Scholars invited to apply for on-site research fellowships in Yale Library Special Collections

Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library and Lewis Walpole Library each invite scholars to apply for two fellowships that support on-site research in Yale Library Special Collections. The application periods open in June.

Beinecke Library fellowships

The Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Fellowship Program is offering two residential fellowships—one for postdoctoral scholars and one for graduate students. These opportunities are open to local and international scholars who utilize traditional methods of archival and bibliographic research and also to those scholars pursuing creative, interdisciplinary, and nontraditional approaches to conducting research. For each of these opportunities, fellows are awarded $5,000 per month of residency.

The Short-Term Research Fellowship is open to academic and independent scholars to support research projects that substantively engage with Yale Library Special Collections materials. Applicants cannot be enrolled in a degree program at the time of their fellowship residency. The fellowship period, from two weeks to two months in duration, must occur between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028.  Applications will be accepted from June 1 to Aug. 15, 2026.

The Research Fellowship for Graduate Students is open to students enrolled in programs at Yale or at any other local or international university or college. Applicants should be at an advanced stage in their research or prospectus development and propose a fully conceptualized project related to their degree programs. Fellowships, from one to four months in duration, must occur between July 1, 2027, and June 30, 2028. Applications will be accepted from June 15 to Sept. 15, 2026.

Lewis Walpole Library fellowships

Lewis Walpole Library—home to one of the most important collections of 18th-century British graphic art outside the British Museum in London—is also accepting applications for the 2027–2028 fellowship year. 

The library offers two grants open to doctoral candidates at work on dissertations and to scholars who are pursuing postdoctoral or advanced research. The Visiting Fellowship supports a four-week residency at the library in Farmington, Connecticut; the Travel Grant supports a two-week residency. Each fellowship period will occur between June 1, 2027, and May 31, 2028.

Award recipients will also have access to additional resources at Yale, including those in Sterling Memorial Library, Beinecke Library, and the Yale Center for British Arts.

Applications will be accepted from June 1 to Nov. 2, 2026. The award provides for the round-trip cost of travel, rental car or local travel expenses, accommodations (for fellows only) in the Timothy Root House on the library’s campus, and a per diem living allowance for the duration of the fellowship.

—Deborah Cannarella

Photo by Mara Lavitt