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Become a Fellow

UConn Humanities Fellowships are opportunities for individuals to pursue advanced work in the humanities. Visiting Humanities Scholars, UConn Humanities Scholars, and UConn Graduate Humanities Fellowships are year-long and allow for time and space to research, write, and collaborate on work that extends and celebrates humanities scholarship. Take advantage of the time and space UCHI fellows are afforded as well as UConn’s research facilities, archives, special collections, and museums with ideal proximity to Hartford, New Haven, Boston, and New York City.

Fellowship Opportunities

The UConn Humanities Institute invites applications for residential fellowships. Fellowships offer a stipend, office space, and all the benefits of a Research I university. Just as important, we offer community and time for scholars to write, argue, engage, and create.

We invite and welcome fellowship applications from scholars in all disciplines and encourage applications to articulate clearly the project’s value to the humanities. Projects may contribute to scholarly knowledge or to the general public’s understanding of the humanities. Recipients are expected to produce scholarly articles, a monograph on a specialized subject, a book on a broad topic, an archaeological site report, a translation, an edition, or other scholarly tools. These fellowships do not support projects to study teaching methods or theories, surveys of courses and programs, or the preparation of institutional curricula. These fellowships cannot be deferred.

UCHI offers residential fellowships each academic year in three categories:

  • Visiting Humanities Fellows (external)
  • UConn Humanities Faculty Fellows (internal)
  • UConn Humanities Dissertation Scholars

We also invite applications from UConn undergraduates pursuing innovative research in the humanities. The Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowship supports a year-long research project supervised by a UConn faculty member, and includes a $2000 scholarship, a desk at the Institute, full immersion in UCHI’s community of fellows and much more. The project should ask questions or explore issues and ideas that feel urgent and exciting to you. We highly encourage proposals for projects that use methods, ideas, and approaches from more than one discipline.

Deadline for residential fellowship applications: February 1, 2024, 11:59 pm
Notification of Award: Mid-April

Deadline for Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowship: March 1, 2024 EXTENDED DEADLINE: March 8, 2024

Visiting Humanities Fellows (External)

Visiting Humanities Fellows receive a stipend of $50,000, faculty library privileges, an office in the UCHI suite, and assistance in locating housing. They are expected to participate in Institute activities including fellows’ teas, colloquia, and related scholarly events. Visiting Humanities Fellows will also offer a public lecture on their research during the course of the fellowship year. Tenure normally covers an uninterrupted period of nine to ten whole months. Fellows are required to be in residence for the academic year. Ordinarily, fellowships run from late August (fellows may begin tenure August 15) through May. Fellowship recipients will not be allowed to defer a UCHI fellowship. Finally, Visiting Humanities Fellows are expected to acknowledge the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute in publications resulting from work supported by the Institute.

Eligibility

UCHI Visiting Scholar fellowships are intended for scholars with a significant record of scholarly accomplishment. Applicants with a Ph.D. or terminal degrees in their field must have held their advanced degree for at least four years. Independent scholars—such as writers, museum professionals, and artists—need not have a terminal degree to apply, but must have an advanced record of professional accomplishment. Independent scholars with terminal degrees must have held that degree for at least four years. Former UCHI fellows are welcome and eligible to apply for fellowships five academic years after completion of their UCHI fellowship (i.e. 2018-19 fellows are eligible to apply for 2024–25 fellowships).

Application

Applications for 2024–25 fellowships must be submitted via Interfolio by February 1, 2024.

Applicants are required to submit the following materials:

  • project proposal (3 pages)
  • bibliography (1 page)
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) (2 pages)

Applicants must also request three signed letters of reference submitted directly by the referee through Interfolio.

All application materials must conform with our application guidelines.

