Fellowship Guidelines
Andrew W. Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities
at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
2013-15
The Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities, supported by a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, seeks to hire two Post-Doctoral Fellows for two-year appointments starting in Fall 2013. (Printable version.)
The Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellows in the Humanities will spend the two-year term in residence at Illinois; will conduct research on the proposed project; and will teach two courses per year (both graduate and undergraduate) in the appropriate academic department. The Fellows will also participate in the IPRH Fellows Seminar, a yearlong interdisciplinary workshop, and will be encouraged to participate in activities related to their research available through IPRH, in the teaching department, and on the Illinois campus. Each Post-Doctoral Fellow will give a public lecture on his or her research.The search for Mellon Fellows is open to scholars in all humanities disciplines, but we seek applicants whose work falls into one of the following broad subject areas:
- Race and Diaspora Studies
- History of Science/Technology
- Empire and Colonial Studies
- Memory Studies
Applicants must have received a Ph.D. in a humanities discipline between January 1, 2008 and August 31, 2012.1 Please note that these are external fellowships; current full- and part-time faculty members at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as well as current U of I graduate students and scholars who received their doctorates from the U of I are not eligible for these awards.
Terms
The appointment will begin on August 16, 2013, and the successful applicants must be on the Illinois campus by that date for orientation. The Post-Doctoral Fellows will be required to live within 20 miles of Champaign-Urbana during the academic years of the appointment.
The fellowship carries a $45,000 annual stipend, a $2,000 research account, and a comprehensive benefits package.2
Application Guidelines
Applications must be submitted online at this URL: https://my.atlas.illinois.edu/submit/go.asp?id=464. Applicants will be asked to create a password-protected account, to which they can return multiple times. The application system opens September 1, 2012. No paper or emailed applications will be accepted. The online application must be completed and submitted no later than 5:00 p.m. on October 29, 2012.
In addition to completing the online application form, applicants must submit the following application materials through the online system:
- A one-page abstract, with project title (250-300 words).
- A detailed narrative statement (2,000 words) describing the research project the applicant will undertake during the term of the fellowship. The narrative statement should explain how the proposed project would make a contribution to the applicant’s research and advance the larger field of study; how the project would articulate with one of the four designated subject areas; and the anticipated outcomes of the proposed research. Applicants must address why the proposed research can be undertaken successfully at the University of Illinois, and should include details about programs, individual scholars, and resources at the U of I that would enrich the project.
- A curriculum vitae (maximum 10 pages).
- A sample syllabus for a course (undergraduate or graduate) related to the applicant’s research project that could be taught by the applicant as part of the fellowship.
- Three (3) letters of recommendation to be uploaded by the applicant’s referees. We recommend entering your recommenders’ names and emails early in the online application process. The application system will generate an email request for letters of recommendation to those referees whose names and emails you submit, and the email will provide a link for uploading the letter. Please note that you must enter your personal contact information first before you can proceed to entering references. Doing so enables the system to insert your name in the email request to your referees. In order for the system to generate those emails, however, you must hit “continue” after entering your referees’ names and emails—even if you are doing nothing else in your application at that time. Applications for which all three letters of recommendation have not been uploaded by 5:00 p.m. on October 29th will be deemed incomplete and will not be considered.
The letters of recommendation should come from senior colleagues who are familiar with the applicant’s work and the proposal being made for the fellowship. Letters must address the specifics of the project being proposed for the fellowship, the applicant’s research and teaching skills, and the contributions the proposed project would make to the broader scholarly community. (Note: Only three letters will be accepted.) Because the letters must address the specifics of the proposal and the position being sought, we strongly discourage applicants from sending general dossier files.
Deadline
Online applications must be complete and submitted, including all letters of support uploaded, by 5:00 p.m. on October 29, 2012, after which the application portal closes. The application system can be found at: https://my.atlas.illinois.edu/submit/go.asp?id=464. Deadline extensions will not be granted. The review committee will consider only complete applications. It is the responsibility of the applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete, and that referees submit their letters before the deadline.
Notification
All applications will be acknowledged via e-mail, and all applicants will be notified when the search has concluded. Please do not contact IPRH about the status of an application; because of the volume of applications IPRH receives, we are unable to answer questions about individual applications.
Click here to be taken to the application system, where you will be asked to create an account. The system opens September 1, 2012.
Questions about these fellowships may be addressed to Dr. Nancy Castro, Associate Director of IPRH, at ncastro@illinois.edu or (217) 244-7913.
1Applicants who have completed ALL requirements for the PhD, includng defense and depost of the final copy of the dissertation, by August 31, 2012, but are still awaiting official conferral of their degrees by their insitutions, must supply a letter from the registrar attesting to their having completed all the requirements including deposit by August 31st, and, preferably, stipulating when the degree will be officially conferred.
2 Foreign nationals’ benefits eligibility is contingent upon meeting a “Substantial Presence Test,” as determined by IRS rules: http://www.irs.gov/businesses/small/international/article/0,,id=96352,00.html.
