American Philosophical Society Grants & Fellowships

The American Philosophical Society (APS) offers a number of grants and fellowships of potential interest to SSILA members. Details about individual programs are below. Information and application instructions for all APS programs can be found on the APS website by clicking Grants at the top of the page.

General Information

Purpose & Scope

Awards are made for noncommercial research only. The Society makes no grants for academic study or classroom presentation, for travel to conferences, for non-scholarly projects, for assistance with translation, or for the preparation of materials for use by students. The Society does not pay overhead or indirect costs to any institution or costs of publication.

Eligibility

Applicants may be citizens or residents of the United States or American citizens resident abroad. Foreign nationals whose research can only be carried out in the United States are eligible, although applicants to the Lewis and Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research in Astrobiology must be U.S. citizens, U.S. residents, or foreign nationals formally affiliated with a U.S. institution. Grants are made to individuals; institutions are not eligible to apply. Requirements for each program vary.

Tax Information

Grants and fellowships are taxable income, but the Society is not required to report payments. It is recommended that grant and fellowship recipients discuss their reporting obligations with their tax advisors. Grant funds are not to be used to pay income taxes on the award.

Contact Information

Questions concerning the Franklin, Lewis & Clark, and Phillips programs should be directed to Linda Musumeci, Director of Grants & Fellowships, at LMusumeci@amphilsoc.org or (215) 440-3429.

Questions concerning all Library Fellowships should be directed to libfellows@amphilsoc.org or (215) 440-3443.

Programs

The American Philosophical Society offers the following individual programs:

Franklin Research Grants

Scope

This program of small grants to scholars is intended to support the cost of research leading to publication in all areas of knowledge. The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the cost 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.

Eligibility

Applicants are expected to have a doctorate or to have published work of doctoral character and quality. Ph.D. candidates are not eligible to apply, but the Society is especially interested in supporting the work of young scholars who have recently received the doctorate.

Award

From $1,000 to $6,000.

Deadlines

October 1, December 3; notification in January and March.

Lewis & Clark Fund for Exploration and Field Research

Scope

The Lewis and Clark Fund encourages exploratory field studies for the collection of specimens and data and to provide the imaginative stimulus that accompanies direct observation. Applications are invited from disciplines with a large dependence on field studies, such as archaeology, anthropology, biology, ecology, geography, geology, linguistics, and paleontology, but grants will not be restricted to these fields.

Eligibility

Grants will be available to doctoral students who wish to participate in field studies for their dissertations or for other purposes. Master’s candidates, undergraduates, and postdoctoral fellows are not eligible. 

Award

Grants will depend on travel costs but will ordinarily be in the range of several hundred dollars to about $5,000.

Deadline

November 1 (letters of support due October 30); notification in early April.

Library Long-Term Pre-Doctoral Fellowships

Scope

The American Philosophical Society Library seeks applicants for one-year residential fellowships to assist in the completion of doctoral dissertation research in three areas of study. One fellowship will be awarded in each of these programs: the Center for Native American and Indigenous Research (CNAIR) Fellowship, the Friends of the APS Fellowship in Early American History (to 1840), and the History of Science, Technology, and Medicine Fellowship.

Eligibility

The program is designed for advanced Ph.D. students working toward the completion of the dissertation. Applicants whose research overlaps any of the three available categories may submit applications to all pertinent programs.

Stipend

$25,000

Deadline

February 1; notification by April 15.

Library Digital Humanities Fellowship

Scope

This two-month fellowship is open to scholars who are comfortable creating tools and visualizations, as well as those interested in working collaboratively with the APS technology team.

Eligibility

Scholars, including graduate students, at any stage of their career may apply. Special consideration will be given to proposals that present APS Library holdings in new and engaging ways.

Stipend

$6,000 for two months upon arrival at the APS Library.

Deadline

February 1; notification by April 15.

Library Resident Research Fellowships

Scope

The Library Resident Research Fellowships support research in the Society's collections.

Eligibility

Applicants must demonstrate a need to work in the Society's collections for a minimum of one month and a maximum of three months. Applicants in any relevant field of scholarship may apply. Candidates whose normal place of residence is farther away than a 75-mile radius of Philadelphia will be given some preference. Applicants do not need to hold the doctorate, although Ph.D. candidates must have passed their preliminary examinations.

Stipend

$3,000 per month.

Deadline

March 1; notification in May.

Phillips Fund Grants for Native American Research

Scope

For research in Native American linguistics and ethnohistory, focusing on the continental United States and Canada. Given for a maximum of one year from date of award to cover travel, tapes, and consultants’ fees.

Eligibility

Applicants may be graduate students pursuing either a master’s or a doctoral degree; postdoctoral applicants are also eligible.

Award

From $1,000 to $3,500.

Deadline

March 1; notification in May.