2026-2027 Beinecke Library Research Fellowships for Graduate Students

Description

The Beinecke Library Fellowship Program offers, on a competitive basis, fellowships to support graduate students who wish to pursue onsite research with Yale Library Special Collections materials for one to four months. We welcome applications from students enrolled in graduate programs at Yale and at any other university or college, locally or globally. The fellowship program aims to facilitate research by the broadest possible group of students, regardless of institutional association, race, cultural background, ability, sexual orientation, gender, or socioeconomic status. Students applying for a fellowship should be at an advanced stage in their research and propose a fully conceptualized project related to their degree program. Applications from students utilizing traditional methods of archival and bibliographic research are encouraged as are applications from students who wish to pursue creative, interdisciplinary, and non-traditional approaches to conducting research in the collections.

The application opens on June 2, 2025 and closes on September 15, 2025.

Applicants will be notified of all decisions by January 31, 2026.

Fellowships must be taken between June 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027.

For more information, visit: https://beinecke.library.yale.edu/programs/fellowships/research-fellowships-graduate-students.

Qualifications

• Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate degree program (PhD, MFA, MA, MPhil, MBA, etc.).
• Students applying for a fellowship should be at an advanced stage in their research and have a fully conceptualized project related to their degree program. 
• Researchers not currently enrolled in a graduate degree program should apply to the Short-Term Research Fellowship.

Application Instructions

All materials must be received by the deadline. Applications from previous recipients of a Beinecke fellowship will be considered only in exceptional circumstances. Applicants are required to submit the following materials:

• An application form
• A curriculum vitae (3 pages max)
• A research proposal (1,200 words max) that outlines:
  • Significance of collections research to your project
  • The culminating project for your degree program
  • Feasibility of completing the scope of research proposed within the fellowship period and in relation to the reading room rules
• A detailed list of special collections materials held at Beinecke Library and other Yale Library Special Collections repositories to be examined during your fellowship, including call numbers, collection names, and any other bibliographic information available. Also include links to the description of the materials in Quicksearch and/or Archives at Yale.  If you anticipate consulting oversize materials (broadsides, posters, maps, etc.), please indicate those clearly in your list
• One confidential letter of recommendation, preferably from your dissertation chair, academic advisor, or equivalent

To assist with your application, you may consult these search tools:

• ·         Archives at Yale-- a database of descriptions of archival collections (also known as finding aids)
• ·         Quicksearch – a search tool that looks at multiple sources, including printed books, manuscripts, and archives
• ·         LUX – a new search tool that looks across Yale’s cultural heritage collections (please note: only Yale University Library materials are eligible for fellowship funding)

Questions about the application process can be sent to beinecke.fellowships@yale.edu. Questions about collections materials can be sent to beinecke.library@yale.edu. For any technical difficulties, contact Interfolio directly for assistance. 

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

The University is committed to basing judgments concerning the admission, education, and employment of individuals upon their qualifications and abilities and seeks to attract to its faculty, staff, and student body qualified persons from a broad range of backgrounds and perspectives.  In accordance with this policy and as delineated by federal and Connecticut law, Yale does not discriminate in admissions, education