Short-Term Fellowships

Applications for the 2027-28 Short-Term Fellowship program will open on September 1, 2026.

Newberry Library Short-Term Fellows are PhD-holding scholars and PhD candidates with a need to investigate specific Newberry collection items for their projects. They spend four weeks conducting intensive research at the Newberry and taking part in the Newberry's scholarly community.

Eligibility

Short-Term Fellowships are open to PhD-holding scholars at any stage of their career and to PhD candidates with ABD (all-but-dissertation) status or the equivalent. PhD-holding applicants do not need to be faculty members; curators, librarians, independent scholars, and others are also welcome to apply. 

The Beer Culture Center Fellowship is also open to MA students. This fellowship is not offered every year.

Applicants can be working in any field, as long as their proposed project demonstrates a need to work with specific items in the Newberry’s collection.

Funding and Award Period

Short-Term Fellows receive $3,000 for one continuous month (4 weeks) of residency. This stipend supports housing, travel, and other costs associated with living in Chicago. The Newberry does not provide housing for fellows.

Awards can be taken up at any point in the 15-month period between June of the awarding year and August of the following year.

Other Opportunities

If you do not hold a PhD or ABD status and are a writer, artist, or other type of independent scholar or creative researcher, we encourage you to apply for our Artists-in-Residence Fellowships. If you are a faculty member or graduate student from an NCAIS-affiliated institution, you are also eligible for NCAIS fellowships, which have their own application form and policies.

How to Apply

Ready to start the process of applying for a fellowship? Here's everything you need to know.

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Fellowships FAQ

Answers to questions about the fellowship programs, eligibility, applications, and more.

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Through the generosity of donors and organizational partners, the Newberry is able to offer a range of Short-Term Fellowships. With certain exceptions listed here, fellowship awardees are matched with applicable fellowship funds and do not need to designate specific fellowships in their application. 

Fellowships with Membership Requirements

Midwest Modern Language Association Fellowship

• Supporting scholars who are members of the Midwest Modern Language Association (MMLA) and working on projects in literary and cultural criticism.

To be considered for this fellowship, you must indicate your interest on the short-term fellowship application form. The Newberry will follow up with the MMLA to confirm your membership status.

Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium Fellowships

• The Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies supports two awards, one for a postdoctoral scholar and one for a PhD candidate, for projects in medieval, Renaissance, or early modern studies. Applicants must be from institutions participating in the Newberry Center for Renaissance Studies Consortium. Full-time faculty members, adjunct faculty, librarians, and curators are eligible as postdoctoral scholars.

All applicants from CRS consortium member institutions will be considered for this fellowship. You do not need to opt in on the fellowship application form.

Fellowships for Indigenous Scholars

Frances C. Allen Fellowship and Susan Kelly Power and Helen Hornbeck Tanner Fellowship

• These fellowships support scholars who are citizens or documented descendants of federally recognized tribal nations in the United States or Native Hawaiian individuals. The subject of the fellowship project is not limited to American Indian and Indigenous studies. Scholars working in all fields are welcome to apply.
• The Allen Fellowship supports female scholars. Preference for this award is given to non-tenured women working in any graduate or pre-professional field. The Power and Tanner Fellowship supports all scholars.

To be considered for these fellowships, you must indicate your interest on the short-term fellowship application form and identify your status as a citizen or documented descendant of federally recognized tribal nations in the United States or a Native Hawaiian individual.

General Fellowships

Awardees will be matched with these fellowships as appropriate. You do not have to opt-in or answer additional questions on your application to be eligible.

John S. Aubrey Fellowship

• Supporting any scholar who demonstrates a specific need for the Newberry collection.

Lester J. Cappon Fellowship in Documentary Editing

• Supporting researchers working on historical editing projects in preparation of a scholarly edition.
• Awards can be 1 - 2 months. This award is only open to postdoctoral scholars.

Fellows’ Fellowship

• Supporting any scholar who demonstrates a specific need for the Newberry collection. This fellowship is generously supported by our community of Fellowship alumni.

Charles Montgomery Gray Fellowship

• Open to all fields of study, with preference given to projects in the early modern period or Renaissance, as well as in English history, legal history, or European history.

Adele Hast Fellowship in American History

• Supporting projects related to American History.

Arthur and Janet Holzheimer Fellowship in the History of Cartography

• Supporting projects related to the history of cartography or projects focusing on cartographic materials in the Newberry’s collection.

Jack Miller Center Fellowship

• Supporting scholars whose projects advance scholarship that will contribute to a deeper understanding of America’s founding principles, history, and/or the wider traditions that influenced its development.

Anne Jacobson Schutte Fellowship in Early Modern Studies

• This fellowship commemorates Schutte’s renowned scholarship and is available to early-career scholars studying the early modern period (1300-1700). Preference given to early career scholars in all fields of study with research related to women’s studies, spirituality, or Venice.

Society of Mayflower Descendants in the State of Illinois Fellowship

• Supporting projects related to early American or Transatlantic history.

Other Fellowships

Northwestern University Lawrence Lipking Fellowship

This fellowship enables a qualified PhD candidate from the Northwestern University Department of English to spend at least one quarter conducting research full time at the Newberry. Recipients are expected to present their research at a Newberry Colloquium and/or a chapter of their dissertation at a Fellow's Seminar, and to participate in the Newberry scholarly community during their residency.

Stipend: Equivalent to a Northwestern University Fellowship stipend; tuition will be provided for the quarter.

Length: Tuition is provided for one quarter. Awardees are welcome to extend their fellowship residency period to one semester or the academic year.

How to apply: There is a separate application for the Lawrence Lipking Fellowship. The format follows the Short-Term Fellowship application described here, with the same deadlines. The 2027-28 application portal will open on September 1, 2027.