New England Regional Fellowship

Please note that the application requirements have been updated for the 2026-2027 Fellowship Cycle

About

THE NEW ENGLAND REGIONAL FELLOWSHIP CONSORTIUM, a collaboration of 30 major research institutions, will offer at least two dozen awards in the June 1, 2026 - May 31, 2027 application cycle. Each grant will provide a stipend of $5,000 for a minimum of six weeks of research at participating institutions. Awards are open to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who hold the necessary U.S. government documents. Grants are designed to encourage projects that draw on the resources of several institutions.

NERFC grants support work in a broad array of fields, including but not limited to: history, literature, art history, African American studies, American studies, women’s and gender studies, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, environmental studies, oceanography, and the histories of law, medicine, and technology. Member institutions hold collections that offer a historical perspective on topics in all of these fields and more. For information on each member's resources, see its listing in “Participants” and contact the institution. The Consortium’s policy is to ensure that each member with collections hosts fellows every year. An applicant’s proposed itinerary may be a factor in the decision whether to award a fellowship. In keeping with NERFC’s regional interests, the Consortium may also favor applications that draw on institutions from more than one metropolitan area. To ensure deep engagement with collections, strong proposals will plan for a minimum visit of two weeks at two different institutions. Researchers may allocate the remainder of their fellowship period to a combination of other member institutions.

Each NERFC itinerary must:

• be a minimum of six weeks
• designate two institutions to visit for at least two weeks
• designate a third institution to visit for at least one week
• allocate the remaining fellowship week to any number of the consortium’s other member institutions

NERFC expects fellows to visit all the repositories they list in their proposals for the length of time they specify. Unsuccessful applicants may reapply. Fellowships are only awarded once per discrete research project. 

Special Awards

THE COLONIAL SOCIETY OF MASSACHUSETTS will underwrite a project on the history of New England before the American Revolution.

Application Process

Candidates must apply online by February 1, 2026. 

The NERFC is managed by the Massachusetts Historical Society.

About the Banner Image

“An exact map of New England and New York,” Cotton Mather, originally published in London in 1702, a facsimile of the map which belongs in Mather’s Magnalia Booke I page 1, Collections of the Massachusetts Historical Society.