American Philosophical Society Fellowship

Through its Franklin Research Grants program, the American Philosophical Society sponsors one Fellowship per year at the Institute for Advanced Studies in the Humanities (IASH), for research in Edinburgh.  The Fellowship is for two to four months and is for research in any aspect of the humanities and social sciences, although we especially welcome applications that contribute to our 2025-26 theme, Making A Nation. The Fellowship is available only to residents of the United States (either American citizens or foreign nationals or permanent residents affiliated with a U.S. institution) or American citizens resident abroad.

A bursary of up to $6,000 is offered to successful candidates to contribute towards travel expenses and a monthly subsistence payment.

Fellows will be expected to give a presentation about their research during their stay at IASH, and to provide a project and financial report at the end of their Fellowship. Please see Notes for guidance below for more detail on eligibility and obligations.

Previous holders of the Fellowship:

Application procedure

Closing date

Applications for the 2025-26 round will open on 8 January 2025, and close at 17:00 UK time on 28 February 2025.

Successful candidates will be notified by email by the end of the selection process with a formal letter of confirmation to follow; please ensure that you supply a valid email address so that you can be contacted quickly after decisions are made.

The application form

The application portal will open in January.

As well as the application form, you are asked to supply a short CV (no more than one page, listing publications related to your proposal, and up to ten most significant publications) and a project proposal of no more than two pages including a bibliography, and a 1-page budget statement. Your budget should detail amounts for travel, subsistence, photo-reproduction, supplies / other (please specify) and a total amount requested. You should then provide a short statement explaining the reasons for the requested budget allocations.

If languages other than English are required for your project, please also outline the degree of your conversational and reading competence in each.

If you have received a grant from the American Philosophical Society in the past, please give the title(s), year(s), and amount(s). If you have applied for other grants to support the same project during the same time period, please also list these in your application.

References

  1. Two confidential references are required from outside the institution of the applicant. Only one may be from a mentor.
  2. Referees should comment on the nature and quality of the research proposal, as well as on the qualifications of the applicant. References should be no longer than one page, and must directly address the project outlined in the proposal.

Applicants should ask their referees to send their references by email to the Institute Director at iash@ed.ac.uk by 28 February 2025.

Notes for guidance

  • Applicants are expected to have a doctorate by the date of application, or to have published work of doctoral character and quality. PhD candidates are not eligible to apply, but the Society is particularly interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received their doctorate. Independent scholars and faculty members at all four-year and two-year research and non-research institutions are welcome to apply provided that all eligibility guidelines are met.
  • Applicants must be either residents of the United States (either American citizens or foreign nationals or permanent residents affiliated with a U.S. institution) or American citizens resident abroad. Applicants who have previously received a Franklin grant may reapply after an interval of two years.
  • Applicants should give evidence of any contact they have made with researchers at the University of Edinburgh, and of proposed collaboration during and beyond their visit to Edinburgh; those who do make such contact before submitting their applications will be at an advantage. Competition for Fellowships is intense and preference may be given to applicants who have not previously held a Fellowship at the Institute or an equivalent institution.
  • Funding is offered up to a maximum of $6,000. Grants are not retroactive. Grants are payable to the individual applicant. Franklin grants are classed as taxable income, but the Society is not required to report payments. It is recommended that grant recipients discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors.
  • The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses.
  • Franklin grants are made for non-commercial research. They are not intended to meet the expenses of attending conferences or the costs of publication. The Society does not pay overhead or indirect costs to any institution, and grant funds are not to be used to pay income tax on the award. Grants will not be made to replace salary during a leave of absence or earnings from summer teaching; pay living expenses while working at home; cover the costs of consultants or research assistants; or purchase permanent equipment such as computers, cameras, tape recorders, or laboratory apparatus.
  • Fellows are expected to be resident in Edinburgh throughout the tenure of their Fellowship and to play a full part in the activities of the Institute. The Institute will be pleased to help with finding suitable accommodation in Edinburgh but is unable to pay accommodation costs. The minimum tenure for a Fellowship is two months; applications for less than two months will not be considered.
  • No regular teaching is required but Fellows will give at least one seminar at IASH on their current research work and may be asked to speak to an appropriate subject group within the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Science.
  • Only fully completed applications will be considered. It is the responsibility of each applicant to ensure that all documentation is complete, and that referees submit their reports to the Institute by the closing date.
  • Project and financial reports are due one month after completion of the funded portion of the work, per the time frame indicated on the proposal. Instructions will be provided with notification of an award.
  • The Institute was established in 1969 to promote enquiry of the highest standards in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences. Inter-departmental and interdisciplinary study is encouraged.
  • The Institute is close to the University Library and within easy reach of the National Library of Scotland, the Central City Library, the National Galleries and Museums, the Library of the Society of Antiquaries in Scotland, the library of the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, and the National Archives of Scotland. Access to both the extensive archival and online resources of all of these collections can be arranged for Fellows as appropriate.

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