Apply

UConn Humanities Faculty Fellows

UConn Humanities Faculty Fellows will retain their regular appointments and salaries with R-T-D (release from teaching duties) status. They will be released from departmental and administrative duties, but they will retain responsibility for the supervision of graduate advisees. Applications follow the NEH form so that, with revision, they can be readily adapted for submission to NEH and other external fellowships. UConn Humanities Faculty Fellows will have an office and are expected to be in continuous residence at UConn for the term of the award. They are expected to participate in Institute activities including fellows’ teas, colloquia, related scholarly events, and offer a public lecture on their research during the course of the fellowship year. Tenure normally covers an uninterrupted period of from nine to ten whole months. Ordinarily, fellowships run from late August (fellows may begin tenure August 15) through May. Fellowship recipients will not be allowed to defer a UCHI fellowship. As part of our mid-career faculty success initiative, one fellowship each year will be awarded to a faculty member who has held the rank of Associate Professor for at least five years. In the service of an impartial selection process, UCHI Faculty Fellows are chosen by a committee comprised of non-UConn Faculty members.

Priority is given to UConn faculty applicants who have not held a leave (sabbatical or other) in the 12 months preceding the academic year (September 1) of the fellowship. Former faculty fellows are eligible to apply for the academic year five years after completion of their UCHI fellowship (i.e. 2018–19 fellows are eligible to apply for 2024–25 fellowships). Finally, UConn Humanities Faculty Fellows are expected to acknowledge the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute in publications resulting from work supported by the Institute.

In addition to the UCHI Faculty Fellowship, with the generous support of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the University of Connecticut, UCHI, together with the Faculty of Color Working Group of the New England Humanities Consortium, is pleased to accept applications for the UCHI/FOCWG Faculty Fellowship. The fellowship is intended for full-time UConn faculty members from historically disadvantaged minority groups and/or those whose projects specifically confront institutional blocks for BIPOC faculty. Interested applicants should indicate that on the application form that you would like to be considered for the UCHI/FOCWG Fellowship. Indicating that you would like to be considered for the UCHI/FOCWG Fellowship does not preclude you from being offered a UCHI Fellowship—indeed, any application for the UCHI/FOCWG fellowship is considered as an application for a standard UCHI fellowship. Criteria for successful applicants include, but are not limited to: quality of research proposal; strength of reference letters; and articulation within the proposal of how this project can contribute to a larger support network for faculty of color in the region and/or to understanding and addressing impediments to success for BIPOC faculty in higher education. UCHI/FOCWG Fellows are full members of the UCHI fellowship class and have all the same benefits and responsibilities.

Application

Applications for 2024–25 fellowships must be submitted via Interfolio by February 1, 2024.

Applicants are required to submit the following materials:

  • project proposal (3 pages)
  • bibliography (1 page)
  • Curriculum Vitae (CV) (2 pages)

Applicants must also request three signed letters of reference submitted directly by the referee through Interfolio.

All application materials must conform with our application guidelines.

Apply

UConn Humanities Dissertation Scholars

To aid emerging UConn scholars, UCHI offers, with support from the Office of the Vice Provost for Graduate Education and Dean of The Graduate School and the James L. and Shirley A. Draper Fellowship Fund, up to four residential graduate dissertation fellowships.

Humanities Dissertation Scholars receive a full academic year fellowship to enable dissertation fellows to concentrate solely on completion of their Ph.D. dissertation. Graduate students must have completed qualifying exams, the prospectus, and sufficient research by the start of the fellowship period so that they can complete the dissertation during the year-long fellowship. Students scheduled to defend in the Fall semester are not qualified for the fellowship. Teaching during the fellowship year is prohibited. Humanities Dissertation Scholars will have an office and are expected to be in continuous residence at UConn for the term of the award. They are expected to participate in Institute activities including fellows’ teas, colloquia, and related scholarly events, and to offer a public lecture on their research during the course of the fellowship year. Finally, Humanities Dissertation Scholars are expected to acknowledge the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute in publications resulting from work supported by the Institute.

Application

Applications for 2024–25 fellowships must be submitted via Interfolio by February 1, 2024.

Applicants are required to submit:

  • a project proposal (3 page)
  • a bibliography (1 page)
  • a CV (2 page)

Applicants must also request three signed letters of reference submitted directly by the referee through Interfolio, including one from their major advisor.

All application materials must conform with our application guidelines.

Apply

UConn Undergraduate Humanities Research Fellowship

The UConn Humanities Institute (UCHI) and the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) are excited to offer year-long fellowships for undergraduate students pursuing innovative research in the humanities.

