Fellowships Overview
FOR PHD CANDIDATES
Predoctoral Fellowships
The Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture offers predoctoral fellowships for early American graduate students.
Lapidus-OI Fellowships offer up to eight $1,000 fellowships annually to support advanced graduate student archival research related to early American and transatlantic print culture. The funds are intended to help defray the cost of travel expenses associated with research. Advanced graduate students working at institutions in the United States and abroad are encouraged and eligible to apply.
Fellowships in Historical Editing are awarded to talented history and American Studies graduate students at William & Mary who have served as OI apprentices. These annual fellowships recognize exemplary work by apprentices. Current or former OI editorial apprentices in any phase of their graduate school experience in the Department of History or the American Studies Program at William & Mary are eligible to apply.
PREDOCTORAL
Historical Editing Fellowship
The OI’s Fellowships in Historical Editing offer talented History and American Studies graduate students who have served as OI apprentices and completed OI apprentice training the opportunity to build upon their skills through additional editorial work during William & Mary’s summer break. These annual fellowships, supported by funding from donors to the OI, recognize exemplary work by apprentices as well as support the OI’s ability to maintain the high standards for which all of its publications are known.
The OI is pleased to offer the following fellowship opportunities to up to four (4) current or former editorial apprentices in any phase of their graduate school experience in William & Mary’s Lyon G. Tyler Department of History or American Studies Program.
For Early Career Scholars
Postdoctoral Fellowships
Thanks to support from the National Endowment for the Humanities, the OI offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program in any area of early American studies. Recipients may choose terms of six, nine, or twelve months of residency in Williamsburg and are not required to commit to the OI for publication although are welcome to submit their work for consideration via the OI’s regular review processes. Fellows have access to all research facilities, lectures, and events at William & Mary and other area resources including Historic Jamestowne and the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation during their time in residence.
OI-NEH
The Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture (OI) offers a residential postdoctoral fellowship program in any area of early American studies and funded by a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities’ Fellowship Programs at Independent Research Institutions (FPIRI) program. Applicants may choose residential fellowship terms of 6, 9, or 12 months.
Learn MoreFor pre and postdoctoral scholars
Short Term Fellowships
The OI is pleased to offer several short-term fellowships. Doctoral degree candidates, early-career, and senior scholars all are eligible to apply for these opportunities. We thank our co-sponsors—Fort Ticonderoga, the Folger Institute, and Sid and Ruth Lapidus, sponsors of the OI-Lapidus Predoctoral Fellowships as well as the Lapidus Fellowship for the Study of Rare Early American Legal Texts, for helping us make these opportunities possible.
Folger Institute
The Omohundro Institute and the Folger Institute at the Folger Shakespeare Library are pleased to offer a joint short-term fellowship.
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Fort Ticonderoga
The Omohundro Institute and Fort Ticonderoga are pleased to offer a Short-Term Visiting Fellowship (one month or four working weeks) for scholars—from advanced graduate students to senior scholars.
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Lapidus Fellowship for the Study of Rare Early American Legal Texts
The William & Mary Law School and the Omohundro Institute of Early American History & Culture (OI) are pleased to offer a one-month visiting fellowship for scholars—from advanced graduate students to senior scholars—with strong interests in early American legal history.
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Assistance for Emerging and Visiting Scholars
Travel Scholarships
The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture Travel Scholarship Fund for Faculty and Graduate Students from Developing Countries offers an annual travel scholarship award to support participation in an Omohundro Institute conference or workshop.
This scholarship, which enables the OI to strengthen its connections with outstanding faculty and graduate students in developing countries in Africa, the Caribbean, and the Americas, has been made possible through the generous support of Paul S. Sperry and Beatrice H. Mitchell.
1945-Present
Postdoctoral Fellows
The Omohundro Institute (then known as the Institute of Early American History & Culture) awarded its first postdoctoral fellowship in 1945. Thanks to regular support from the National Endowment for the Humanities we have been able to continue that practice since that time. Until 2020, the postdoctoral fellowship typically required a two-year residential commitment on the part of the recipient and the OI usually served as the recipient’s editor and publisher. In response to changing needs in the scholarly community, the term of the fellowship was shortened (recipients can choose to commit to six, nine, or twelve months) and fellows are not required to commit their work to the OI although are welcome to do so via the OI’s regular review processes.