Winterthur Research Fellowships

Fellows can utilize the hundreds of thousands of American and European imprints, manuscripts, trade literature, ephemera, photographs, and archives of the Winterthur Library, an independent, world-class research collection. They can also examine Winterthur Museum’s expansive object collections of more than 90,000 artifacts that help us broadly understand four centuries of everyday life in America in a global context. They can look at these collections with specialists and experts and consult with conservators and scientific staff. They can explore 7,500 plant specimens and more than 1,000 acres of landscape and gardens, using these spaces and materials for research, or for respite and recharging. Fellowship privileges and policies can be found here.

Winterthur Research Fellowship staff are available to talk with you about potential projects and your application. Please contact Academic Programs staff with any questions.

Applications are due January 15, 2026. Applications will be available online on November 1, 2025.

Selected fellows will be notified by April 1, 2026.

Fellowships can be completed between September 1, 2026 and August 31, 2027.

Fellowships Offered

Long-Term Fellowships
   •   Winterthur Postdoctoral Fellowships for terminal degree holders
   •   Dissertation Fellowships for current doctoral students actively registered as a student at a university
Short-Term Fellowships
   •   Faith Andrews Fellowship for the study of Shaker life and material culture
   •   William Seale Fellowship for research related to architecture and landscape
   •   Ephemera Society of America—Winterthur Fellowship
   •   The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship
  •   Maker-Creator Fellowship for creative professionals
  •   Affiliated Researchers for self-funded researchers not asking for fellowship aid

Fellowship Requirements

• Fellows are asked to participate in Winterthur’s research community by attending and contributing to weekly Research Fellowship Program talks.
• Fellows are required to give one presentation at the Research Fellowship Program weekly talks. We prefer this requirement to be completed during the residency but will work with fellows to schedule this at a mutually agreeable time after the fellowship is completed.
• Winterthur’s public programming is scheduled 9 to 12 months in advance. If there is a desire to present a public program or engage Winterthur visitors, these ideas should be conceived and shared with program staff prior to starting the fellowship.
• Fellows are asked to compose one social media post about their research and share this via their personal social media channels, tagging #researchatwinterthur and the @winterthurmuse social media account.
• Fellows cannot accept teaching assignments or undertake any other major work or research activities during their fellowship tenure.
• Fellows are required to participate in their fellowships on-site at Winterthur at least four days per week. Fellows working remotely during hybrid portions of their fellowships are expected to spend the equivalent time dedicated to their projects. We are unable to fully support remote fellowships but can work with fellows to devise a flexible schedule of remote and in-person participation.
• Fellows may hold non-Winterthur fellowships or grants during the fellowship tenure, including sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions, so long as they do not impede their ability to meet the requirements of the Winterthur fellowship.

Long-Term Fellowships

Winterthur Postdoctoral Fellowship
Stipend: $4,500 per month.

Applicants at any level or rank who complete their Ph.D. before September 1, 2026, may apply for a four-month fellowship to pursue advanced research or revise research for publication. Applicants may still be Ph.D. candidates at the time of the application (January 15, 2026). Please contact us if you have any questions about qualifying for this fellowship based on the timing in which your degree will be conferred. Hybrid completion of this fellowship is possible.

Dissertation Fellowships

Stipend: $2,500 per month.

Winterthur’s dissertation fellowships support doctoral candidates conducting research or writing their dissertation and receive four-to-eight-month fellowships. Hybrid completion of this fellowship is possible. Students completing an external Ph.D. (defined as those who conduct research independently and are not actively registered or enrolled at a university) are not eligible for dissertation awards but may apply in the short-term fellowship category.

Short-Term Fellowships

Stipend: $2,500 per month.

Open to independent or institutional researchers and scholars of all levels, including graduate students completing Ph.D. and M.A. degrees. Applicants may apply for fellowship periods ranging from four to six weeks. Hybrid completion of this fellowship is possible.

Applicants need not apply for a named fellowship, but we do designate the following awards:

• Faith Andrews Fellowships for the study of Shaker life and material culture
• William Seale Fellowship for research related to architectural, landscape and gardens, and White House/Presidential history.
• Ephemera Society of America—Winterthur Fellowship
• The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship

Ephemera Society of America—Winterthur Fellowship
Now in its second year, Winterthur Museum, Garden & Library offers a jointly sponsored fellowship with the Ephemera Society of America (ESA). Open to graduate and undergraduate students, the fellowship supports a visiting researcher at Winterthur for up to four weeks. We welcome projects that reflect a scholarly interest in ephemera and make use of Winterthur’s extensive ephemera holdings, including trade cards, greeting cards and postcards, cigar box labels, die-cuts, scrap, and thousands of other library and museum collections.

In addition to the Winterthur Fellowship requirements, the ESA-Winterthur fellowship recipient will be expected to propose a talk for the next ESA conference following their fellowship and/or submit an article for publication in the Ephemera Society of America Journal.

No special application is required; please indicate in your essay that you wish to be considered for the ESA-Winterthur Fellowship. Indicating interest does not preclude your consideration for other Winterthur fellowships.

The American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship

Beginning in 2025, Winterthur’s Research Fellowship Program is a partner institution with the American Trust for the British Library Research Fellowship Program.

The ATBL’s Research Fellowship Program is a short-term, $2,500 research stipend that supports research projects that make use of collections in any department in the British Library.

The Program partners with American collections-based institutions that currently have established, competitive short-term research fellowships or stipends on offer. This is an add-on option to Winterthur short-term research fellowship applications, ensuring that ATBL’s research program candidates conduct research in dialogue between an American collection and that of the British Library. If awarded a short-term research fellowship at Winterthur, the incumbent can later be considered for an ATBL fellowship. ATBL Fellowship recipients will be notified directly by ATBL on or before May 1, 2026.

Please direct any questions about the ATBL Research Fellowship Program to fellowships@atbl.us and check the organization’s website for information about this year’s competitive cycle.