Formed three centuries ago by a collective of people who pooled their resources to share books and, ultimately, ideas, the Library Company of Philadelphia retains its longtime identity as a community of readers and learners. Our Fellowships Program, now in its thirty-sixth year, expands the promise of our founders by advancing new scholarship and fostering intellectual and creative exchange.

We now invite applications for 2023–24 short-term, dissertation, and postdoctoral fellowships, which support on-site research in the collections of the Library Company and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, our Fellowships Program partner.

Fellows may pursue projects in a variety of fields and disciplines relating to the history of the United States and the Atlantic world, including (but not limited to) African American history, economic history, visual culture, the history of health and medicine, women’s history, material culture, literature, publishing history, and book history.

Please note the new application deadline of January 15, 2023, for all fellowships, with the exception of the Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Program in Early American Economy and Society, which has an application deadline of November 1, 2022.

Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Library Company offers the following long-term postdoctoral fellowships, each with a stipend of $50,000 for the academic year (September 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024) or $25,000 for the fall or spring semester. Both senior scholars and early-career scholars are welcome to apply.

• The Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Postdoctoral Fellowship (application deadline of November 1, 2022)
• The Program in African American History (PAAH) Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship (application deadline of January 1, 2023)

Dissertation Fellowships

The Library Company offers the following long-term dissertation fellowships, each with a stipend of $25,000 for the academic year (September 1, 2023, to May 31, 2024) or $12,500 for the fall or spring semester. The application deadline is January 15, 2023.

• The Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Dissertation Fellowship
• The Program in African American History (PAAH) Mellon Dissertation Fellowship
• The Albert M. Greenfield Foundation Dissertation Fellowship, which supports research on any subject relevant to the Library Company’s collections

Short-Term Fellowships

The Library Company offers the following short-term fellowships, many awarded jointly with the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. They support a month of research in residence between June 1, 2023, and May 31, 2024, with a stipend of $2,500. Both academic and independent researchers are welcome to apply. Submit a single application to be considered for all relevant short-term opportunities. The application deadline is January 15, 2023.

• Program in Early American Economy and Society (PEAES) Short-Term Fellowships
• Program in African American History Short-Term Mellon Scholars Research Fellowships
• Davida T. Deutsch Fellowship in Women’s History
• William Reese Company Fellowship in American Bibliography
• McLean Contributionship Fellowship
• William H. Helfand Fellowship for American Medicine, Science, and Society
• American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies (ASECS) Fellowship
• William H. Helfand Fellowship for American Visual Culture
• Anthony N.B. and Beatrice Garvan Fellowship in American Material Culture

Short-term Fellowships Awarded Jointly by the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania

• Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Fellowships (awarded for projects in any area supported by the collections)
• Barra Foundation International Research Fellowships in American History and Culture (awarded to citizens of other countries living outside the U.S.)
• Society for Historians of the Early American Republic (SHEAR) Fellowship
• Richardson Dilworth Fellowship for Law, Politics, and Reform
• Esther Ann McFarland Fellowship (supporting research in either 17th-century Pennsylvania history or in the history of African Americans in Pennsylvania)
• The Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowships (supporting research in early American history)