How to Apply for a Fellowship or Travel Grant

Here you will find information about applying for Beckman Center fellowships and Othmer Library travel grants.

Beckman Center Fellowships

To apply for a fellowship, please use our online forms which are released each fall. Learn more about this year’s available fellowships.

If you are unsure what kind of fellowship to apply for, please write to us at fellowships@sciencehistory.org and we will advise you.

Due Dates

Applications for 2025–2026 fellowships are now closed. 2026–2027 fellowship applications will open in the fall.

Application Materials

Curatorial fellowship applicants must be authorized to work in the United States. Applications require the following:

• cover letter
• CV
• short writing sample for a non-specialist audience
• contact information for three professional references

Dissertation and postdoctoral research fellowship applicants must submit the following:

• abstract (up to 150 words)
• cover letter (up to two pages)
• research proposal (up to four pages)
• CV (up to four pages)
• one piece of sample work (e.g., a published paper, dissertation chapter, master’s thesis) preferably of not more than 10,000 words
• diversity statement (up to 150 words)
• contact details of two referees unaffiliated with the Science History Institute

Short-term and distinguished fellowship applicants must submit the following:

• abstract (up to 150 words)
• cover letter (up to one page)
• research proposal (up to three pages)
• CV (up to four pages)
• diversity statement (up to 150 words)
• contact details of two referees unaffiliated with the Science History Institute

Applicants are strongly advised to read the Application Guide carefully and determine the relevance of our collections to their projects before applying.

We encourage you to search the Othmer Library catalog and contact our reference staff using this online form.

Next Steps

Upon submitting your application, you will be sent a confirmation email. With the exception of curatorial fellowship applications, referees will immediately be sent an email asking them to upload a letter of recommendation within two weeks of the deadline. Only the referees of selected curatorial fellowship candidates will be contacted. Completed applications will be assessed by an independent review committee consisting of an international panel of leading scholars. All candidates will be notified of the outcome of the review by the end of April.

For further details please see the Application Guide.

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Travel Grants

There is no deadline for travel grant applications. Travel grant applications can be submitted at any time and are assessed by an internal review committee on a rolling basis. Please allow up to one month for notification of the committee’s decision.

Travel grant applicants must reside more than 75 miles from Philadelphia to be eligible. No more than one travel grant per person per fiscal year (July 1 to June 30) can be awarded. Grants must be taken within one year of the award or the grantee must request an extension or reapply.

A travel grant application must contain

• abstract (up to 150 words)
• a research proposal that describes how the applicant will make use of the Science History Institute’s collections (one page);
• CV (up to four pages)
• one reference letter

For more information contact travelgrants@sciencehistory.org.

The above information was last updated on January 17, 2025.