Humanities and Social Science Postdocs 2009-2010

This page is for postdocs that begin in 2010.

Formatting
Note that the new wiki system has a rich text editor which should make editing these pages simple! However, please adhere to the following guidelines:
 * 1) Please place new fellowship entries in alphabetical order. Note that "University of X" should be alphabetized by U as first sort, and X as second sort within the U listings.
 * 2) Please mark the title of the fellowship using the H3 header.
 * 3) Please include the deadline and a web link to the ad/website; PLEASE follow the format of other entries.
 * 4) For logging comments or updates, please begin your entry with a bullet point. Each entry should have a separate line.
 * 5) For substantive comments or updates about status, interaction, etc., please include the date at the beginning of your entry so that users can scan the info quickly for new entries.

For more information and answers to some questions about timing, materials requests, application numbers and fields, offers, etc. see last year's postdoc wiki at: http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_%26_Soc_Sci_Postdocs_2008-2009

AAUW American Fellowships
Info Deadline: November 15, 2009
 * Status goes here

American Academy in Rome
[http://www.aarome.org/; November 01, 2009

American Academy of Arts & Sciences Visiting Scholars
Info Deadline: October 16, 2009
 * Status goes here
 * Q: Anyone know when decisions will be made?

American Council of Learned Societies
Info Deadline: 11/24
 * 50 two-year postdocs for 2008-09 Ph.D.s, according to the story I linked from Inside Higher Education. My question would be if these fellowships are applied for through the degree-granting institution or a new hiring institution.
 * through the degree-granting institution, which has to nominate you. Schools are given a fixed number of nominations
 * Is it then portable, or do you actually serve the fellowship at the degree-granting institution?
 * That part's not entirely clear to me - the fellowship cannot be served at the degree-granting institution, but I don't know if you're randomly assigned a school or if the school makes the final decision as to which candidates they want. More information will probably be available once the invites to apply go out (which at my school is the end of this month)
 * Here's the process: Each participating school does internal nominations to the nationwide competition. Total nationwide nominees will then total around 1,000.  Out of this 1,000, they give out 50 or so 2-year fellowships.  If you're one of the 50, participating schools all get a chance to pick you from the entire pool.  If you get multiple offers, you get to choose which one you want to go to.
 * I have a question about the way this will operate/what the target group is and I'm wondering what people think/know/have heard. Assuming they'll choose the 50 best candidates from this pool of us (say 1000, though I like those cooking down the numbers below. noone seemed even to have heard about it at my large highly ranked research institution - I might have been the only one nominated for all I know), since this is a general competition (rather than meeting the qualifications of a job description), wouldn't we also assume that these are the 50 people likely to get TT offers? There aren't many jobs this year but there are a whole lot more than 50 for this pool. So if they're announcing in late January (after most major TT searches will be well into the on-campus stage) aren't those 50 selected most like to be about to receive a TT offer? And if so, aren't most of us like me, in that I'd take most TT offers over a decent but not amazing Post-doc. And if so doesn't that mean that many of the 50 will turn down the Post-doc? Will there be a waitlist? I guess what I'm saying is the timing of this seems off and I wonder to what extent this post-doc will add 50 real spots to the field or if it's just intensifying the scramble for the best of the best.
 * A waitlist would indeed seem appropriate in this situation, but I think I remember reading somewhere that there won't be one. Perhaps they're banking on not having to pay for all 50?
 * I agree. According to the materials distributed by ACLS, there will be no wait list. Since most candidates would probably prefer a t-t job to this or any other post-doc, and since those who win this competition will likely be stellar job candidates as well, it seems unlikely that ACLS will award all 50 fellowships. Given the depth and severity of the job crisis in academia (and all other job sectors!), it's really too bad. After all, they do keep a reserve list for other competitions (e.g. Early Career), and as I understand it, many of the alternates received an award. Does anybody else have insight to share?
 * Yeah (it was my question above), I started to put all this together just as I was finishing the application. Really disheartening to think that the purported aim of this grant (to keep the humanities afloat during economic depression) is potentially completely undermined by its execution on the ground. Trying to assume that I haven't taken all of the particulars into account.
 * Maybe those accepting TT positions or more prestigious post-docs will withdraw from the competition in time to make room for the others. Just a hopeful suggestion.
 * I'd like to think that as well but unless the notification is later than expected (late january) the earliest of searches will just be in campus visit stages, so noone will know yet.
 * Informed by institution of nomination for fellowship. Application materials from ACLS to follow shortly. 10/29
