Davis Center for Historical Studies Fellowships

Fellowships at The Davis Center may run either for one semester (September – January or February – June) or for the full academic year, September-June. Though the Center is normally able to offer fellowship support for only a single semester, it welcomes the residence of year-long Fellows who combine Center support with funds from elsewhere. Applicants are encouraged to apply for external funds or sabbatical support, and to apply for a year’s Fellowship if they have a reasonable expectation of bringing additional funds with them.

Fellowships are awarded to scholars who hold full time academic positions, and who are expected to return to those positions at the conclusion of their Fellowship. Verification of employment and salary will be requested prior to approval by the Dean of the Faculty. PhD required.

Eligibility and Selection

In selecting each group of Fellows, the selection committee seeks to foster a vibrant and diverse intellectual community, anchored by the broad historical problem that serves each year as the Center’s theme. A fellowship is awarded on the strength of the candidate’s research project, the relationship of that project to the Center’s theme, the candidate’s previous scholarly work, and the candidate’s ability to contribute to the intellectual life and intellectual exchange of the Center. In making its awards, the selection committee values a variety of analytical approaches within each year’s cohort as well as the range of each cohort’s work across a wide variety of periods and places.

• Applicants must have their doctoral degrees in hand at the time of application.
• Typically the selected fellows hold positions at universities.
• Princeton faculty members are not eligible for Center fellowships.
• Applicants who are non-U.S. nationals or who are members of traditionally underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

Residence and the Davis Seminar

Center fellowships are residential. Fellows are required to live in Princeton in order to take an active part in the exchange of ideas with Fellows and others in the university community.

The most important intellectual forum of the Center is the weekly Davis Seminar, which meets on Friday mornings during the fall and spring term for lively and wide-ranging discussion of work by invited outside scholars and by the Fellows themselves. Fellows are expected to attend the weekly Seminar and to present a paper from their ongoing projects at one of its sessions. It is the core seminar of the History Department, attended not only by Fellows but also by faculty from the History and other departments at Princeton, graduate students, members of the Institute for Advanced Study at Princeton, faculty from nearby universities, and others.

Fellows have the privileges of a member of the History Department. They are given offices in a cluster of offices assigned to The Davis Center.

The Davis Center does not manage housing for its Fellows, but it assists Fellows in finding appropriate housing through the University Housing Office and private landlords if a Fellow wishes it.

Stipends and Research Support

Appointment Length

The Center is normally able to offer fellowship support for only one semester. Fellows are encouraged to apply elsewhere for a second semester of funding and to apply for a full year if they have a reasonable chance of receiving additional support.

Salary Considerations

Within the limits of its resources, it is the intent of The Davis Center to provide a salary that, when combined with the sabbatical leave funds and outside grants, equals the normal salary paid to a Fellow at his or her home university. In cases where the Fellow’s base salary scale is significantly below the norm, Fellows’ salaries may be adjusted upward to take this into account.

Transportation Costs

The Center will pay transportation costs for each Fellow without outside travel funds, and his or her spouse or domestic partner and for their child/children, with the following limitations: It will pay for the most economical means of transportation for Fellow, spouse, partner, and children from and to his or her home institution. Travel funds for spouse, partner, and children are restricted to persons accompanying a Fellow for a substantial period of time, by which we mean at least two months. These funds are not intended for dependents taking brief holidays in the United States.

Shipment of Academic Materials

The Center will pay for the shipment of books and papers which are necessary for the continuation of research, but not for the shipment of household goods. It should not normally be necessary to bring many books. The University Library possesses over five million books and others are quickly available on inter-library loan. Fellows from abroad are advised not to send research materials by sea, since they are often months late in arriving. Since Fellowship holders are expected to secure furnished lodgings during their period of residency, the Center will provide only up to $150 for shipment of household goods each way.

Research Expenses

The Center will allow each Fellow, without outside research funds, research expenses of up to $2,000 per semester, or $4,000 for the year, payable on presentation of a statement of expenses. This includes expenses for copying, microfilming, typing and travel for research, and research assistance.

Computing

Each Davis Center office is equipped with a 27" iMac computer, Microsoft Office, plus a Dell printer.

Deadline

Applications for the 2024-25 academic year are due December 1, 2023, 11:59pm EST.

Princeton University is an equal opportunity employer and complies with applicable EEO and affirmative action regulations. The Office of the Dean of the Faculty provides general information about applying to Princeton and how to self-identify.