We support scholars of early America, broadly understood, via postdoctoral, predoctoral, and travel fellowships.
- Omohundro Institute-NEH Postdoctoral Fellowship –Fellows devote their time to research and writing, work closely with the OI senior and editorial staff, and participate in colloquia and other scholarly activities of the OI. The OI-NEH Fellowship does not carry the requirement that recipients commit their work to the OI (OI Books, the WMQ or digital projects), although fellows are welcome to submit their work for publication through 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. The residency period may span 6, 9, or 12 months. Applicants must have met all requirements for the doctorate, including a successful defense, by the application deadline. Those who have earned the Ph.D. and begun careers are also encouraged to apply.
- 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. Fellows must make use of some of the resources included in the collection of rare books donated to the Wolf Law Library at W&M by Sid Lapidus as part of the exhibition “British and Colonial Antecedents of American Liberties” (October 1, 2019 through March 15, 2020).
- Digital Collections Fellowship – intended to promote the creative use of digital tools and materials, these fellowships bring scholars, from advanced graduate students to senior scholars, and collections specialists together to make collections related to early America, broadly understood, available for digital scholarship. (This fellowship is funded by the Lapidus Initiative. We are conducting a review of the program and are suspending applications for now. Look for more information about the program in spring 2023.)
- OI–Mount Vernon Digital Collections Fellowship — for scholars, from advanced graduate students to senior scholars, in partnership with special collections libraries and historical societies, to digitize collection materials related to the American Founding era, broadly defined to span from 1763 to 1800, with preference for projects connected to George Washington and his world. We offer this fellowship in conjunction with the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. Please see the Overview page for details.
- OI–Jamestown Rediscovery Foundation Short-term Fellowships — for scholars, from advanced graduate students to senior scholars, to come to Williamsburg, Virginia, for periods of one to two months to use the many scholarly resources in the area, including the collections at Jamestown and in Special Collections at Swem Library on the campus of William & Mary.
- OI–Folger Institute Short-term Fellowship — for scholars, from advanced graduate students to senior scholars, to make use of the collections at the Folger Shakespeare Library for one month as well as participate in the Folger Institute’s intellectual community.
- OI–Fort Ticonderoga Short-term Fellowship — for scholars, from advanced graduate students to senior scholars, with strong interests in early America, broadly understood, whose research would benefit from study of the extensive collections at Fort Ticonderoga.
- Lapidus–OI Fellowship – up to eight predoctoral fellowships awarded annually to support advanced graduate student research related to Early American and transatlantic print culture.
- Historical Editing – this fellowship enables current or former OI editorial apprentices, in any phase of their graduate school experience in William & Mary’s Lyon G. Tyler Department of History, to build upon their skills through additional editorial work during the William & Mary’s winter and summer breaks.
- Travel Scholars Fellowship – awarded to faculty and graduate students from developing countries, this fellowship supports participation in an OI conference or workshop.