 * ACLS request for materials by Nov 24 deadline (10/30)
 * Were you informed by email?
 * Yes. Received email from ACLS on 10/30.
 * Question about this postdoc: on the online application, they ask you to list up to 8 other places you have or are currently applying to, listing the most recent first. Well, I'm sure applying to more than 8, and I wondered if anyone else had a sense of the subtext of this question: should I list the 8 fanciest places to which I'm applying, the 8 least fancy, a mix?  Should I list other postdocs, or only TTs?
 * I understood that question to mean: what were your experiences on the job market in previous years. Do you think they are looking for info from this year's ongoing searches, e.g., "interviewing at conference" or "invited to campus"? Curious to know what others think and how you are approaching this.
 * The page on the site says: "[The information] is for administrative purposes only and will not be distributed as part of the selection process." So I would just answer by listing the most recent eight applications that you have filed and the results of those applications, as that is what they ask for. No need to be strategic, as it will not (if I am reading correctly) be passed on to the reviewers.
 * Ah, I see you are correct. Many thanks!
 * Does the 25 page limit include the bibliography?
 * Yeah, I think so. I tried to upload a file of 25 pages + footnotes; it wouldn't let me even upload the file. Dagnabbit.--Thank you! Back to murdering that piece some more!
 * Do you think it is okay to put footnotes in 10 pt font rather than 11 pt? I've got four pages of figures (i.e. only 21 pages of text), so I can make some adjustments, but it just looks better with the notes slightly smaller than the main text. Thoughts?
 * What if you decrease the size of the figures? --Thanks - I'll try that.
 * Does it have to be 25 pages? mine is 17 and I am quite happy with it.
 * Mine is 15 pp. (published article) including notes.
 * 1000/50=20. A 1 in 20 chance is probably the best odds of anything on this page. Princeton (and one supposes Harvard, Columbia and Chicago) are 1 in 280, Michigan 1 in 172. Thank You ACLS for this glimmer of hope!
 * You know, I saw where they said 1000 or so applications. But then I also saw where they said each institution can nominate up to 10, and there are 60 nominating institutions. So I'm confused. But I'm happy to let myself believe that the chances are closer to 1 in 12!
 * I can't remember where I read it, but I think I saw that each university was given a particular number of students to nominate, up to 20. - I read 30.
 * I read 15 somewhere.
 * (2nd poster) - I looked, and my nomination email said my home institution nominated 10, but perhaps that was just them. I suppose I should just take ACLS at their word, but I'm happier imagining that the odds are lower...
 * Only two nominations from my rather large, Western land-grant university. I hope the odds are much better than 1: 20.
 * I like this trend! Maybe there's even a few places that didn't get their s**t together in time to nominate anyone! (wishful thinking is the bread and butter of the humanities job seeker...)
 * maybe there are only 50 of us!
 * I'm not sure how many my home university (Harvard) made, but I'm assuming quite a few more than 10.
 * My little private university nominated 5 -- and just barely got it done in time. Still, one in twenty chances with an honest application beats 1 in 400 with an application spun towards "diaspora" or some other B.S.
 * I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but my school nominated 35.
 * &lt;pop!&gt;
 * My school was "invited to nominate up to 15." Sounds like different schools were asked to nominate different numbers of applicants.  It looks like we might need to take them at their word that there will be close to 1,000 total.
 * I think I'll start practicing the expression "It was an honor just to be nominated."
 * Any idea what the time line is on this postdoc? When will they select the chosen 50?
 * I seem to remember them saying we'd be notified in late January...?
 * It said on the application that the 50 would be selected and notified in late January, and the host universities would make their offers in February.
 * I just went and double checked my application (to make sure my third reference had arrived). I saw that on the informational part of the application, my description of my project cuts off mid-word. I checked it when I uploaded it, and I swear this was not an issue at this time. I am hoping that because I describe my project throughout the rest of the app that this is okay. Did this happen to anyone else??? Is this an automatic reject pile kind of error, do you think? Grrr....
 * I have a better one: just looked at my application materials and realized I left a note to myself in the writing sample ("add footnote about X"). On the first page!  Who does this?  I feel like an idiot.
 * LOL. Thanks for sharing this :)
 * do yourselves a favor and leave your applications alone; send them off and don't look back. If you want to fret, do so over the applications that lay ahead.
 * My chair just informed me that there are officially 800 applicants--so the odds are even better than 1/20 (i.e. 1/16). Good luck to everyone!
 * Thanks for the info!
 * Received rejection email, 1/12 (French) (English x4) (Classics) (Comp Lit) (English/Film studies X2)(Spanish)(Musicology) (Art History x2)(Ethnomusicology)(History x2)(Anthropology)
 * heartbroken (x5)...but also grateful to know now rather than April.
 * balls

Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowship
Deadline: December 9, 2009

Anyone else doing this one? Anyone have an idea of the size of the pool last year?
 * Last year's wiki conversation suggested that a lot of folks considered this a back-up plan and were then disappointed by unexpected rejections. I suppose it kind of depends on how many of those "comparable fellowships" there are--w/o those, it looks a lot like 60/40 odds or so, which on this job market sounds damn good to me! Others have thoughts/info...?
 * I can't fathom considering this to be a safety net or a given since the competition is likely fierce regardless of the pool size. Do the awards skew in favor of actual ACLS diss completion recipients? (asking as a person with a non-ACLS but eligible appointment) x2 [-I am also a non-ACLS eligible appt who would like to know]
 * This is TOTALLY non-scientific, but I know four people who applied for this fellowship last year (all the same discipline) and the two who got it both had non-ACLS eligible appts and the other two, who were both rejected (not even waitlisted), had ACLS diss completion fellowships. So I do not think it is skewed. And it should not be treated as a back-up plan. Like all postdocs, it is unpredictable.
 * Thank you for the info. Even if that sample is small, it is useful to me. I don't think I know anyone who has applied for this in years previous.
 * last year there were 900 applicants. so this grant is quite competitive. &lt;--- wow! I didn't even know there were 900 dissertation fellowship spots of national stature out there. (NINE hundred? that seems unlikely, given that ACLS only gives out something like 65 completion fellowships. what could account for such a high number?)
 * Perhaps the above poster was referring to the Dissertation Completion Fellowship? I definitely do not think the RDR Fellowship could have 900 applicants. Probably more like 100-150...but that is just a guess.
 * I think 150 is a pretty solid guess: 65 Diss completion fellowships + alternates + whiting fellowship + newcombe + aauw
 * +35 or so Ford Dissertation Completion people

Arnhold Faculty Fellowship in Cognitive Approaches to Literary Studies
UC Santa Barbara Deadline: November 11, 2009

Anyone heard anything?

Acknowledged complete application 12/2 (one of my letters was delayed). An earlier email said everything had to be in by end of November, so they'll need some time to go through everything.


 * They were meeting to discuss applications yesterday, 12/7.
 * Correction (from original poster): they are meeting a couple of times next week as well--Monday and Wednesday (14th and 16th) I think.
 * Are they still interviewing at MLA for this then?
 * I believe they are.
 * Got a call yesterday (12/14) and set up a MLA interview.
 * I heard that they are uninterested in candidates who don't have neuroscience backgrounds. poster who got interview, what is your background?
 * (Poster): PhD in English; diss.makes extensive use of cog linguistics and cog psych. --Well you sound like what they are looking for, good luck at the MLA!

Brandeis - Crown Center for Middle East Studies Junior Scholar Fellowship
Info Deadline: December 15

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
Deadline: November 26, 2009 (outline stage)
 * Just out of curiosity - how many of you in the UK are going (or have gone) through an internal selection process this year before applying?
 * A: I had to send them a CV and research proposal but I wouldn't exactly call it a selection process.
 * There doesn't appear to be any word limits on any of the proposal stuff -am I crazy? How much are people writing?
 * Yeah, I noticed that too - but I think how much you write will depend on your field and proposal. If it takes you 2000 characters to say something that could be said in 700, it could annoy the committee (esp. if they have 800 applications to look over). On the other hand, if you use 700 characters to say something that needs to be said with 2000 - and those in your field will know - then you're selling yourself short.
 * When you start typing in the proposal boxes, a message appears telling you how many characters you have left. Proposal abstract: 1100 characters; previous research: 3000 characters; programme: 8000 characters; research outputs: 1100 characters; plan of action: 3000 characters; plans for publication: 3000 characters. It would have been nice to have known this when I started working on the proposal rather than when i was pasting it onto the form! Garrr!!
 * Interesting. Obviously the high character limits were created to ensure that nobody complains about the lack of space this time around. Now everyone's getting hung up on the extra space they have. Alas, 'tis human nature!
 * Thats not what I am hung up about...Call me old fashioned, but I think it would have been nice for the character limits to be mentioned somewhere on the form or in the notes of guidance! Alas, 'tis bureaucracy's nature!
 * I've submitted and my application has been approved. Now waiting for one of my referees. Just in case this helps anyone, your referees (not you!) have until the 30th to submit their forms.(x2)
 * Does anyone know who long it takes to hear back from them? I thought the funding began on Feb. 1, 2010, am am wondering how late candidates will be notified. (12/18)
 * No, the funding begins in Sept/Oct 2010. The shortlist is announced in Jan/Feb, and the elections are made in Apr/May. Hope that helps.

Brown Pembroke Center Postdoc ("The Power and Mystery of Expertise")
Deadline: December 10, 2009

Snail mail rejection letter 1/8 (x1)

Did the letter say how many applicants there were? (i'm also interested- how many applicants?) - No, the letter was dated 1/6, wish they did not have to waste paper.

Brown Political Theory Project Research Associates Program
[|Info] Deadline: November 1, 2009
 * Does anyone know what the standard operating procedure is for identifying candidates? Are there interviews?  What is the expected time frame in which they're likely to make decisions?  Thanks.
 * Email received 12/4: "The search committee will convene soon to review applications." Doesn't make it sound like they'll have interviews.

California Institute of Technology - Postdoctoral Instructorship
Deadline: November 30, 2009
 * Got rejection email today; interviews have been set up (12/16)
 * Interesting. Haven't heard from them today, one way or the other.
 * Has anyone else not heard anything?
 * Has anyone received a call or an email for an interview with them?
 * I interviewed for this position at MLA. They expect to make an offer within the next week or so, I think.

Canadian Commonwealth Scholarships Program - Post Doctoral Research Fellowships (PDRF)
info To obtain an application form and deadline information, please contact the designated agency of your country.
 * For citizens of New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
 * No news as of yet.
 * Last year I heard in January I think of being through first round, and final result was early May.

Carleton College - Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Studies
Deadline: October 9, 2009


 * I heard from them late last night at 11:30 pm (10/23) I'm setting up an interview at ASA. (x3)
 * Anyone heard anything? (10/19). Not a peep--I usually leave at least 3 weeks or a month without an ack before I allow myself to indulge any freak out, tempting as they are.
 * emailed to make sure they got my app. they responded same day saying they did and due to the amount of apps. they got were unable to send ack. (10/19)
 * i'm wandering how people are handling this... it is likely they won't have results this week and the ASA, where the ad said they would hold interviews is about to be less than 2 weeks away.  are people buying tickets to DC just in case?  Or waiting until last minute and possibly paying out the nose to go to an interview?
 * I had an ASA interview but haven't heard a peep since. Anyone else waiting to hear from them? (12/15)
 * Also had an ASA interview, and I asked about the timeline at the end. Because they're on the trimester system, they won't be contacting ASA interviewees about campus visits until January. (12/15) x2
 * I asked this question too, but thought they *hoped* to determine finalists before the end of their trimester (before thanksgiving) and have interviews in Jan. So... maybe I misunderstood this? (12/23)
 * Campus visits for a one year postdoc position?! crazy! x2
 * why is that crazy?
 * Let's outline the full craziness of this position. First, it is not really a postdoc.  No matter what they say, a 2-2 one-year position is a VAP.  So, for a one-year VAP, you first had to fork over a bunch of money to travel to D.C. to interview at ASA.  This alone is crazy, especially in this economic environment.  As if this weren't enough, after the ASA interview they make the interviewees wait 2 to 3 months to hear whether they get a final campus visit.  Then, if you're "lucky" and get the campus visit, you have to travel to BFE, Minnesota to perform for faculty and elite undergrads.  After all of this, your "reward" is a one-year VAP -- if you're the chosen one.  Can we all concede that this is crazy?  What other industry except academia would have such an absurd process of employment for a temp hire?

