How to Apply for a Fellowship

About this program

The Newberry Library in Chicago offers long-term and short-term research fellowships, artist-in-residence awards, NCAIS grants, and a publication subvention to support scholars working with its collections. Long-term fellowships require a PhD or equivalent terminal degree by the application deadline, while short-term fellowships are open to faculty, postdoctoral scholars, ABD doctoral candidates, and holders of other terminal degrees (MFA, MLIS, MSW, JD); master’s students in PhD-granting fields are not eligible except for artist residencies. Most fellowships are open to scholars of any nationality (NEH-funded long-term awards require U.S. citizenship or three years’ U.S. residency), Newberry can sponsor J-1 visas, and a few fellowships are restricted to applicants of North American Indian heritage. Applications (in English) require a 300-word abstract, a 1,500-word project description, a one-page bibliography, a CV (up to five pages), and letters of recommendation (typically three for long-term, two for short-term), with deadlines varying by fellowship (late fall to early winter; some artist and NCAIS deadlines in early January).