org or 215-440-3429.

Questions concerning the LIBRARY RESIDENT Research Fellowships should be directed to libfellows [at] amphilsoc [dot] org or 215-440-3443.

Questions concerning the MELLON FELLOWSHIPS should be directed to Julianna Struck at jstruck [at] amphilsoc [dot] org or 215-440-3442

Online and Electronic Transmission

Submission of applications through our online portal is required for the Franklin Research Grants, the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research Grants, the Library Resident Research Fellowships, and the Phillips Fund for Native American Research Grants.

Electronic submission is encouraged for the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology. Completed forms and letters of support should be attached to an email. Applications should be submitted to applications [at] amphilsoc [dot] org and letters to lettersofsupport [at] amphilsoc [dot] org. Attached documents must be compatible with Microsoft Word for Windows software. Our system does not always receive Mac, jpeg, tiff, rtf, and dat files.

Applications to the Biological Science and Daland Fellowship programs are to be submitted as hard copy in the required number. Letters of reference may be sent to lettersofsupport [at] amphilsoc [dot] org.

Submission instructions for the Mellon Fellowships are on the individual program page.

Tax Information

Grants and fellowships are taxable income, but the Society is not required to report payments. It is recommended that grant and fellowship recipients discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors.

Information About Individual Programs

Click on the name of the program for complete information, including how to apply.

APS Postdoctoral Fellowship in Biological Science Scope
Sponsored by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, this two-year postdoctoral fellowship, supports innovative, ground-breaking research projects in fields that change each year. The first competition will fund a project in molecular biology, biochemistry, and/or the life sciences.

Eligibility
Applicants must have received the Ph.D. from an institution in the United States. Applicants need not, however, be citizens of the United States. Eligible applicants should be either entering or already affiliated with a U.S. institution at the postdoctoral level.

Stipend
$55,000 for the first year, and $60,000 for the second year, should a renewal request be approved.

Daland Fellowships in Clinical Investigation
Scope
For patient-oriented research in internal medicine, neurology, pediatrics, psychiatry, and surgery.

Eligibility
Candidates are expected to have held the M.D. or M.D./Ph.D. degree for fewer than eight years. The fellowship is usually intended to be the first post-clinical-training fellowship, but each case will be decided on its merits. Preference is given to candidates who have had not more than two years of postdoctoral training. Applicants must expect to perform their research at an institution in the United States, under the supervision of a scientific advisor.

Stipend
$40,000 for the first year, and $40,000 for the second year, should a renewal request be approved.

Franklin Research Grants
Scope
This is a program of small grants to scholars intended to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the cost of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.

Eligibility
Applicants are expected to have a doctorate or to have published work of doctoral character and quality. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible, but the Society is especially interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received the doctorate.

Award
From $1,000 to $6,000.

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research
Scope
The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, paleontology, and population genetics, but grants will not be restricted to these fields.

Eligibility
Grants will be available to doctoral students who wish to participate in field studies for their dissertations or for other purposes. Undergraduates, master’s candidates, and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible.

Award
Grants will depend on travel costs but will ordinarily be in the range of several hundred dollars to $5,000.

Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology
Scope
The American Philosophical Society and the NASA Astrobiology Institute have partnered to promote the continued exploration of the world around us through a program of research grants in support of astrobiological field studies undertaken by graduate students and by postdoctoral and junior scientists and scholars.

Eligibility
Grants will be available to graduate students, postdoctoral students, and junior scientists who wish to participate in field studies for their theses or for other purposes. Undergraduates are not eligible.

Award
Grants will depend on travel costs but will ordinarily be in the range of several hundred dollars to $5,000.

Library Resident Research Fellowships
Scope
The Library Resident Research fellowships support research in the Society 's collections.

Eligibility
Applicants must demonstrate a need to work in the Society’s collections for a minimum of one month and a maximum of three months. Applicants in any relevant field of scholarship may apply. Candidates whose normal place of residence is farther away than a 75-mile radius of Philadelphia will be given some preference. Applicants do not need to hold the doctorate, although Ph.D. candidates must have passed their preliminary examinations.

Stipend
$2,500 per month.

Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Post-Doctoral Curatorial Fellowship
Scope
The two-year fellowship, based in the APS Museum, will provide hands-on experience in curatorial work and the opportunity to pursue an independent research project, preferably one related to the collections or programs of the Society’s library and museum. The Mellon Fellow will conduct research in the APS collections four days per week in preparation for the APS Museum’s interdisciplinary exhibitions exploring the intersections of history, art, and science. The fifth day may be used for independent research.

Eligibility
PhD in any humanities discipline, awarded within the past five years. The history of science, 18th- and 19th-century American history, and the history of art often relate most closely to exhibition content. However, the museum's approach is interdisciplinary, and applications from qualified researchers in any humanities discipline are welcome.

Stipend
$45,000 per year, plus benefits and modest travel stipend for independent research.

Phillips Fund for Native American Research
Scope
Phillips Fund grants fund research in Native American linguistics and ethnohistory, focusing on the continental United States and Canada. Awards cover travel, tapes, and consultants' fees.

Eligibility
Applicants may be graduate students pursuing either a master’s or a doctoral degree; postdoctoral applicants are also eligible.

Award
From several hundred dollars to $3,500.