Carnegie Mellon University Humanities Center Fellowship - "Identities in Conflict"
Deadline: December 1, 2010
 * anyone get an application acknowledgment?

Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity
[http://research.unc.edu/red/postdoc.php

e-mail ack. (12/23)

Website down &lt;24 hours before due date. Awesome!

I was just about to post the same comment, but I guess I'm not the only trying to get the application in right now. I was wondering whether the site was automatically shut down on 1/7 due to some programming error? In any case, I emailed the Program Manager about the technical problem, who was very attentive and helpful with another question I had regarding the postdoc.

Website up and running again, as of the morning of 1/7/2010

email ack. (1/8)

has everyone receive an email ack?

I haven't yet. Uh-oh! (x3)

There was a problem with their receipt of my Interfolio dossier, so they emailed me this morning (1/11). They may be trying to track down loose ends like that before sending out the rest of the confirmations.

Center for Cultural Analysis at Rutgers University
Postmark deadline: January 8, 2010.

Topic for postdoctoral fellowships in 2010-2011 is The Everyday and the Ordinary. Applications can be downloaded at http://cca.rutgers.edu/documents/ExternalPacket.pdf.

The College at Brockport, State University of New York Presidential Fellows
Deadline: December 1, 2009


 * Anyone receive acknowledgment of application? (12/21)
 * Nope (x2)