The fellowship supports a year-long research project supervised by a UConn faculty member. The project should explore big questions about human society and culture and should lead to an original contribution to your area of study. The exact parameters (length, format, etc) will be set by your faculty advisor. Depending on your major and your academic and professional plans, your project may consist of a scholarly research project or a creative product with a significant research component. At the end of the year, students will submit the final project to their faculty advisor, UCHI, and CLAS.

The project should ask questions or explore issues and ideas that feel urgent and exciting to you. We highly encourage proposals for projects that use methods, ideas, and approaches from more than one discipline.

Fellows will be welcomed as members of the Humanities Institute, a lively community of accomplished faculty and graduate student scholars conducting advanced research in the humanities. In addition to immersion in this intellectual community, the fellowship offers:

  • A $2,000 scholarship
  • A desk/work area at UCHI, located conveniently in Homer Babbidge Library for conducting research
  • Bi-weekly check-in meetings
  • A public presentation about the project at UCHI in the spring semester
  • Participation at UCHI’s events (for example, presentations by visiting scholars and artists) and special opportunities to meet with such visiting speakers
  • A field trip or cultural excursion (for example, a visit to a museum or archive) to be announced during the year
  • The opportunity to present your work at the Humanities Undergraduate Research Symposium
  • 6 credits for the academic year, through the successful completion of one 3-credit independent study each semester with the UConn faculty member supervising your project
  • (For non-Honors students) Admission into the Honors Program through the successful completion of this program, if other Honors admissions criteria are met.

Eligibility

Fellowship applicants should be rising sophomores or rising juniors in good academic standing (that is, students who will be sophomores or juniors in Fall 2023). Rising seniors are also eligible to apply, but preference will be given to students earlier in their degrees. Please note that students who applied in previous years and did not receive a fellowship are eligible to apply again.

Fellows from all campuses are welcome. Although the fellowship includes bi-weekly meetings on the Storrs campus, accommodations will be made for fellows unable to attend those meetings in person. However, the public presentation in the spring semester will take place on the Storrs campus.

The proposed project should be humanities research. Broadly speaking, the “humanities” means the study of human society and culture. Humanities majors or minors typically include but are not limited to: Africana Studies; American Studies; Anthropology; Art and Art History; Asian and Asian American Studies; English; History; Human Rights; Journalism; Latino and Latin American Studies; Philosophy; Sociology; Women’s, Gender and Sexuality Studies. If you aren’t sure if your project is humanistic, please email uchi@uconn.edu.

Fellows should check individually with the Office of Student Financial Aid Services to ensure that they are eligible to accept the scholarship.

Application

  1. A Word document with answers to the following questions:
    1. What is your project's title?
    2. What big question(s) is your project asking, and why are those questions important to you, your community, and society? (maximum 300 words)
    3. What is your plan for the project? What work will you do to try to answer its questions? (maximum 300 words)
    4. How do you think working on this project contributes to your own goals? (maximum 200 words)
    5. Optional question: Are there additional factors in your background or life experience that would help you benefit from this opportunity? Discuss social, economic, educational, or other obstacles, as appropriate. (maximum 300 words)
  1. A writing sample of your best research and writing (for example, your best final paper).
  2. One letter of recommendation from a UConn faculty member that also includes their willingness to supervise the project over the course of an academic year. (The faculty member should email their letter directly to uchi@uconn.edu. There's no need to wait until the letter is complete to submit the rest of your application.)
  3. An unofficial transcript.

Deadline: March 1, 2024 EXTENDED DEADLINE March 8, 2024

All questions and application materials can be sent to uchi@uconn.edu.

Please know while we will make every effort to review submissions as soon as possible, the materials you submit may not be reviewed immediately upon receipt. Please note that all University employees are mandated reporters of child abuse or child neglect. In addition, UConn employees have responsibilities to report to the Office of Institutional Equity student disclosures of sexual assault and related interpersonal violence; any information you submit in this application is subject to UConn reporting policies. If you feel you need more immediate assistance or support, we encourage you to reach out to the Dean of Students Office and/or Student Health and Wellness- Mental Health. In addition, if you have concerns related to sexual harassment, sexual assault, intimate partner violence and/or stalking, we encourage you to review the resources and reporting options available at: https://titleix.uconn.edu