Amherst Folger Humanities Fellow
The Amherst Folger Humanities Fellowship provides one Amherst College graduate with nine months of professional development at two world-class institutions—the Folger Shakespeare Library (folger.edu) and the Dumbarton Oaks Research Library and Collection (doaks.org). Designed to support career exploration in the humanities, the opportunity offers project-based work that will be responsive to both the skills and potential of the selected candidate, and the work of their mentors at the Folger and Dumbarton Oaks. All fellows will have the opportunity to work closely with staff in the Folger’s collections, research, or exhibitions teams, and departmental assignments at Dumbarton Oaks may include hands-on work in curation and exhibit preparation, research and publication, collection development or conservation, marketing and communication, or education and public outreach initiatives.
The fellowship term runs from September 2022 through May 2023 and includes a $23,000 stipend, housing in Washington, DC at Dumbarton Oaks for the term of the fellowship, and optional health insurance. Only current Amherst College seniors or alumni graduating between December 2020 and May 2022 will be eligible to apply.
APPLICATION
To be considered for the fellowship, applicants are required to submit the following via Handshake by December 6, 2021 at 11:55pm:
- Résumé
- Transcript (an unofficial transcript from Registrar’s Office is acceptable)
- An example of the applicant’s work (a written paper, article, portfolio, or project)
- A statement of purpose that describes the applicant’s background and interests and explains how a fellowship in the humanities will further their intellectual and professional goals. The applicant should outline what skills they hope to acquire over the course of the fellowship.
- Two letters of recommendation to be sent by recommenders to Carla Costa: ccosta@amherst.edu
QUESTIONS
All interested applicants can reach out to Carla Costa, Director of the Arts & Communication Program in the Loeb Center for Career Exploration & Planning--ccosta@amherst.edu. Carla can answer questions about the fellowship experience and provide support in developing application materials. You can also review this list of Frequently Asked Questions: https://bit.ly/AmherstFolgerFAQ
PROGRAM DETAILS
The Fellowship term runs from September 2022 through May 2023. The Amherst Folger Fellow will split their 9-month assignment equally between both institutions, spending a majority of the week at the Folger in the fall, and the majority of their time at Dumbarton Oaks in the spring. Following an orientation week at Dumbarton Oaks, the fellow will work on a collections, research, or exhibitions project, determined by the Folger, that will be responsive to the skills and potential of the selected candidate. During the second part of the fellowship, the fellow will return to Dumbarton Oaks to share and apply their knowledge by proposing and implementing a new idea and contributing to an institutional project. Projects might focus on curation and exhibit preparation, research and publication, collection development or conservation, marketing and communication, and education and public outreach initiatives. This overview of previous fellow projects will offer helpful context: https://bit.ly/AmherstFolgerFellowProjects
The Amherst fellow will be part of a cohort that includes post-baccalaureate fellows from Harvard University. Professional development opportunities will be offered to the fellow throughout their stay, connecting them with a wide range of humanities scholars, administrators, and practitioners in Washington, DC.