SOF Early-Career Fellowships

The Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University brings together exceptional early-career scholars in the humanities and humanistic social sciences to be part of a vibrant cross-disciplinary community. In addition to teaching opportunities in affiliated departments and time for research, Fellows participate in and often organize lecture series, workshops, and other scholarly events that contribute to the intellectual life of the SOF/Heyman and the university more broadly.

Founded in the mid-1970s to encourage interdisciplinary teaching and research and housed in the Heyman Center for the Humanities since the 1980s, the Society offers one-year fellowships, renewable for up to two additional years.

The Society of Fellows is made possible by the generous support of the Mellon Foundation and the William R. Kenan Trust.

A note to current applicants: Each year, the competition receives hundreds of worthy applications. We regret that we cannot reach out to each applicant personally. If you or your recommenders do not hear from us by mid-December, your application has not advanced to the interview stage.

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Overview

The Society of Fellows in the Humanities at Columbia University intends to appoint a number of postdoctoral fellows in the humanities broadly construed for the academic year 2027-2028. Fellows newly appointed for 2027-2028 must have received the PhD between 1 July 2023 and 1 July 2027. The fellowship amount for 2027-2028 is $81,200. Medical benefits are provided, and housing is available. The research allowance for 2027-2028 is $7,000.

Eligibility

PhD (or disciplinary equivalent) in the humanities or humanistic social sciences received within the past four years and completed by the fellowship start date. For the current application cycle, the PhD must have been completed between 1 July 2023 and 1 July 2027.

Applicants will select one of the departments, centers, or institutes listed below as their primary affiliation:

Departments, Centers, and Institutes

• African American and African Diaspora Studies
• Anthropology
• Art History & Archaeology
• Center for the Study of Ethnicity and Race
• Classics
• East Asian Languages & Cultures
• English & Comparative Literature
• Film Studies
• French
• Germanic Languages
• History
• Institute for Comparative Literature and Society
• Institute for the Study of Sexuality and Gender
• Italian
• Latin American and Iberian Cultures
• Middle Eastern, South Asian, & African Studies
• Music
• Philosophy
• Political Science
• Religion
• Slavic Languages
• Sociology