The Linda Hall Library is offering seven fellowship options for the 2023-24 academic year:

• Residential fellowships, which provide doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and independent researchers with up to four months of funding ($3,000 per month for doctoral students; $4,200 per month for postdoctoral researchers and scholars with other terminal degrees) to conduct research on site in Kansas City.
• Virtual fellowships, which provide doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and independent researchers with up to four months of funding ($3,000 per month for doctoral students; $4,200 per month for postdoctoral researchers and scholars with other terminal degrees) to conduct research remotely using resources from the Library’s digital collections. Virtual fellows receive personalized research assistance from reference staff and may request complimentary scans of Library resources in accordance with our in-house digitization policies.
• The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Postdoctoral Fellowship, which provides nine months of residential funding ($5,000 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar whose research explores the intersection of science and the humanities.
• The History of Science and Medicine (HSM) Fellowship, offered in partnership with the Clendening History of Medicine Library at the University of Kansas Medical Center, which provides one month of residential funding ($3,000 per month) to a doctoral student whose research examines the intersecting histories of science and medicine.
• The Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History, which provides up to two months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar studying any aspect of aerospace history.
• The Presidential Fellowship in Bibliography, which provides up to four months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar whose research focuses on the study of books and manuscripts as physical artifacts.
• The Ukraine Fellowship, offered in partnership with the UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative, which provides up to two months of virtual funding ($5,000 per month) to a Ukrainian doctoral student or postdoctoral scholar whose research would benefit from the Library’s holdings.

Linda Hall Library fellowships are intended to support scholars whose research draws upon our collections but would otherwise be unable to access those resources. Doctoral students, scholars with Ph.D. or other terminal degrees (e.g., MFA, MLIS), and independent researchers who can demonstrate similar professional or academic experience are eligible to apply for either residential or virtual fellowships.

Other research fellowships may have additional eligibility criteria. Please review the Fellowship Requirements section below for further details.

With the exception of the NEH Postdoctoral Fellowship, those who reside in the Kansas City area are not eligible for fellowship support. The Kansas City area is defined as Jackson, Cass, Ray, and Platte Counties in Missouri and Johnson and Wyandotte Counties in Kansas.

Yes, provided the applicant can secure the necessary travel documents.

Please note that the Linda Hall Library is not a visa-granting institution.

Also, international fellows should be aware that the US does not have tax treaties with some countries. Consequently, researchers from these countries may be required to pay income taxes on their fellowship monies. 

Yes. US citizens will need to report any fellowship funding they receive as income. Applicants from outside the US are responsible for determining whether a tax treaty between their home country and the US is in force.

• Fellowships awarded to individuals from a country without a tax treaty with the U.S. that have a nonimmigrant visa status of F, J, M, or Q are subject to a 14% withholding.
• Fellowships awarded to individuals from a country without a tax treaty with the U.S. that have any other visa status (such as B-2, Tourist) are subject to a 30% withholding.

In either case, some or all of the taxes withheld may be refunded when the individual files a US tax return. Check here for more information and a list of countries that have tax treaties. Additional information on US income tax treaties can be found on the IRS website.

No, the Library is open to all who wish to use its collections.

All application materials for the Linda Hall Library’s 2023-24 fellowships—including recommendation letters—must be submitted by January 20, 2023.

Fellowship recipients will be notified in spring 2023.

You must take the bulk of your fellowship time during the academic year when the grant was awarded. For 2023-24 fellows, this period corresponds to the period between July 1, 2023, and June 30, 2024.

All fellowship applications will be evaluated based on the following considerations:

• Intellectual, historical, and/or scientific significance of the project.
• Importance of the Linda Hall Library’s collections to the project. Applicants will be asked to submit a list of relevant resources along with their research proposals.. (Applicants to the History of Science and Medicine fellowship should also highlight resources in the Clendening Library’s collections.)
• Feasibility of the project given the applicant’s qualifications and the length of the requested fellowship.

Virtual fellows will be able to use materials in the Library’s digital collections and request additional scans in accordance with our in-house digitization policies. Priority will be given to projects that rely on items that are not readily accessible on other platforms such as Google Books, Hathi trust, or Internet Archive.

The applications are reviewed by a committee comprised of independent experts and scholars who are not affiliated with the Library.

No, you may only apply for one fellowship per year.

No, you may only apply for one type of fellowship support (residential or virtual) during the academic year.

Yes, you may reapply one year after having been awarded a fellowship

There is no limit on the number of times you may apply. A complete application must be submitted each time you apply.

All Linda Hall Library residential fellows must:    

• Work full time at the Library on their research project.
• Offer a lecture or seminar to the public while in residence if requested. 
• Participate in the Library’s monthly Works-in-Progress Seminar and other in-house events aimed at research fellows.   
• Acknowledge the Library in any resulting publications or presentations based on the fellowship and provide a copy of any resulting publication to the Library. 
• Provide documentation (tax forms, visas, work permits) as required by law. 
• Complete an evaluation of their research experience and the extent to which the library collections met research expectations. 
• Submit a written summary of their research activities at the conclusion of their fellowships. 
• Abide by the Library's COVID-19 safety procedures. (Residential fellows may be asked to complete their fellowship remotely depending upon public health conditions in the Kansas City metropolitan area.) 

