Resources

External Fellowships and Research Grants for Theological Students

Resources for Current Theo Students

 

External Fellowships and Research Grants for Theological Students

Entries are grouped according to month of deadline, beginning with February. Recently added entries are marked as NEW.

Fellowships & Grants in Religious Studies, the Humanities, & Social Sciences

McNeil Center for Early American Studies – Dissertation Fellowship

  • Purpose:  Support projects dealing with the histories and cultures of North America in the Atlantic world before 1850, especially proposals dependent on the use of Philadelphia-area archives and libraries
  • Eligibility:  Doctoral candidates in the research or writing stage of the dissertation
  • Terms:  $18,000 fellowship for nine months; office space; library, computer, and other University privileges; residency and participation in the intellectual life of the Center required, but not teaching
  • Web address: http://www.mceas.org/dissertationfellowships.shtml

Forum for Theological Exploration

David Center for the American Revolution Short-Term Resident Research Fellowships

  • Purpose:  Support the study of America in the last half of the eighteenth century using collections at the David Library
  • Eligibility: Doctoral candidates must be from a Ph.D.- granting institution and be in the research/writing stage of their dissertation.  Applications are encouraged from all relevant disciplines, including History, Africana Studies, American Studies, Gender Studies, Women’s Studies, Political Science, Religion, Law, Geography and others
  • Terms: Successful applicants are awarded a stipend of $3,000. The stipend is paid after the awardee arrives at the APS Library & Museum to begin their fellowship.
  • Web address: https://www.amphilsoc.org/grants/david-center-american-revolution-short-term-resident-research-fellowships

Massachusetts Historical Society Research Fellowship

  • Purpose: Provides short-term support for researchers to use the Society’s collections
  • Eligibility: Applicants who live 50 or more miles from Boston receive preference
  • Terms: $1,500 for 4 weeks of research
  • Web address: http://www.masshist.org/research/fellowships

Dissertation Proposal Development Fund (DPDF)

  • Purpose: The Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship Program is an interdisciplinary training program that helps early-stage doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences formulate dissertation research proposals. The program seeks students who can strengthen their proposals through exposure to the theories, literatures, methods and intellectual traditions of disciplines outside their own. To that end, the program offers workshops, exploratory summer research and writing opportunities guided by faculty mentorship and peer review
  • Eligibility: The fellowship is open to all students in the humanities and social sciences who are beginning to formulate proposals for their dissertation research, regardless of topic
  • Terms: up to $5000 for summer research
  • Web address: http://www.ssrc.org/programs/dpdf/

DAAD/American Institute for Contemporary German Studies Summer Grant

Hosei International Fund (HIF) Foreign Scholars Fellow

  • Purpose: Scholars enrolled in a doctoral degree program are invited to apply to carry out non-degree research programs under the direction of and/or in coopertion with Hosei faculty and researchers
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be foreign national; presently enrolled in a doctoral degree program; have sufficient fluency in either Japanese or English; no more than 39 years of age as of April 1, 2008; not have been a previous recipient of this fellowship
  • Terms: Fellows can begin their research either in April or October 2007; duration of six to twelve months; stipend of Yen 300,000 a month; economy class transportation expenses for travel to-from Japan; a research paper must be submitted with a month of research completion, and within two years of completion of research a written form of results acknowledging the research was conducted under the auspices of the HIF Fellowship
  • Web address: http://www.global.hosei.ac.jp/en/researchers/hif/

American Institute of Indian Studies Fellowship

  • Purpose: Supports research in India and the establishment of formal affiliation with Indian universities and Indian research supervisors
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be doctoral candidates whose research requires travel to India.
  • Terms: Up to 11 months; support for dependants and language study; stipend per month of Rs 30,800; research and travel allowance per month of Rs 13,800 and $70 supplement; per dependent allowance per month of Rs 8,800; 15% increase for fellows based in Bangalore, Chennai (Madras), Kolkata (Calcutta), Mumbai (Bombay) or New Delhi; round-trip travel
  • Web address: http://www.indiastudies.org/research-fellowship-programs/categories-of-fellowship/

