Folger Shakespeare Library Long-term Fellowships

The Folger Institute offers five, long-term fellowships at $70,000 for the 2024-2025 academic year (approximately $7,777 per month, for a standard period of 9 months). These fellowships are designed to support full-time scholarly work on significant research projects that draw on the strengths of the Folger’s collections and programs.

Please note, for the 2024-25 fellowship year, long-term fellows will have the option to take up to 3 months of their 9-month fellowship virtually. This virtual time may be taken at any point in the fellowship and does not have to be taken concurrently. Applicants may propose any research schedule that best fits their project’s needs.

• Applications open: September 2023
• Applications due: December 15, 2023, by 11:59 pm (ET)

In their applications, scholars must describe how they will utilize their onsite and virtual (if applicable) portions of their fellowship. Scholars may propose virtual fellowship time to cover any combination of the following full-time: research with online collections, writing, and editing as it relates to their proposed project. Please note, virtual months may also be used to support research for scholars who have dependent care responsibilities.

Scholars must hold a terminal degree in their field in order to be eligible for a long-term fellowship. To evaluate these applications each year, the Fellowships Program assembles an external committee of respected scholars, aiming for disciplinary, methodological, and geographical diversity. Committee membership changes annually. The committee is charged with evaluating applications based on the proposed topic’s impact, its relevance to the field, the originality and sophistication of the scholar’s approach, the feasibility of the scholar’s research objectives, and their expected use of Folger collections. Particular weight is accorded to the project’s impact, relevance, and approach. Furthermore, the Institute is committed to supporting work across fields of study in the early modern humanities that address inequities or marginalized subjects, and which point to richer and more inclusive histories.

Information Regarding Reopening, Housing, and COVID Policies

In 2024, the Folger will begin reopening. While the reading room will be open and ready to welcome researchers, it is important to note that it remains unclear when all Folger properties will become available to researchers once more. Please note that fellowship stipends have been increased to offset the additional cost of securing off-site housing in DC.

Residential fellows are expected to inform themselves about, and follow, the most up-to-date public health guidelines in both their place of origin and Washington, DC.

Please see the Folger’s COVID-19 Safety Protocols for more information. Please note that the COVID-19 policies may shift as the pandemic continues to evolve. Please check back prior to travelling to the Folger for the most recent information. Qualifying COVID-19 vaccinations, as well as details on exceptions and on applying for humanitarian waivers to this requirement, can be found on the CDC website.

Application Instructions

The application portal for long-term fellowships will open in September 2023. All applications must be completed and submitted through our online portal.

Please be sure to review the Fellowships FAQs page before applying.

To apply for a 2024–2025 Folger Long-term Scholarly Fellowship, please submit the following:

1. 250-word abstract of your project.
2. 1,500-word description of your project, placing particular emphasis upon the proposed topic’s importance, its relevance to the field, and the originality and sophistication of your approach. In addition to your proposed plan for work at the Folger, you must include a statement about your work plan and/or the proposed location(s) of any proposed virtual research, with a justification of why and how this virtual time will be useful to your research, thinking, and/or writing process.
3. Two-page CV.
4. One- to two-page list of primary sources, rare materials, or digital assets you wish to consult onsite during the residential portion of your fellowship at the Folger Library. This list will be used to help determine the viability of your project, as well as to assess the availability, condition, and conservation or exhibition status of the Folger’s collections.
5. One letter of recommendation. You will identify your recommender in the online application portal. Your recommender will be contacted directly via the online portal and will be given guidance on how to upload their letter. Anyone is eligible to act as a recommender: artists, scholars, teachers, colleagues. We recognize that, due to continuing contractions in the humanities, we are all under unique and significant pressures. Letters of recommendation are very helpful to interdisciplinary selection committees as they work to understand how a project fits within its field. Applications may be disadvantaged, but they are not rendered ineligible or formally penalized if they are missing a letter of recommendation.

It is helpful to start your online application early. You can revise your application at any point in the process right up to the deadline. You must hit the “submit” button for your application to be complete.

Please note, our ability to offer a residential component for our 2024-25 long-term, short-term, artistic fellowships is dependent upon the status of Covid-19. Unforeseen complications could alter or delay fellows’ ability to be on-site and could affect the period of residency.