Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at the Wolf Humanities Center

The Wolf Humanities Center awards five (5) one-year Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships each academic year to junior scholars in the humanities who are no more than five years out of their doctorate. Preference will be given to candidates not yet in tenure track positions whose proposals are interdisciplinary, who have not previously enjoyed use of the resources of the University of Pennsylvania, and who would particularly benefit from and contribute to Penn's intellectual life.

The programs of the Wolf Humanities Center are conceived through yearly topics that invite broad interdisciplinary collaboration. For the 2024–2025 academic year, our topic will be Keywords.

The Wolf Humanities Center is keen to support projects that contribute to the dismantling of all forms of racial, gender, and other discrimination as they exist within the humanities. We know that such efforts can take an infinite variety of forms, and we encourage you to include in the course of your application an explanation of how your scholarship contributes to this effort if it does.

Call for Applications, 2024–2025 (Coming soon)

Topic: Keywords (more info coming soon)
Application Deadline: November 1, 2023

The 2024–2025 Fellowship appointment is twelve months (July 1, 2024–June 30, 2025) and carries a stipend of $65,000 plus a $3000 research fund and discounted single-coverage health insurance. 

• The PhD (and its international equivalent, such as the DPhil) is the only eligible terminal degree, and applicants must be humanists or those in such allied fields as anthropology or history of science. Ineligible categories include an MFA or any other doctorate such as EdD, social scientists, scholars in educational curriculum building, and performing artists (note: scholars of performance are eligible).
• Scholars who received or will receive their PhD between May 1, 2019 and June 30, 2024 are eligible to apply.
• The fellowship is open to all scholars, national and international, who meet eligibility requirements. International scholars outside of North America are appointed under a J-1 visa (Research Scholar status). Scholars seeking to hold an H-1B visa during the fellowship year at Penn are ineligible (no exceptions can be made). The Wolf Humanities Center reserves the right to revoke the offer if the recipient is unable to meet this condition. 
• Finalists who have not completed all requirements for the PhD by April 30, 2024 must submit a letter from their Department Chair certifying that they will have the PhD in hand by June 30, 2023 of that year. Failure to meet this deadline will result in offers being withdrawn.
• Fellows are required to be in residence for the term of the fellowship.
• During their appointment, Fellows are required to teach one course rostered in one or more of the humanities departments or programs in Penn's School of Arts & Sciences (not the Wolf Humanities Center), and must also participate in the Center's weekly Mellon Research Seminar (Tuesdays, 12:00–1:30), presenting their research at one of those seminars. Fellows also collaborate on the planning of a symposium on the topic, participate in professional development workshops, and are appointed a faculty mentor.

Submit Application (coming soon)

Applications must be submitted via Interfolio. To apply, please fill out the five required forms: 1.) Applicant Profile & Education, 2.) Applicant Research, 3.) Proposed Course Description, 4.) Equal Employment Opportunity, 5.) Where did you hear about this position?; upload the three required documents: 1.) C.V., 2.) Research Plan, 3.) Writing Sample; and submit requests for 3 confidential letters of recommendation. All forms, documents, and letters must be uploaded and submitted by end of day November 1, 2023. For more details on the required forms and documents, please review the Interfolio portal.