Fulbright Student Program Grants

  • Purpose: To increase mutual understanding between people of the U.S. and other countries through the exchange of persons, knowledge, and skills
  • Eligibility: B.A. degree or equivalent prior to start of grant. Applications must be submitted to Theological School Dean
  • Terms: typically ~$15,000 – $17,000, but can vary greatly by country and award type
  • Web address: http://us.fulbrightonline.org/

Canadian Studies Grant Program- Doctoral Research Award

  • Purpose: The Purpose: of these fellowships is to promote research in the social sciences and humanities with a view to contributing to a better knowledge and understanding of Canada and its relationship with the US and/or other countries of the world by providing graduate students with the opportunity to conduct part of their doctoral research in Canada. Priority topics include: bilateral trade and economics; Canada-US border issues; cultural policy and values; environmental, natural resources and energy issues; security cooperation; as well as projects that examine Canadian politics, economics, culture, society or Canada’s role in international affairs
  • Eligibility: full-time doctoral students whose dissertations are related in substantial part to the study of Canada, Canada/US or Canada/North America; should be advanced to candidacy prior to accepting the award
  • Web address: https://www.idrc.ca/en/funding

Gates Cambridge Scholarships

  • Purpose:  Supports scholars of outstanding merit and leadership potential for whom advanced study at Cambridge would be particularly appropriate
  • Eligibility: Scholarships are awarded on the basis of a person’s intellectual ability, leadership capacity and desire to use their knowledge to contribute to society throughout the world by providing service to their communities and applying their talents and knowledge to improve the lives of others.
  • Terms: Tuition and fees; stipend of £8,800; research allowance of £2,200; round-trip airfare
  • Web address: https://www.gatescambridge.org/

The Rhodes Scholarship

  • Purpose: To identify individuals who demonstrate tremendous intellectual and leadership potential, and to support advanced study at Oxford University
  • Eligibility: US Citizens and foreign students who are completing or have completed undergraduate degrees. All fields are considered.
  • Terms: stipend, travel, and all tuition/fees at Oxford
  • Web address: www.rhodesscholar.org/

Hispanic Scholarship Fund College Scholarship Program

  • Purpose: Advance the education of Hispanic Americans
  • Eligibility: Applicant must be of Hispanic heritage and currently enrolled in a full-time degree program.
  • Terms: $1,000 to $3,000
  • Web address: https://www.hsf.net/

Marshall Scholarship

  • Purpose:  Support research and study at a British university
  • Eligibility:  Applicants must have obtained a bachelor’s degree within the past three years. Contact Mark Bauer at Yale’s Office of International Education and Fellowship Programs.
  • Terms: University fees; cost of living grant; expenses; annual book grant; thesis grant; research and daily travel grants; fares to and from the United States; spousal support; two to three year award
  • Web address: www.marshallscholarship.org/

Getty Research Grants

  • Purpose: Through core program areas and special initiatives, grants support a diverse range of projects all over the world that strengthen the understanding and preservation of the visual arts. The Getty provides nonresidential grants to support scholars throughout the world, as well as residential grants and fellowships at the Getty Center and Getty Villa.
  • Eligibility: Depends on Gran
  • Terms: Depends on Gran
  • Web address: www.getty.edu/grants

The American-Scandinavian Foundation

  • Purpose: To pursue research or advanced study in one or more Scandinavian country
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have a well-defined research or study project that makes a stay in Scandinavia essential; have at least some ability in the language of the host country; applicants must secure academic or professional affiliations in advance
  • Terms: Fellowships (up to $20,000) and grants ($4,000)support project-related costs, including maintenance, trans-Atlantic round-trip travel, in country travel, tuition, fees, and materials expenditures. Projects should be planned to fall with the summer – summer period
  • Web address: www.amscan.org

American Association of University Women Dissertation Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports American women doctoral candidates who have an active commitment to helping women and girls through service in their communities, professions, or fields of research
  • Eligibility: Applicants should be prepared to complete their dissertation during the tenure of the fellowship, cannot have held a dissertation writing fellowship in the year prior to receiving the AAUW fellowship, and must have completed all degree requirements except the dissertation by the application deadline.
  • Terms: $20,000 for twelve months
  • Web address: www.aauw.org/fga/fellowships_grants/american.cfm

Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

  • Purpose: Encourage original and significant study of ethical or religious values in all fields of the humanities and social sciences
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have fulfilled all pre-dissertation requirements and be positioned to complete the dissertation during the tenure of the fellowship. In addition to topics in religious studies or in ethics, dissertations might consider the ethical implications of foreign policy, the values influencing political decisions, the moral codes of other cultures, and religious or ethical issues reflected in history or literature.
  • Terms: $25,000 stipend for 12 months of full-time dissertation writing
  • Web address: www.woodrow.org/newcombe

Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowships in Women’s Studies

  • Purpose: The Woodrow Wilson Dissertation Fellowship in Women’s Studies encourages original and significant research about women that crosses disciplinary, regional, or cultural boundaries. Previous Fellows have explored such topics as transnational religious education for Muslim women, the complex gender dynamics of transidentity management, women’s electoral success across racial and institutional contexts, women’s sports, militarism and the education of American women, and the relationship between family commitments and women’s work mobility.
  • Eligibility: Candidates must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements; be writing on issues related to women, gender, women’s studies or feminist/gender/LGBTQ theory; be enrolled in a graduate program in the U.S.; and expect to complete the Ph.D. by the summer of the year in which the award is granted.
  • Web address: https://woodrow.org/fellowships/womens-studies/

Council on Library and Information Resources Dissertation Fellowships

  • Purpose: Encourage more extensive and innovative uses of original sources in libraries, archives, museums, historical societies, and related repositories in the U.S. and abroad
  • Eligibility: Applicant must have advanced to candidacy by the time of the award and conduct research primarily in original source materials
  • Terms: $1,600 per month for up to 12 months; $800 upon participating in a symposium on research in original sources and submitting a brief report to CLIR
  • Web address:  www.clir.org/fellowships/mellon/mellon.html

DAAD Graduate Research Study in Germany

  • Purpose: Supports research requiring residence in Germany
  • Eligibility: Applicants must possess knowledge of the German language commensurate with the demands of their project. Preference is give to applicants who have been invited by a faculty member at a German university. Applications must be submitted through the Theological School Dean.
  • Terms: 715 Euro to 975 Euro monthly stipend for up to ten months
  • Web address: https://www.daad.org/en/study-research-in-germany/

DAAD German Studies Research Grant

  • Purpose: Provides short-term support for the study of cultural, political, historical, economic and social aspects of modern contemporary German affairs from an inter- and multi-disciplinary perspective
  • Eligibility Applicant must be a master’s or doctoral candidated pursuing research in either Germany or North America who has completed two years of college-level German and a minimum of three German studies courses.
  • Terms: $1,500 to $2,500
  • Web address: https://www.daad.org/en/study-research-in-germany/

DAAD/Leo Baeck Institute Grants

Ford Foundation Diversity Fellowships

  • Purpose: Increase the diversity of the nation’s college and university faculties by increasing their ethnic and racial diversity, to maximize the educational benefits of diversity, and to increase the number of professors who can and will use diversity as a resource for enriching the education of all students
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in a doctoral program.
  • Terms: Predissertation: $17,000 annual stipend and $5,000 for tuition and fees for up to three years; Dissertation: $21,000 stipend for one year; access the application directly at http://nrc58.nas.edu/nrconline/ford/login/login.asp
  • Web address: www.nationalacademies.org/fordfellowships/index.html

