MCEAS Dissertation Fellowships

The MCEAS Dissertation Fellowship Program

Application deadline: 1 March 2010

Since 1978, nearly 200 advanced graduate students from dozens of universities across North America and Europe have received dissertation fellowships from the McNeil Center. At least eight new fellows will be appointed for the 2010-2011 academic year, most with nine-month stipends of $20,000. Fellows receive office space in the Center’s magnificent building on the University of Pennsylvania’s campus and library, computer, and other privileges at the University. Limited travel funds for research are also available. While no teaching is required for most fellowships, all McNeil Center fellows are expected to be in residence in Philadelphia during the academic year and to participate regularly in the Center’s program of seminars and other activities.

Awards may be made in the following categories, depending on the qualifications of the applicants and the availability of funding. In a given year, appointments may not be made in all categories.

Nine-Month or One-Semester Fellowships:
Additional Fellowships:

MCEAS Barra Dissertation Fellowships are open to candidates from any discipline working on any relevant topic.

The Barra Foundation Fellowship is designed primarily for candidates specializing in Early American art or material culture. Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Early American Literature and Material Texts: In collaboration with the Library Company of Philadelphia, two fellows will be appointed for 13-month terms beginning 1 July 2010. These fellowships are open to dissertators in English, American Literature, Comparative Literature, American Studies, History, Art History, or related fields whose work combines in innovative ways the study of texts—novels, poems, plays, newspapers,magazines, scribal publications, genres not traditionally defined as “literary”—with the material circumstances of their production and dissemination. Projects should rely on the extraordinary rare book, print, and ephemera collections of the Library Company. The fellows’ terms will begin and end with a summer workshop under the guidance of a senior invited scholar. The 13-month stipend is $29,000.

MCEAS Consortium Fellowships are open to candidates from research universities that are members of the McNeil Center Consortium. For more information concerning consortium membership, please contact the Center Director.

Friends of the MCEAS Fellowships are supported by annual donors to the McNeil Center to facilitate dissertation research dealing with the Philadelphia or the Mid-Atlantic region before 1850. Bruce Baky Valley Forge Fellowship: The National Park Service and the Friends of Valley Forge Park have made possible this fellowship, to be awarded to a dissertator specializing in military history during the American Revolution, broadly defined, when a suitable candidate is available. The Baky Fellow will be appointed to a ten-month term with a stipend of at least $21,000 and will be offered housing in Valley Forge National Historical Park. While devoting the majority of his or her time to dissertation work, the fellow will also develop and present public programming at the park, work with park staff, and develop at least one research or educational project for the park.

The Richard S. Dunn Fellowship, funded by a gift from an anonymous donor in honor of the Center's founding director, acknowledges excellence in Early American Studies.

The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Fellowship in Early American Religious Studies is open to candidates in any discipline researching any aspect of religion in North America and the Atlantic world before 1850. The Monticello-McNeil Fellowship, co-sponsored by the McNeil Center and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, facilitates scholarship on Thomas Jefferson and his times. Holders of this fellowship spend a portion of their fellowship term at the ICJS in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the remainder in Philadelphia. Reasonable travel costs between Philadelphia and Charlottesville and, subject to availability, housing at ICJS are included.

Marguerite Bartlett Hamer Fellowships are awarded to advanced doctoral candidates from any relevant program at the University of Pennsylvania and may include some teaching responsibilities.

The Society of the Cincinnati Fellowship, funded by generous contributions from the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, supports research on the era of the American Revolution. (Next offered for 2011-2012.) The Quinn Foundation Fellowship, co-sponsored by the McNeil Center and the New Netherland Institute, facilitates research on New Netherland and on the Dutch colonial Atlantic World. Holders of this fellowship spend a portion of their fellowship term in Albany, New York, working in the rich collections of the New Netherland Institute, the New York State Archives, and the New York State Library, and the remainder in residence at the Center in Philadelphia. Projects in any discipline dealing with the Dutch experience in North America in the Atlantic world before 1850 are welcome.

Other specialized fellowships may become available. Please check this web site for updates.

