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Faculty of Arts and Humanities
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Fellowship at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History

As a result of the institutional MOU between the University and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in North America, we are pleased to advertise a one-month fellowship open to academic staff based at Durham University.

The fellowship will include a subsistence stipend of up to £2500 and reimbursement of costs associated with securing a J-1 visa.  Applicants should research collections and resources to identify available materials and secure a Smithsonian staff advisor ahead of application. The fellow will be expected to find their own accommodation.

The recipient of the fellowship will be expected to spend the month researching the Smithsonian’s collections, and to participate in and make a contribution to its intellectual life.

The Smithsonian is a complex of twenty-one museums and libraries, the National Zoo, numerous research centres and archives, and several education units and gardens. Many of the museums and research facilities are located in Washington, DC and vicinity. Others are in New York City, Cambridge, Massachusetts, and the country of Panama. The Smithsonian welcomes scholars from many disciplines to utilize its 157 million collections, specimens, books, papers, and other materials. Fellowships are offered to individuals who design and develop proposals to conduct independent research using Smithsonian resources, including its staff. Collections.si.edu is the collections portal to begin discovering research materials across art history, history of science and technology, global cultures, American history and culture, natural history, horticulture, and more. Staff directories are located on museum websites.

Applying for a Fellowship

For those interested in applying for a fellowship, applications should be submitted by midnight on 18 June 2025 to dcf@durham.ac.uk. This fellowship can be taken up any time between 1 September 2025 and 30 June 2026. 

This fellowship is open to members of all university faculties.

Application Guidelines

Applications are to be submitted online and consist of the following:

1) Project description not to exceed 1,500 words. This should consist of:

    • description of the project and its significance (approx. 1,000 words);
    • description of the specific Smithsonian materials to be consulted and an outline of the plan of work for the fellowship period (approx. 500 words). For any collections to be accessed, it is advised that applicants confirm availability by contacting appropriate staff. A Smithsonian staff member should also be identified and confirmed as an advisor.

The document should be single-spaced, font size; 11 pts. (approx. three pages).

The project description will be considered by a panel of scholars from a variety of disciplines and should be written for non-specialists.

2) Curriculum vitae of no more than two pages.

3) Supporting statement of approximately 500 words from Head of Department or departmental Director of Research.

4) Link to up-to-date Durham University webpage.