Paul and Daisy Soros Fellowships for New Americans

  • Purpose: Provides opportunities for continuing generations of able and accomplished New Americans to achieve leadership in their chosen fields and to partake of the American dream.
  • Eligibility: A New American is an individual who (1) is a resident alien or (2) had been naturalized as a U.S. citizen or (3) is the child of two parents who are both naturalized citizens. Applicant must be no older than 30 years of age as of the application deadline. Applicants who are in their third or subsequent year of graduate study are not eligible.
  • Terms: Maintenance grant of $20,000 per year (up to two years); half of tuition cost of graduate program
  • Web address: www.pdsoros.org

Social Science Research Council (SSRC) International Dissertation Research Fellowship (IDRF)

  • Purpose: Supports dissertation field research in all areas and regions of the world that addresses issues which transcend single disciplines or area specializations
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have fulfilled all pre-dissertation requirements by the start of the fellowship. No awards made for proposals requiring less than 9 months of on-site research. The IDRF Fellowship must be held in a continuous period.
  • Terms: Up to $20,000 for nine to twelve months
  • Web address: http://programs.ssrc.org/idrf/

Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Eurasia Pre-Dissertation Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports language study, traning in analytical methods, and pursuing preliminary research related to the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the New States of Eurasia
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be graduate students who have not advanced to candidacy or submitted a prospectus (preference is given to those in their first or second years). Regions and countries currently supported by the program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
  • Terms: $3,000 to $7,000 for three months to one semester
  • Web address: https://www.ssrc.org/programs/view/eurasia-program/

Social Science Research Council (SSRC) Eurasia Dissertation Fellowship

  • Purpose: Supports dissertation writing on the Russian Empire, the Soviet Union and the New States of Eurasia
  • Eligibility: Candidates must have fulfilled all pre-dissertation requirements and completed all formal components of their dissertation field research or data collection. Regions and countries currently supported by the program include Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Russian Federation, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
  • Terms: $15,000 for the academic year
  • Web address: https://www.ssrc.org/programs/view/eurasia-program/

Spencer Foundation Dissertation Fellowships for Research Related to Education

  • Purpose: Encourage a new generation of scholars from a wide range of disciplines and professional fields to undertake research relevant to the improvement of education
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements by June 1 of the year in which the fellowship is awarded and be positioned to complete the dissertation during the tenure of the fellowship.
  • Terms: $20,000 stipend
  • Web address: https://www.spencer.org/dissertation-fellowships-1

American Research Institute in Turkey Research Fellowship

Huntington Library Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports research in the collections at The Huntington Library
  • Eligibility: Applicant must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements and be pursuing research germane to the Huntington’s holdings in British and American History, literature, art history and the history of medicine and science
  • Terms: $2,500 per month for up to five months; continuous residence at the Huntington required
  • Web address: https://www.huntington.org/fellowships/

Humane Studies Fellowships

  • Purpose: to support the work of outstanding graduate students whose interests and work explores the principles, practices, and institutions necessary to a free society
  • Eligibility: full-time graduate student
  • Terms: fellowship awards range from $2,000-$12,000 and can be used to study in the US or abroad; awards are for one year
  • Web address: www.TheIHS.org/HSF

Carter G. Woodson Institute for Afro-American and African Studies Pre-Doctoral Residential Research Fellowships

  • Purpose: These residential fellowships are designed to facilitate the completion of the dissertation in African American and African Studies and related fields
  • Eligibility: Preference will be given to applicants whose research is substantially completed. Applicant must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation
  • Terms: $20,000 per year for two years; fellows must be in residence at the University of Virginia
  • Web address: www.virginia.edu/%7Ewoodson/programs/fellowships.html

Andrew W. Mellon Fellowships in Humanistic Studies

  • Purpose: To help exceptionally promising students prepare for careers of teaching and scholarship in humanistic disciplines
  • Eligibility: Applicant must be a college senior or college graduate applying for graduate school admission
  • Terms: Graduate tuition and required fees for the first academic year plus $17,500 stipend
  • Web address: www.woodrow.org/mellon/

