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Fellowships /

Fellowship Supporters and Partners

Folger Institute fellowships are supported by dedicated endowments, grants, gifts, and partnerships with scholarly organizations.

Four people posing for a photo at a reception

Folger Endowments

Folger fellowships draw from the following dedicated endowments built up over decades of support:

The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowship Funds, the Hanson Lee Dulin Fellowship Fund, the O.B. Hardison, Jr. Fellowship Fund, the William Randolph Hearst Fellowship Fund, the Myra and Charlton Hinman Fellowship Fund, the Philip A. Knachel Fellowship Fund, the Matillda D. Mascioli Fellowship Fund, the Readers Fellowship Fund, the Bess and Philip Rosenblum Fellowship Fund, the Susan Snyder Memorial Fellowship Fund, and the Mary and Eric Weinmann Fellowship Fund.

Applicants do not need to specify an endowment fund, though several of these endowments may be applied to fellowships in areas of special interest to the donors.

Two of the endowments are intended to encourage work in specific fields of study:

The Matillda D. Mascioli Fellowship

Supports scholars from Italy, and/or scholars working on early modern Italian topics

The Bess and Philip Rosenblum Fellowship

Supports scholars from Israel or the Middle East

Short-term Fellowship Funding Partnerships

Partnerships with the following scholarly societies promote research in themes, fields, and periods that highlight the breadth and depth of the Folger’s collections and each organization’s aims and goals.

The American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies

This is an interdisciplinary fellowship, dedicated to the advancement of scholarship in all aspects of the period from the later seventeenth through the early nineteenth century. FI-ASECS fellows will receive $4,000 for four continuous weeks of work. Recipients of the FI-ASECS fellowship will be expected to join ASECS upon notification of their selection, if not already a member. ASECS especially welcomes applications from contingent, non-tenure track, and untenured applicants, as well as ABD applicants.

The North American Conference on British Studies

This fellowship is dedicated to scholars of the British world who are working on topics from the early modern period through to the present day. FI-NACBS fellows will receive $4,000 for four continuous weeks of work. Recipients of the FI-NACBS fellowship will be expected to join NACBS upon notification of their selection, if not already a member. The cost of membership dues will be added to the fellowship award when it is disbursed.

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture

This fellowship is dedicated to funding studies of early America, broadly understood. FI-OI fellowships support researchers — from advanced graduate students to senior scholars — with strong interests in Atlantic history, colonial history, literary studies, performance history, and material culture. FI-OI fellows will receive $4,000 for four continuous weeks of work. Recipients will be expected to join the OI Associates upon notification of their selection, if not already a part of the program. The cost of the OI Associates dues will be added to the fellowship award when it is disbursed.

The Shakespeare Association of America

This fellowship supports scholarly work on William Shakespeare’s plays and poems, his cultural and theatrical contexts, and the many roles these have played in world culture. FI-SAA fellows will receive $4,000 for four continuous weeks of work. Recipients of the FI-SAA fellowship will be expected to join SAA upon notification of their selection, if not already a member. The cost of membership dues will be added to the fellowship award when it is disbursed.

The Society for the Study of Early Modern Women and Gender

This fellowship is offered to scholars working on studies of women, genders, and/or sexualities anywhere in the early modern world. FI-SSEMWG fellows will receive $4,000 for four continuous weeks of work.  Applicants are expected to be members in good standing of the SSEMWG at the time of application.