Friends of the APS Predoctoral Fellowship

The American Philosophical Society's Library & Museum in Philadelphia seeks applicants for a one-year, residential fellowship for a graduate student working on topics in all fields who show a demonstrated need to use the Library & Museum’s collections for their project. The 12-month fellowship is intended for advanced Ph.D. students working toward the completion of the dissertation. The caliber of the project, and evidence that the project will be completed in a timely manner, are the two most important criteria for selection. The selection committee will also take into consideration the need to be at the APS's Library & Museum and other research institutions in the Philadelphia area. Applicants may be U.S. citizens or foreign nationals. 

  • Applicants’ research must pertain to topics reflected in the Library & Museum’s collections
  • The successful applicant will have the opportunity to participate in programs and other affairs at the American Philosophical Society

Eligibility:

This fellowship is open to those who are not U.S. citizens or residents, but it does not provide visa sponsorship.

Terms

  • 12 month residential fellowship
  • $25,000 stipend
  • $5,000 travel/research fund

Application Instructions:

All application materials will be submitted online via Interfolio (https://apply.interfolio.com/135145). Applicants will submit:

  • C.V.

  • An introductory cover letter (no more than two pages)

  • Two letters of reference in support of the project and applicant.

  • A project proposal of approximately 2-4 pages (no more than 1,000 words in length). The proposal should include: a) a description of the project; b) a statement explaining the significance of the project; c) an indication of the specific APS collections the applicant wishes to consult.

Deadline: January 19, 2024 at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.

Current and Past Recipients

2023-2024

Michael Ortiz-Castro, Harvard University, "American Nature: Life and Political Community in Post-Reconstruction America, 1877-1927"

2022-2023

Julia Menzel, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, "Enigmatic Nature: A Critical History of Theoretical Physics, 1967-2004"

2021-2022

Molly Nebiolo, Northeastern University, “Constructing Health: Concepts of Well-Being in the Creation of Early Atlantic Cities”

2020-2021

Gustave Lester, Harvard University, Mineral Lands, Mineral Empire: Mapping the Raw Materials of U.S. Industrial Capitalism, 1780-1880"

2019-2020

Hannah Anderson, University of Pennsylvania, “Lived Botany: Households, Ecological Adaptation, and the Origins of Settler Colonialism in Early British North America”

2018-2019

Nicole Schroeder, University of Virginia, “Incurable Defects: Welfare, Medicine, and the Disabled Body in Philadelphia, 1790-1840”

2017-2018

Max Matherne, University of Tennessee-Knoxville, “The Jacksonian Character: Patronage and Ideology in the Early Republic”

2016-2017

Katlyn Clark, Princeton University, “Practicing Politics in the Revolutionary Atlantic World: Secrecy, Publicity, and the Making of Modern Democracy”