Houghton Library (Harvard College) Short-Term Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports scholars who require access to the Houghton Library, with holdings in European, English, American and South American literature; philosophy; religion; and the history of science
  • Eligibility: Applicant must have completed all the requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation and be pursuing research germane to Houghton’s collections
  • Terms: $3,000 stipend; one month in residence at Harvard required
  • Web address: https://library.harvard.edu/about/grants-fellowships/houghton-library-visiting-fellowships

Peace Scholar Dissertation Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports research on the sources and nature of interstate or civil conflict; ways to prevent, limit, or end violent conflict; and post-conflict reconstruction
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have completed all pre-dissertation requirements and be conducting research on international peace and conflict management. Proposals should present a research agenda with a clear relevance to policy issues, although a policy dimension need not be the main thrust of the project. Historical topics are appropriate if they promise to shed light on contemporary issues. Area studies projects and single-case studies will be competitive if they demonstrate a focus on conflict and its resolution, as well as the applicability of the research to other regions around the world
  • Terms: $17,000 for one year
  • Web address: https://www.usip.org/grants-fellowships/jennings-randolph-peace-scholarship-dissertation-program/peace-scholar-applicati-0

Richard U. Light Fellowship Program

  • Purpose: Provides full funding for the study of Chinese, Korean or Japanese languages at selected sites in East Asia
  • Eligibility: All registered Yale students are eligible, including students from the professional schools. Candidates must have achieved a basic proficiency (at least one year of intensive study at Yale or comparable program) in the target language but should not be a fluent speaker of the language. Applicants are encouraged to apply for periods of study longer than summer.
  • Terms: Expenses for travel, tuition, room and board, health insurance for a single term, full year, summer program or combination of those periods
  • Web address: www.yale.edu/ycias/grants/graduate.htm#Light

National Security Education David L. Boren Graduate Fellowships

  • Purpose: To encourage U.S. graduate students to add an international dimension to their curricula. Since the purpose of NSEP is to promote study of underrepresented languages and areas critical to U.S. national security, study of Western Europe, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is excluded
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled, or planning to enroll, in a graduate program. Restricted to specific research areas and topics. Please see website for more information
  • Terms: Overseas study: Up to $10,000/semester; Domestic: Up to $12,000. Fellowship provides support for overseas or domestic study, or a combination of both. Recipients are required to seek employment in a national security agency of the federal government
  • Web address: www.iie.org/nsep

The American Research Center in Egypt

  • Purpose: to promote knowledge of Egypt and the Near East through study and research, and to aid in the training of American specialists in academic disciplines that require familiarity with Egypt
  • Elibility: students enrolled in doctoral programs at North American universities
  • Terms: Depending on the source of funding, fellowships are granted for periods of betweeen 3 and 12 months. ARCE fellows receive a monthly stipend commensurate with academic status and number of accompanying dependents, plus round-trip air transportation for recipients only
  • Web address: www.ARCE.org

ACLS East European Language Training Grants

  • Purpose: Support summer study of Albanian, Bosnian-Croatian-Serbian, Bulgarian, Macedonian or Romanian
  • Eligibility: Students enrolled in doctoral programs may present proposals for attendance at intensive courses offered by an institution of higher education in the U.S. or in exceptional cases, in Eastern Europe
  • Terms: Up to $17,000
  • Web address: https://www.acls.org/grants/Default.aspx?id=540

DAAD University Summer Course Grant

  • Purpose: provides scholarships to attend a broad range of 3- to 4-week summer language courses at German universities which focus mainly on literary, cultural, political and economic aspects of modern and contemporary Germany
  • Eligibility: Applicants must have completed four semesters of college-level German at the time of application and be pursuing research in fields excluding language and literary study
  • Terms: Scholarships are available for courses lasting a minimum of three weeks. The scholarship is approximately €770, which covers tuition, room and board in whole or in part. Accommodations are arranged by the host institution. In addition, DAAD will provide an international travel subsidy of €210. Scholarship recipients are expected to devote their full attention to the course and may not concurrently undertake individual research. A written report is requested within four weeks of the end of the course
  • Web address: https://www.daad.org/en/find-funding/undergraduate-opportunities/university-summer-course-grant/

