Humanities Institute Graduate Student Fellowships

Applications for the 2025-2026 fellowship are now open. 

The Institute for the Humanities, founded in 1987, promotes interdisciplinary research and discourse in the humanities and the arts. Fellows spend an academic year in residence in the institute pursuing their research and participating in a cross-disciplinary, weekly seminar. We seek applicants working in humanities research areas who demonstrate capacity to contribute to and gain from interdisciplinary exchange through the fellows seminar.

The institute has a faculty director and small staff who manage its programming and facilitates research by the resident fellows. To the core community formed by the faculty and graduate student fellows, we add several distinguished visiting fellows who typically join us for anywhere from one week to a full term.

Graduate Student Fellowship
The graduate student fellowship is ten months long (September 1 – June 30). Graduate student fellows are provided with a shared office and desktop computer at the institute’s home in the Thayer Academic Building. Graduate student fellows receive a stipend (the stipend for the 2025-26 year is TBD) paid September through June near the end of each month. The institute pays each fellow’s candidacy tuition and all required fees for the fall and winter terms. Gradcare health insurance is provided for twelve months, if needed, September 1 through August 31.

If a fellow defends in the spring/summer term following their fellowship (2026), the institute will provide candidacy tuition for the defense and all fees except the registration fee (~$80). If tuition is elected in order to defend in the spring/summer term and the fellow fails to successfully defend the institute reserves the right to rescind the tuition waiver with the financial responsibility falling to the fellow themself.

Selection of the graduate student fellows is determined by a committee of U-M faculty, chaired by the institute’s director.

Expectations

1. Graduate student fellows are required to be in residence at the institute for the academic year (September 1 – May 31)
2. Graduate student fellows are required to attend the weekly two-hour fellows seminar on Wednesdays from 10:00am – 12:00pm (noon).
3. Graduate students fellows are required to attend Hear, Here Talks when they're scheduled. 

If selected as a fellow, graduate students must accept or decline the fellowship within the specified time period in the fellowship offer letter. Fellowship awards may not be deferred to a future year under any circumstances.

Eligibility

1. Applicants must be University of Michigan students and have attained candidacy at the time of application or provide a letter from their department vouching for the fact that they will have successfully completed all of the requirements for candidacy prior to the start of the fellowship.
2. Former or current holders of Rackham Predoctoral Fellowships are not eligible for Institute for the Humanities’ graduate student fellowships. Current applicants may apply for both awards. A student who is awarded both fellowships must choose one or the other by the respective deadline.

Policies        

1. Awardees may not accept a teaching appointment, accept another stipend or award, or hold any other fellowships during the institute's ten-month fellowship period (September 1 - June 30), or portion therein.
2. Graduate student fellows are precluded from holding a GSI or GSRA appointment at any point during the fellowship period (September 1 - June 30).
3. The Graduate student Parental Accommodation Policy can be found here.

Selection Criteria

1. Promise of dissertation project and strength of academic record.
2. Evidence of progress on the dissertation project, typically one or two chapters of the dissertation drafted and accepted or near acceptance at the time of application.
3. Interest in interdisciplinary work, as shown by the dissertation project and the applicant’s breadth of academic experience.
4. Humanities content of the project.
5. One letter of support from the dissertation chair or co-chair.
6. Please note: The selection committee seeks to achieve variety and balance of disciplines in selecting the fellows.

Application Process and Deadline

All fellowship applications must be submitted through Interfolio. The application deadline is Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 5pm. 

Overview of Application Process

• The application is composed of 2 parts: 
  • Part 1: Complete application submitted through Interfolio.
  • Part 2: A recommendation letter must be submitted through Interfolio directly by the student's dissertation chair or co-chair.
• The deadline for receipt of applications and the recommendation letter is Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 5pm. 

Required Elements of the Application:

1. Fellowship Application Cover Sheet (within Interfolio submission process)
2. Current curriculum vitae (previous education, all colleges and universities attended, including U-M, major field, years, degrees awarded and date of degree expected, major scholarships and fellowships you have previously held-award title, institution, and years, major academic recognition, honors, and memberships-include honor societies, professional papers and presentations)
3. Dissertation description statement (1500 word limit with some attention to your methodology and to the significance of the project)
4. Personal statement describing your graduate education or career trajectory and why you think you would profit intellectually from your association with the Institute for the Humanities (250 word limit)
5. Writing sample (6000 word limit, excluding footnotes & bibliographies. The writing sample is normally a chapter of the dissertation that is substantially polished. If providing musical or visual work samples, place them on a website and then provide a URL link as a file)
6. Graduate transcripts (unofficial; upload pdf)
7. Other attachments (use only to add proof of candidacy letter from department when it is not listed on transcript).

Requirements/Instructions for Part 2: Recommendation Letter portion of application:

1. One recommendation letter from your dissertation chair/co-chair is required.
2. The recommendation letter must be uploaded by the individual recommender through Interfolio by Wednesday, January 1, 2025 at 5pm.

PLEASE NOTE THAT APPLICATION MATERIALS WILL NOT BE RETURNED.