American Antiquarian Society Short-Term Visiting Fellowships

There are seventeen different one to two month fellowships administered by AAS. While some are for postdoctoral scholars, most of the fellowships are open to doctoral candidates engaged in dissertation research. Some fellowships are also open to independent researchers working on a scholarly project served by AAS collections.

All awards are for a period of residence to use the AAS library’s resources in Worcester, Massachusetts, for research and writing. 

Length of Term

One to two months during the period June 1 to May 31.

Stipend

The stipend is $2,000 per month.

Eligibility

Please check each description below for eligibility. Doctoral candidates engaged in dissertation research are eligible for many of the fellowships. Candidates holding a recognized terminal degree appropriate to the area of proposed research, such as the master's degree in library science or M.F.A., are often eligible to apply.

Criteria

Fellows are selected on the basis of the applicant's scholarly qualifications, the scholarly significance or importance of the project, and the appropriateness of the proposed study to the Society's collections. Preference will be given to individuals who have not held long-term fellowships during the three years preceding the period for which the application is being made.

Application

All one to two month fellowships administered by AAS use the same application form.

To apply, complete an application form online.

You will be asked to attach a single PDF document containing the elements listed below:

• A CV of no more than three (3) pages 
• A proposal of no more than two (2) double-spaced pages describing the project, its current status, and its significance for scholarship. Be sure to provide an overview of the narrative and argument, and locate the project in the relevant literature.
• A selective bibliography of not more than one page providing, for purposes of context, a list of secondary sources relevant to the proposed project 
• A statement of previous support that you have received for this project, as well as a statement indicating whether you currently hold or expect to hold an academic appointment or equivalent during the fellowship year. If so, please indicate whether you expect to receive support from your institution during the tenure of the fellowship, and the terms of such support.

The application deadline for the one to two month fellowships administered by AAS is January 15, 2025. 

Accommodations

For fellows who reside on campus in the Society’s scholars’ housing, located next to the main library building, the stipend will have the room fee deducted from the stipend. (Room fees range from $1,000 to $600 per month.) Although fellows have priority, renting from the Society is not a requirement of those holding fellowships. When requested, the staff will do their best to suggest alternative accommodations in Worcester or environs.

• Kate B. and Hall J. Peterson Fellowships are for research on any topic supported by the collections. Stipends derive from the income on an endowment provided by the late Hall J. Peterson and his wife, Kate B. Peterson. This fellowship is awarded to individuals engaged in scholarly research and writing - - including doctoral dissertations - - in any field of American history and culture through 1900.
• The Brown Family Collection Fellowship, supported by funds provided by the late Hall J. Peterson and Kate B. Peterson, is intended for researchers whose projects would benefit from working with the Brown Family Collections as well as many other AAS collections related to African Americans and Indigenous Peoples. The Brown family, for whom the fellowship is named and whose descendants entrusted the collections to AAS, were a Black family in nineteenth-century Worcester with familial connections to the local Nipmuc tribal community. Descendants donated correspondence, official documents, photographs, portraits, and the family's library to AAS. The fellowship is open to graduate students as well as postdoctoral scholars. Scholars who identify as being of Black and/or Indigenous descent are encouraged to apply.
• AAS-American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies Fellowships are for research on projects related to the American eighteenth century. The award is jointly funded by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and AAS. ASECS membership is not required of applicants; awardees who are not already members must join. Degree candidates are not eligible.
• The Alstott Morgan Fellowship, funded by a generous gift from Richard Parker Morgan and Carolyn Alstott Morgan, supports research on the history of education in nineteenth-century America, drawing on AAS’s unmatched collection of early educational materials, including the Alstott Morgan School Catalogue Collection and the The Student, Teacher, and Trustee Database Project, 1800-1900. This fellowship is awarded to an individual engaged in scholarly research and writing--including doctoral dissertations--in any field of American history and culture through 1900.
• The American Historical Print Collectors Society Fellowship is for research on American prints of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries or for projects using prints as primary documentation. The award is jointly funded by the American Historical Print Collectors Society and AAS.
• Stephen Botein Fellowships are for research in the history of the book in American culture. Funding is derived from an endowment established by the family and friends of the late Mr. Botein. Doctoral candidates may apply.
• The "Drawn to Art" Fellowship supports research on American art, visual culture, or other projects that will make substantial use of graphic materials as primary sources. Funds have been provided by Diana Korzenik, a painter, author, and historian of art education.
• The David Jaffee Fellowship in Visual and Material Culture is named for David Philip Jaffee (1954-2017) who was a wonderful friend and favorite reader at AAS. The fellowship will provide a stipend for the study and use of visual and material culture in the pursuit of research on all aspects of American history before 1900. It is open to both postdoctoral scholars and graduate students at work on doctoral dissertations.
• The Kate Van Winkle Keller Fellowship for Research in Early American Music and Dance is funded by an endowment established by Kate’s family and friends and by the Society for American Music (SAM), of which Kate was a founding member and the first Executive Director. The fellowship supports research for scholars at all levels (graduate student to senior scholar) engaged in scholarly research and writing on American music or dance, which must be appropriate to research collections at the AAS. It is open to individuals affiliated with academic institutions as well as independent scholars. Awardees who are not currently members of the Society for American Music will also be awarded a one-year membership in SAM.
• The Lapides Fellowship in Pre-1865 Juvenile Literature and Ephemera supports research on printed and manuscript material produced in America through 1865 for (or by) children and youth. This fellowship will support projects examining the creative, artistic, cultural, technological, or commercial aspects of American juvenile literature and ephemera produced between the Puritan Era and the Civil War. It is open to both postdoctoral scholars and graduate students at work on doctoral dissertations.
• Jay and Deborah Last Fellowships are for research on American art, visual culture, or other projects that will make substantial use of graphic materials as primary sources. The awards are funded from the gift of Jay and Deborah Last.
• The Legacy Fellowship, also for research on any topic supported by the collections, is funded by the gifts of former fellows and research associates. This fellowship is awarded to an individual engaged in scholarly research and writing - - including doctoral dissertations - - in any field of American history and culture through 1900.
• The Barbara L. Packer Fellowship is named for Barbara Lee Packer (1947-2010), who taught with great distinction for thirty years in the UCLA English department. The Barbara L. Packer Fellowship is awarded to individuals engaged in scholarly research and writing related to the Transcendentalists in general, and most especially to Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Henry David Thoreau. Ph.D. candidates, pre-tenure faculty, and independent scholars are eligible to apply.
• The Reese Fellowship supports research in American bibliography and projects in the history of the book in America. Funding for this award is provided by the William Reese Company, New Haven, Connecticut.
• The Justin G. Schiller Fellowship supports research by both doctoral candidates and postdoctoral scholars from any disciplinary perspective on the production, distribution, literary content, or historical context of American children's books to 1900.
• The Joyce Tracy Fellowship is for research on newspapers and magazines or for projects using these resources as primary documentation. This award derives from an endowment established in memory of the Society's longtime curator of newspapers and periodicals. Doctoral candidates may apply.

The application processes for the following fellowship is not administered by AAS. 

• The Christoph Daniel Ebeling Fellowship is jointly administered by the German Association for American Studies (DGfA) and AAS. Application for this short-term fellowship is made through the DGfA.
  The AAS-DGfA Fellowship is open to German citizens or permanent residents at the post-graduate or postdoctoral stages of their careers. The Fellow will be selected on the basis of the applicant's scholarly qualifications, the scholarly significance or importance of the project within the field of American studies in general and its German context, and the appropriateness of the proposed study to the Society's collections.
  For application deadline and more information, see the German Association for American Studies website | Previous Ebeling fellows