All Linda Hall Library virtual fellows must:

• Work regularly on their research projects using materials from the Library’s digital collections for the duration of their fellowships. 
• Check in with the Vice President for Research and Scholarship on a regular basis. 
• Participate in the Library’s monthly Works-in-Progress Seminar and other in-house events aimed at research fellows. 
• Offer a lecture or seminar to the public if requested. 
• Acknowledge the Library in any resulting publications or presentations based on the fellowship and provide a copy of any resulting publication to the Library. 
• Provide documentation (tax forms, visas, work permits) as required by law.
• Complete an evaluation of their research experience and the extent to which the library collections met research expectations. 
• Submit a written summary of their research activities at the conclusion of their fellowships. 

In addition to the residential fellowship requirements above, the NEH Postdoctoral Fellow must be a United States citizen or a foreign national who has lived in the United States for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline.  

The NEH Postdoctoral Fellow must also: 

• Be a postdoctoral scholar who has completed all the requirements for their doctorate, except for the actual conferral of the degree, by the fellowship application deadline. 
• Remain in continuous residence in Kansas City during their fellowship term and work on their projects on a full-time basis. 
• Not be delinquent on repayment of federal debt. Examples of relevant debt include student loans, delinquent federal taxes, delinquent child support payments, and delinquent payroll taxes for household or other employees. 
• Not hold another concurrent NEH grant. They may hold non-NEH fellowships or grants during their fellowship tenure, including sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions, so long as they do not interfere with their residence at the Linda Hall Library. 
• Complete an online questionnaire about their activities and accomplishments and submit it to the NEH’s Division of Research at the conclusion of their fellowship. 

In addition to the residential fellowship requirements described above, the History of Science and Medicine Fellow must be a doctoral student whose research examines the intersecting histories of science and medicine. 

The HSM fellow must also: 

• Work full time on their research project at either the Linda Hall Library or the Clendening History of Medicine Library. 
• Spend at least one week in residence at both the Linda Hall and Clendening Libraries. 
• Participate in seminars and in-house research events at either the Linda Hall or Clendening Libraries. 
• Acknowledge both the Linda Hall Library and Clendening Library in any resulting publications or presentations based on the fellowship and provide a copy of any resulting publication to the Library. 

The Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History honors the life and legacy of aerospace engineer Jerome Pearson. In addition to the residential fellowship requirements above, the Pearson Fellow in Aerospace History must be a postdoctoral scholar studying any aspect of aerospace history. 

Possible research topics include, but are not limited to, aerospace engineering, physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and other disciplines related to space travel and exploration. 

In addition to the residential fellowship requirements above, the Presidential Fellow in Bibliography must be a postdoctoral scholar whose research focuses on the study of books and manuscripts as physical artifacts. 

Possible research topics include, but are not limited to, the history of printing techniques, publication practices, textual transmission, and reading strategies. 

In addition to the virtual fellowship requirements above, the Ukraine Fellow must be a Ukrainian doctoral student or postdoctoral scholar whose research would benefit from the Linda Hall Library’s holdings. (Fellowship recipients should be prepared to provide proof of Ukrainian citizenship upon request.) 

Applicants must be able to write and speak about their research in English. 

If my application is accepted, how will my fellowship funds be dispensed?

• Most research fellows will receive stipends twice per month at a rate of $3,000 per month for doctoral students, $4,200 per month for postdoctoral fellows. Recipients of the NEH Postdoctoral Fellowship and Ukraine Fellowship will be compensated at a rate of $5,000 per month.
• Fellowship stipends will be distributed either as physical checks or direct deposits, based on a fellow’s preference.

For further information about the Linda Hall Library’s policies, please consult our fellowship handbook.

Virtual fellows may make use of all resources in the Linda Hall Library’s digital collections. They may also request additional scans through the Library’s online catalog, in accordance with the following guidelines:

• Fellows may submit a maximum of 7 scanning requests per week, with the understanding that it will take 3-5 business days for each request to be fulfilled.
• Fellows may request scans of entire books, journals, or conference proceedings published before 1925, as well as other resources that are in the public domain (e.g. government documents).
• Books, journals, and conference proceedings published after 1925 cannot be digitized in their entirety due to copyright restrictions. However, fellows can request scans of specific chapters, articles, or sections of these materials.

Click here for additional information about the Library’s digitization policies.

The Linda Hall Library does not provide housing for its fellows. We are happy to pass along information about places where fellows have stayed previously. To find out more, please email fellowships@lindahall.org.

Residential fellows are expected to be at the Linda Hall Library (or Clendening Library in the case of the History of Science and Medicine Fellow) during regular operating hours. While they may leave the Library to eat lunch, visit the post office, or complete other similar errands, the majority of their time should be spent on site making use of the Library’s collections.

Virtual fellows are not expected to keep set hours but must schedule weekly check-in meetings with the Vice President for Research and Scholarship throughout the duration of their fellowships to ensure that they are making progress on their research projects.

More information on the Linda Hall Library’s collections can be found on the Library’s History of Science and Collections web pages. Applicants may also want to look at the Library’s holdings in the online catalog or digital collections. You are welcome to send questions by email to fellowships@lindahall.org or to reference@lindahall.org or call us at 816.926.8701.

More information on the Clendening Library’s collections can be found on the Library’s website and Special Collections web page. Applicants may also want to review the Library’s online catalog or digital collections. For further information, please contact Jamie Rees, Assistant Librarian, by phone at 913.588.7244 or email at jrees@kumc.edu.