Lewis Walpole Library Visiting Fellowships and Travel Grants

The  Library has resumed its Visiting Fellowships and Travel Grants Program.

Applications for the 2024-2025 fellowship cycle will be accepted beginning November 6, 2023; the deadline for submitting applications is January 8, 2024. 

The 2024-2025 fellowship year will run June 1, 2024 through May 31, 2025.

The Lewis Walpole Library funds four-week visiting fellowships, including the Lewis Walpole Library/American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies residential fellowship, and two-week travel grants to support research in the library’s rich collections of materials from the British world of the long eighteenth-century.

Fellowship and Travel Grant Award recipients also have access to additional resources at Yale, including those in the Sterling Memorial Library, the Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library, and the Yale Center for British Art.

ELIGIBILITY: who is invited to apply

• Scholars pursuing postdoctoral or advanced research or
• Doctoral candidates at work on a dissertation

EXPECTATIONS: all Fellowship and Travel Grant Award recipients are expected to

• complete fellowships within the fellowship year (June 1 through May 31). 
• be in residence at the library
• be free of other significant professional obligations during their stay
• take their fellowship in one uninterrupted period 
• focus research substantially on the Lewis Walpole Library’s collections

AWARD FUNDING INFORMATION:

Visiting fellowships and Travel grants

• the round-trip cost of travel between the Lewis Walpole Library and the recipient’s home institution or residence
• reimbursement of the cost of a rental car or local travel expenses
• accommodation for four weeks (fellowships) or two weeks (travel grants) in an eighteenth-century house on the Library’s campus
• a per diem living allowance to cover living expenses for four-week Fellows and two-week Travel Grant Recipients*. The per diem is calculated using the US General Services Administration’s current per diem rates (M & IE portion) for the Hartford, CT area. 

*Please note that payments to non-U.S. citizens (nonresident alien for U.S. tax purposes) are subject to 30% federal tax withholding, per Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations, which you may be eligible to have reimbursed by the Internal Revenue Service. Contact Senior Administrative Assistant Michelle Privée (michelle.privee@yale.edu) for details.

APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS

• An application form completed online
• A curriculum vitae, including educational background, professional experience and publications (3 pages maximum)
• A brief outline of the research proposal (1200 words maximum) that includes
  • a detailed explanation of how the Lewis Walpole Library’s collections will support the research project
  • the value of your project to your field
• A detailed list of Lewis Walpole Library collection materials to be examined during your fellowship or travel grant, including titles (from Orbis), collection names (from Archives at Yale), call numbers, and any other relevant identifying details.
• Two confidential letters of recommendation. Letters should specifically address the merits of the candidate’s project and its relevance to the collections available at the Lewis Walpole Library. General letters of recommendation or dossier letters will not be considered. The online application includes a link to request letters of recommendation and which the recommenders use to upload letters directly.

For additional information about the Fellowship program and visiting the library, please see our Fellows’ Guide. 

List of award recipients for 2023-24

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the requirements different for named fellowships?

The recipient of the ASECS-LWL Fellowship must be a member of ASECS in good standing at the time the award is made. More information about the ASECS Fellowship.

Four other named fellowships are offered in honor of former members of the Board of Managers. Do not apply for a particular fellowship; rather, these fellowship awards are determined by the review committee.

• Charles J. Cole Fellowship: awarded to a senior scholar.
• George B. Cooper Fellowship: awarded to a graduate student at the dissertation stage.
• Joseph Peter Spang III Fellowship: awarded for projects focusing on Anglo-American relations or studies.
• Roger W. Eddy Fellowship: awarded to a promising younger scholar.

What kind of visa might I need?

For information about visa requirements please contact Senior Administrative Assistant Michelle Privée (michelle.privee@yale.edu) for details. before making any arrangements for a visa. More information about visas.

What are the main factors the committee considers in making the award?

• The significance of research in the Lewis Walpole Library collections to your larger project
• The value of your project to your field

When will I hear the committee’s decision?

Applicants will be notified of all decisions within two months of the application deadline.