The Wolf Humanities Center offers fellowships each year to standing faculty at Penn in the humanities and allied departments. The fellowships are for research that relates to the Center’s theme for the year in which the award is granted.
Tenure-track assistant professors receive a $5,000 research fund stipend (paid in two instalments).
Tenured professors may apply for either a $5,000 research fund stipend or one to two-course reliefs. The Wolf Humanities Center provides course replacement money for up to two courses, to be paid to the fellow’s department at Penn’s LPS instructor rate and to be used solely for course replacement. Advance written approval of any course relief request is required from the applicant’s department chair. Scholars who have already had one semester of course relief not given as compensation for service between fall 2018 and spring 2021 may only apply for a $5,000 research fund stipend or a single course relief.
Fellows are required to attend the Wolf Humanities Center’s weekly Mellon seminars (Tuesdays, noon–1:50 p.m.)* and present their research at one of the sessions during the year. In addition to Penn faculty, seminar members include Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows, regional faculty, the Center’s director and topic director, and others.
*Note: Interested applicants are advised to check well ahead with their department/s to avoid conflicts in scheduling classes and other obligations.
Call for Applications, 2021–2022
Research Topic: Migration
Application deadline: March 22, 2021
Applications are now being accepted for research on the topic of Migration, the Center’s topic for 2021–22. Please apply via the Interfolio application portal.
Applicants are required to submit an up-to-date CV and a single PDF including the following:
- Project Title
- Project Abstract (125 words maximum)
- Project Proposal (approx. 1,000 words)
Senior Faculty Applicants: if you are applying for course relief, please ask your department chair to email Sara Varney at saravarney@sas.upenn.edu by March 22, 2021, with their written approval of your application and course relief request.
Penn Graduate Student Research Fellowships
The Wolf Humanities Center offers two one-year research fellowships to Penn dissertation-level graduate students in the humanities. Students should be conducting dissertation research related to the Center’s theme for the year in which the award is granted. Fellows are awarded $2,500 stipends and are required to attend the Wolf Humanities Center’s Mellon Research Seminar, held Tuesdays from noon–1:50 p.m.* during the academic year, and present their work at one of the sessions. Seminar members also include postdoctoral fellows, faculty from Penn and regional universities, and the Center’s director and topic director. Graduate Fellows also assist in the planning of a one-day symposium on the annual topic.
*Note: Interested applicants are advised to check well ahead with their department/s to avoid conflicts in scheduling classes and other obligations.
Call for Applications, 2021–2022
Research Topic: Migration
Application deadline: March 22, 2021
Applications are now being accepted for research on the topic of Migration, the Center’s topic for 2021–2022. Please apply via the Interfolio application portal.
Applicants are required to submit an up-to-date CV and a single PDF including the following:
- Project Title
- Project Abstract (125 words maximum)
- Project Proposal (approx. 1,000 words)
- One confidential letter of recommendation from the applicant’s dissertation advisor or graduate chair. Letters must be uploaded to Interfolio no later than the March 22 deadline.
Penn Undergraduate Research Fellowships
The Wolf Humanities Center offers fellowships each year to Penn undergraduate students from any school who are interested in conducting extracurricular research in the humanities on some aspect of the Center’s annual theme. Students must be full time, on-campus for the full academic year of the award, and in good academic standing.
Fellows become members of the Wolf Undergraduate Humanities Forum, a community of undergrads who meet to discuss and present their research, pursue various cultural activities of common interest, and occasionally meet in special receptions with the Wolf Humanities Center’s distinguished speakers. In the past, these speakers have included Zadie Smith, Michelle Alexander, Junot Diaz, Slavoj Žižek, and Colson Whitehead. The year’s program culminates in a spring conference at which students give formal presentations on the results of their research.
Fellows are required to attend and participate in regularly scheduled meetings. In-person meetings will be held biweekly on Fridays from 3–5 p.m.; if virtual meetings are required, students must be available for 60-minute meetings that will be conducted weekly on Fridays at 5 p.m. Fellows are also required to participate in the Undergraduate Humanities Forum Research Conference, scheduled next academic year for Friday, March 25, 2022. Additional opportunities for fellows will be announced during the year.
Three positions are available on the Wolf Undergraduate Humanities Forum Executive Board. The UHF Chair and Executive Board Fellows work closely with UHF Director David Spafford and the Wolf staff and serve important leadership roles, planning and organizing activities throughout the year as well as the spring research conference. The annual call for applications opens each November and closes in mid-March.
Call for Applications, 2021–2022
Research Topic: Migration
Application deadline: March 22, 2021
The Wolf Humanities Center is offering 12 fellowships for the 2021–2022 academic year for Penn undergraduates from any school who are interested in conducting research on some aspect of Migration, the Forum’s theme that year. Applicants must be full time and in good academic standing. Awards are available in three categories:
- Research Fellowship and Undergraduate Chair (one $2,000 award)
- Research Fellowship and Member, Executive Board (two $1,750 awards)
- Research Fellowships (up to nine $1,500 awards)
Please submit the following via our Interfolio application portal.
1. Research Plan. Please explain how your project relates to Migration, the Wolf Humanities Center’s topic for 2021–2022, and outline your theoretical and methodological approach. Your research plan should be uploaded as a single PDF including the following:
- Project Title
- Project Abstract (125 words max)
- Project Proposal (300-500 words)
2. Personal Statement. Please explain how your education, work, and personal experience qualify you to undertake this research. The Wolf Humanities Center is an inclusive intellectual space. If you have had any experiences of diversity that have shaped your approach to your research and educational path, we would be glad to hear about it. (300-500 words)
3. Unofficial Transcript.
4. Confidential Letter of Recommendation. A letter from a Penn faculty member who is familiar with your proposed research is encouraged. Letters must be submitted by the March 22 deadline.
5. Applicants applying for a position on the Wolf Undergraduate Humanities Forum Executive Board should also prepare 200-300 words explaining the following:
- Previous experience you have had in planning events or organizing groups
- Why you think an Undergraduate Humanities Forum is important
- Ideas you have for organizing and motivating your Wolf Undergraduate Humanities Forum colleagues and for inspiring other Penn undergraduates to become involved in future years
Courtesy: Upenn Edu