Columbia Society of Fellows
Info Deadline: October 5, 2009
 * Anyone know if letters can be submitted by recommenders after Oct. 5? Guess that's really a general question about these applications.
 * There's no reason to wait - once you open the online account, they will send emails and your recommenders can submit their letters via email.
 * Wonder if anyone can help me with this: they're asking us to design a two-page syllabus for an undergraduate course.  Guess I'll just follow the instructions, but is it possible they'd actually prefer a *narrative* of what we'd assign and how we'd teach the material?  The latter feels more natural to me than the boilerplate that a syllabus would involve (two- or three-paragraph overview, week-by-week list of readings), though obviously I'll leave out stuff like "Please silence your cell phones when in class."  Thanks in advance, sorry for the newbie question.   - Since unlike the other postdocs, they don't ask for "course description" but specifically for a syllabus, I would do that. Based on the course descriptions' on their website, I would in fact not do more than one paragraph of description, and give a detailed week to week sessions. That's at least what I did in my app.
 * I did a brief course description followed by a weekly outline, including course readings. I thought this was best given only two pages.  Can we all bitch a little bit about the $30 "application fee."  What a joke.  They don't even attempt to explain what it is for and to top it off you have to make your own copies!  Is Columbia really this hard up for money? (x2)
 * 30$ on credit card charged today (10/20) -- x2 (10/7)
 * received postcard acknowledgment that my application was received; date stamp was 10/15. (10/21) (x2)
 * I heard through the grapevine that they were swamped with applications...not surprising given the job market this year.
 * No credit card charge! Does that mean wasn't processed? Urgh..
 * the website says all those shortlisted for interview will be contacted "by mid-December". anyone here contacted? (12/10)
 * someone I know involved with the program has said that they've been asked to look at small batches of applications and give feedback by the end of this week. So I'd expect to hear about interviews starting next week at the earliest. (12/10) - Thanks! I wish I knew too someone who is asked to review the applications... Can I also ask if "small batches of applications" implies that many have already been filtered out at this stage? Yes, according to this person, they had already narrowed it down to approx. 100 applications, which were then distributed for feedback. However, there's no way to know whose applications are in that batch. (original poster, 12/11).
 * anyone know how many applications they received? (12/13)
 * anyone invited to the interview? don't keep your happiness to yourselves
 * Does the poster from last week (12/10) have any more insider information? What ever happened to the review of small batches of applications over the last weekend? Anu insights? Let us know if you can!
 * Last week's poster here: Sorry folks, the update was more of a one-time thing than a steady source of info. As a fellow applicant, I too am waiting for any wiki news...
 * this week (13-19 Dec) was supposed to be the one when interviewees are announced. oh well. when you don't even make it to the interview you realize I guess how far fetched the idea to apply was to begin with.
 * Have the interviewees been announced? Or just supposed to have been announced? Has anyone heard? Not a thing
 * Haven't heard a thing, but the website says "if you are not contacted by January 1," you can assume you're out of the running, so I prefer to think there's still hope ... (12/19) x1
 * the same website says somewhere else that interviewees are contacted by mid-December. i guess some 30 people will be in this situation, and I was hoping one of them will make a note here so that we can fall sooner in the sweet arms of despondency. come on boys and girls, show off!
 * C'mon -- it's Columbia, and it's the end of the semester. Of course there is a chance that all 30 people who got interviews are not posting; but I would not be shocked to learn that they're running late and will not contact people until next week or even after xmas.
 * I second the previous poster. It sounds like a lot of fellowship competitions are running late this year because of the particularly huge number of applicants.
 * Interviews have been scheduled for January 21-22 (as of Dec. 26). (x2)
 * Any interviewees able to say how they were contacted? (12/26)  And, perhaps, when they were contacted? (for future ref.)
 * Contacted by email on 12/26
 * Why have there not been rejection letters?
 * I applied for this two years ago and never received a rejection letter. (They did cash my check, so I know they got the application.) From the looks of previous wikis, they do not send them.
 * You'd think that for $30, they could do that. Or maybe they could make us fill out our own self-addressed-stamped rejection letter, and they could send that instead. :-P

Columbia University Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Music
[http://music.columbia.edu/node/1013; November 9, 2009

Has anyone received a confirmation notice yet for receipt of materials? No word yet; it's not just you.

12/26-Q: Still nothing? Anyone? 12/29-A: They usually don't contact candidates until the beginning of the Spring semester, sometimes even later.

Committee on Global Thought Fellowship
Info Deadline Nov 1, 2009 (priority), or Nov 15, 2009

Has anyone figured out what the deal is with the "fee" here. I just applied through their online system and as far as I can tell there's no information about a fee or how to pay. Then, when you've finished applying, the message you get (I've since navigated away from it--should have kept it around) makes mention of fee payment. What gives? Anyone figure this out?

Well, I looked over the website again and answered my own question. The form with which you can pay the 30 bucks is located here: http://cgt.columbia.edu/files/applications/CreditCardAuthorizationForm2.pdf WTF is up with a rich school like Columbia charging these fees for applications? That's $60 I've dropped on playing the Columbia lottery this year.

email acknowledgment that application was received; next word by second week of December (10/7)

did anyone else who applied get a friend request from the Committee on Global Thought on facebook? does anyone else think this is EXTREMELY strange???

of course it is strange... they are not your friends, as yet... hide your profile, check your facebook settings.

FACEBOOK!? wtf -- That's creepy. That's why I left facebook.

Yeah, I guess I'll accept--because I want a shot at the fellowship. But that's seriously messed up and creepy.

Kind of ironic for a "Committee on Global Thought." Ah Orwell ...