Chateaubriand Fellowship Program

  • Purpose: Supports research at a research institution in France in all fields of the humanities and social sciences
  • Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in an American doctoral program and cannot be French citizens
  • Terms: 1300 Euros per month for nine months; health insurance; round-trip travel to France; thirty days of per diem support for research travel within France
  • Web address: https://www.chateaubriand-fellowship.org/

National Security Education Program (NSEP) David L. Boren Fellowship

  • Purpose: support students pursuing the study of languages, cultures, and world regions that are critical to U.S. interests (including Africa, Asia, Central & Eastern Europe, Eurasia, Latin America & the Caribbean and the Middle East)
  • Eligibility: graduate students are eligible if you are: a U.S. citizen at the time of application, enrolled in or applying to a graduate degree program at an accredited U.S. college or university located within the United States
  • Terms: service requirement stipulates that an award recipient work in the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, State or the Intelligence Community; NSEP Boren Fellowship awards are made for a minimum of one semester and a maximum of two academic years; fellowships provide support for overseas or domestic study, or a combination of both; NSEP Boren Fellowships are merit based. The maximum level of support for a combined overseas and domestic program is $30,000. A maximum of $12,000 per semester for up to two semesters ($24,000 total) is available for overseas study. A maximum of $12,000 is available for a program of domestic only study
  • Web address: https://www.borenawards.org/fellowships/boren-fellowship-basics

Alexander von Humboldt Foundation Research Fellowship Program

  • Purpose: To support highly qualified scholars of all nationalities and disciplines so that they may carry out long-term research projects in Germany
  • Eligibility: Check criterion for individual awards. Scholars in the Humanities should have sufficient German proficiency to conduct the proposed research
  • Terms: The fellowship program provides for stays of 6 to 12 months in Germany for research. Monthly stipends range from Euro 2,100 to 3,000. Special allowances are available for accompanying family members, travel expenses and German language instruction
  • Web address: www.humboldt-foundation.de

The United States Institute of Peace/ Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace

Smithsonian Institution Fellowships

  • Purpose: Allows students to conduct research for ten-week periods (graduate fellowships) or three to twelve months (predoctoral fellowships) in association with Smithsonian research staff members
  • Eligibility: Graduate Fellowships (10 weeks): Candidates must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study but not advanced to candidacy; Predoctoral Fellowships (3-12 months): Applicants must have completed coursework, qualifying exams and be engaged in doctoral research
  • Terms: Graduate Fellowships (10 weeks): $5,500; Predoctoral Fellowships (3-12 months): $25,000 + allowances
  • Web address: www.si.edu/ofg/fell.htm

American Antiquarian Society Visiting Academic Research Fellowships

  • Purpose: Supports dissertation research in American history and culture through 1876
  • Eligibility: Doctoral students performing dissertation research
  • Terms: $1,000 per month for up to three months
  • Web address: www.americanantiquarian.org/acafellowship.htm

Institute for Humane Studies Summer Research Graduate Fellowship

  • Purpose: a nonresidential summer fellowship designed for students to participate in two conferences and to allocate the rest of their summer writing independently from their home or institution
  • Eligibility: graduate students interested in the classical liberal tradition
  • Terms: $3,000 stipend and travel expenses to attend two IHS seminars; graduate students can not otherwise work, travel or teach during the fellowship
  • Web address: https://theihs.org/funding/summer-graduate-research-fellowships/

The Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation (HFG) Dissertation Fellowship

  • Purpose: to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence, aggression and dominance. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence, aggression, and dominance in the modern world.
  • Eligibility: applicants must be in their final year of Ph.D. work and complete the writing of the dissertation within the award year, final report to the foundation is mandatory. Recipients of dissertation fellowships must submit a copy of the dissertation, approved and accepted by the home university or college, within six months after the end of the award year
  • Terms: $15,000
  • Web address: http://www.postgraduatefunding.com/award-3305