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Special Collections offers a variety of fellowships for undergraduate and graduate students. These experiences offer the opportunity to explore original lines of inquiry while researching rare and unique materials.
The Dean’s Undergraduate Research Awards, or DURAs, are available for undergraduates working on independent research projects that draw on primary source materials in the rare book, manuscript, and archival collections of the Sheridan Libraries. Each research award, in the amount of $3500, supports research conducted from May to April of that year. Research outcomes might take the form of a research essay, exhibition, film, digital humanities project, or other deliverable.
Applications are due early April of each year.
Launched in 2016, First-Year Fellows (originally known as Freshman Fellows) is an academic opportunity designed to introduce students to conducting research with rare books, manuscripts, and archival material during their first year at The Johns Hopkins University. Limited to only four students a year, the successful applicant will:
Research outcomes may include a display in the Special Collections Reading Room, a webinar, a poster session, or other project that showcases your research in an accessible and interesting manner. Please contact Heidi Herr (hherr1@jhu.edu), the program manager, for questions about the program or for guidance with the application process. You are also encouraged to directly contact the mentor associated with the topics(s) you are interested in researching.
Applications due in September of each year.
Fellowships are available to support undergraduate research projects involving any aspect of premodern Europe. Premodern is understood to refer to the period between Classical Antiquity and the end of the 18th century. Topics may fall within the disciplines of History, History of Science and Technology, History of Medicine, History of Art, Modern Languages and Literatures, English, Philosophy, or Classics.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.
The purpose of the Stern Center Curatorial Fellows program is to offer PhD students in the humanities at JHU a more intensive engagement with pre-modern and early modern rare book and manuscript materials and enhanced opportunities to develop an understanding of the history and culture of material texts in a hands-on research and curatorial
environment. The program will also present substantive experience in building public-facing interpretive skills and content development around the early book collections of the Sheridan Libraries—both physically and within the digital environment. These activities will also provide members of the cohort the opportunity to develop critical professional skills that may also be useful as doctoral students prepare for the evolving academic job market. The work produced by the Fellows will, in turn, enhance the profile and use of the early book and manuscript collections at JHU in ways that complement each Fellow’s formal graduate training with hands-on curatorial experience. Research awards are $5000 each.
Applications are due in March of each year.
Hugh Hawkins Research Fellowships are awarded annually to undergraduate or graduate students from any school at Johns Hopkins University who wish to conduct research into an aspect of the rich history of the institution. The Hugh Hawkins Fellowships will enhance the undergraduate and graduate research experience by providing opportunities for original research in archival collections and for sharing this research with the public. Special consideration is given to projects that propose the exploration of the history of diversity, inclusion, and (in)equity at Johns Hopkins or projects that propose a final product rooted in the digital humanities. Research outcomes may take the form of a research essay, exhibition, digital project, or other deliverable. A fellowship award of $3500 will be given to each recipient, which is intended to be used as a cost-of-living stipend but can be utilized for additional research purposes.
Applications are due in April of each year.
Connect your existing repertoire with our historic collections! This grant aims to create a collaboration between Sheridan Libraries Special Collections and the Peabody Graduate Conducting Program. Conducting students may propose a public performance inspired by a book, manuscript, or collection of their choice. Performances do not need to utilize a score or musical work—rather, the aim is to draw connections between the musical and non-musical.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis.