Newberry Short-Term Fellowships 2027–2028 | $3,000/Month

What the fellowship provides

• US$3,000 per month to support housing, travel and other Chicago living costs.
• A focused one- or two-month research residency at the Newberry Library.
• Access to the Newberry’s archival, rare-book and humanities collections and participation in its scholarly community.
• For foreign scholars who need one, the Newberry may issue a DS-2019 form for a J-1 visa; spouse and dependent J-2 support is also possible.

Eligibility

You may apply if you are:

• A scholar who holds a PhD or another qualifying terminal degree by the deadline; or
• A current PhD candidate with ABD (all-but-dissertation) status or the equivalent.
• Proposing a project in any field that clearly requires consultation of specific Newberry collection materials.
• A citizen of any country. Citizenship is collected for internal reference and does not determine selection.

You do not need a faculty job or institutional affiliation. Curators, librarians, independent scholars and other eligible researchers may apply. Some named awards within the program have extra membership or identity requirements, but the main Short-Term Fellowship competition includes general awards.

Required application materials

• Personal, demographic and professional information.
• Project title and an abstract of no more than 300 words (2,000 characters).
• Project description of up to 1,500 words, including context, the need for named Newberry materials and a work plan; upload as Word or PDF without embedded images.
• A list of the Newberry materials or collections you plan to consult.
• One-page selective secondary-source bibliography in Word or PDF.
• Curriculum vitae of no more than five pages in Word or PDF.
• Requested fellowship month or months.
• Contact details for one required recommender; a second letter is optional.

The recommendation letter must be in English and submitted directly by the recommender. The official source does not list an English-language test requirement for applicants.

How to apply

1. Review the official Short-Term Fellowship page and confirm that your project needs specific Newberry holdings.
2. Create an account in the Newberry SlideRoom portal.
3. Select the 2027–2028 Short-Term Fellowship application.
4. Complete the personal and professional sections and upload the project description, bibliography and CV.
5. Enter your recommender’s details early; SlideRoom sends the submission link directly.
6. Review every field and submit by 4 December 2026 at 11:59 p.m. Central Time.

After submission, SlideRoom displays a confirmation number and sends a confirmation email. Submitted answers and files cannot be changed.

Important dates

Time remaining

How selection works

Applications go through two review rounds. Newberry staff first assess how relevant and distinctive the named collection items are and whether in-person consultation is necessary. Interdisciplinary panels composed equally of Newberry experts and Chicago-area scholars then rank Short-Term Fellowship candidates.

The main criteria are the project’s research contribution, the importance of the Newberry collections to the work, and the project’s viability. Because panels are interdisciplinary, explain the project clearly for non-specialists.