How to Apply

A single application suffices for all dissertation fellowships. Categories and duration of awards are determined by the selection committee, but candidates interested in the Mellon, Baky, Quinn, and Monticello-McNeil fellowships should state their interest clearly in their research proposals. Submit six copies of each of the following (double-sided reproductions are appreciated):

A cover sheet (click here);
A curriculum vitae;
A research proposal of 3-5 double-spaced pages;
A sample of work related to the project not to exceed 25 double-spaced pages. (Except for published articles, longer submissions will be discarded).

A least two letters of recommendation should be mailed separately or with the recommender’s signature across the seal.

Submit all materials to:

The McNeil Center for Early American Studies
University of Pennsylvania
3355 Woodland Walk
Philadelphia, PA 19104-4531

The postmark deadline for applications is 1 March 2010.

MCEAS Fellowships
MCEAS Home

Nine-Month or One-Semester Fellowships:		Additional Fellowships:
	*MCEAS Barra Dissertation Fellowships* are open to candidates from any discipline working on any relevant topic.
	*The Barra Foundation Fellowship* is designed primarily for candidates specializing in Early American art or material culture.	*Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Early American Literature and Material Texts:* In collaboration with the Library Company of Philadelphia, two fellows will be appointed for 13-month terms beginning 1 July 2010. These fellowships are open to dissertators in English, American Literature, Comparative Literature, American Studies, History, Art History, or related fields whose work combines in innovative ways the study of texts—novels, poems, plays, newspapers,magazines, scribal publications, genres not traditionally defined as “literary”—with the material circumstances of their production and dissemination. Projects should rely on the extraordinary rare book, print, and ephemera collections of the Library Company. The fellows’ terms will begin and end with a summer workshop under the guidance of a senior invited scholar. The 13-month stipend is $29,000.
	MCEAS Consortium Fellowships are open to candidates from research universities that are members of the McNeil Center Consortium. For more information concerning consortium membership, please contact the Center Director.
	*Friends of the MCEAS Fellowships* are supported by annual donors to the McNeil Center to facilitate dissertation research dealing with the Philadelphia or the Mid-Atlantic region before 1850.	*Bruce Baky Valley Forge Fellowship:* The National Park Service and the Friends of Valley Forge Park have made possible this fellowship, to be awarded to a dissertator specializing in military history during the American Revolution, broadly defined, when a suitable candidate is available. The Baky Fellow will be appointed to a ten-month term with a stipend of at least $21,000 and will be offered housing in Valley Forge National Historical Park. While devoting the majority of his or her time to dissertation work, the fellow will also develop and present public programming at the park, work with park staff, and develop at least one research or educational project for the park.
	**The Richard S. Dunn Fellowship, funded by a gift from an anonymous donor in honor of the Center's founding director, acknowledges excellence in Early American Studies.**
	*The E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Fellowship in Early American Religious Studies* is open to candidates in any discipline researching any aspect of religion in North America and the Atlantic world before 1850.	*The Monticello-McNeil Fellowship*, co-sponsored by the McNeil Center and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, facilitates scholarship on Thomas Jefferson and his times. Holders of this fellowship spend a portion of their fellowship term at the ICJS in Charlottesville, Virginia, and the remainder in Philadelphia. Reasonable travel costs between Philadelphia and Charlottesville and, subject to availability, housing at ICJS are included.
	*Marguerite Bartlett Hamer Fellowships* are awarded to advanced doctoral candidates from any relevant program at the University of Pennsylvania and may include some teaching responsibilities.
	**The Society of the Cincinnati Fellowship, funded by generous contributions from the State Society of the Cincinnati of Pennsylvania, supports research on the era of the American Revolution. (Next offered for 2011-2012.)**	*The Quinn Foundation Fellowship*, co-sponsored by the McNeil Center and the New Netherland Institute, facilitates research on New Netherland and on the Dutch colonial Atlantic World. Holders of this fellowship spend a portion of their fellowship term in Albany, New York, working in the rich collections of the New Netherland Institute, the New York State Archives, and the New York State Library, and the remainder in residence at the Center in Philadelphia. Projects in any discipline dealing with the Dutch experience in North America in the Atlantic world before 1850 are welcome.
*Other specialized fellowships* may become available. Please check this web site for updates.