I think it is just the administrator that is setting up facebook stuff. It won't bear on your application in any way and (i'd hope) won't be seen by the Committee members themselves. They basically want people to know about what they are doing: events, updates, how great they are, etc.
 * Received email saying that I have been selected to go on to the next round. Said they will announce in mid-January if invited for interview. (12/4)


 * Is that what your email said? My email just said "Thank you for applying..." and added that those selected for interviews would be contacted "individually" in mid-January. Sounds awfully similar to a standard acknowledgment of receipt. (12/4)
 * Yes, that's what it said. I've posted a copy of the letter on the Soc. rumor mill here: http://bit.ly/7NG1fg . The poster prior to me copied their letter and it sounded like yours. Not sure what the story is behind the different letters. (12/4)
 * Received email about setting up a phone interview. (1/4)

Consortium for Faculty Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges – Dissertation and Postdoctoral Fellowships
[http://www.depauw.edu/admin/acadaffairs/cfd/


 * I know that these fellowships all move at different paces, depending on school, but has anyone heard from any school? The rumor mill tells me that applications are filtering to departments, but I don't have any concrete stories. (12/21)
 * Does anyone know how this process works? When do schools start contacting candidates?

Dartmouth College - Dickey Center Visiting Fellowships
Info Deadline: Jan 12, 2010

Dartmouth College - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships
Deadline: Oct 15, 2009

received rejection letter by snail mail on East Coast: 11/2

Here too. Wow, what a speedy rejection. A bit unnerving.

I'm sure mine's in the mail, but just wondering what the letter said, specifically in terms of # of applicants.

No mention of application numbers.

Has anyone been contacted "in the positive", or is this just a first round of rejections? I'm trying to wrap my head around this happening so quickly!

Judging from the language on their website, they might just be eliminating those whose teaching areas don't match their needs well. I can't imagine they've seriously read any apps yet.

Well, it would have been nice to know what areas they were excluding. --No kidding!

But it does say on their website: "This year, we shall not be accepting applications in, at least, the following areas/disciplines: Anthropology, Art History, Film & Media Studies, and Music." Were those who received early notice in one of those areas? Or perhaps there's simply more, now, to that vague "at least" as the process has evolved. In which case, it would have been nice to know indeed! Rejection by mail on West Coast: 11/12 - stated large number of applicants but nothing exact
 * Not here. History is my discipline.
 * have not heard anything... not even confirmation of receipt (x7)

Rejection by mail on East Coast; English: 11/12

Alphabetic order? My last name starts with Z... that's probably why my rejection mail hasn't arrived yet? - With a name starting with Z, it takes guts to even apply.


 * My last name is early-mid alphabet and I haven't received my rejection letter...yet. East Coast 11/16 (Rejected 11/18)

Judging from the Dartmouth postdoc thread during the last two years, it seems that they would have several rounds of elimination. Some people received their rejection letters in mid December.

Rejection by mail on East Coast; English: 11/16

Rejection by mail, History 11/16

Rejection by post on East Coast; History; 11/16 (ditto 11/18: curious as to how they made decisions so quickly; did they just eliminate all ABDs perhaps? (my case))
 * I'm ABD (East Coast) and still have yet to get my rejection. (Got the rejection 11/18)-- Ditto (West Coast), though I expect to file next month.
 * I'm ABD too and I haven't received any letter yet. (x4) (Me neither, and I'm in History)
 * I think one of the previous posts is correct: there are several rounds of elimination from not being in disciplines that they were looking for (the "at least" is important here), to a first look through and eliminating based on general strength of application (ABD-ness could be a factor, but certainly not the only one), to sending the "stronger" apps to departments, to the departments determining which apps they like, also coinciding with their teaching needs (judging by their website this is where they are now - the current rejections are most likely those that made it to this stage), and next departments will bid on candidates which the entire committee will judge, then these rejections and request for interviews will come along. The website explains this fairly well.
 * ABD, East Coast, rejection came today (11/19). Letter dated 11/16.
 * ABD, Midwest, rejection (11/20)
 * ABD, Midwest (History), rejection (11/23)
 * ABD East coast religious studies rejection (11/21)
 * Rejection. Letter dated 11/17. PhD dissertation completed. (11/24)
 * so far it seems the areas excluded are History and English...
 * or perhaps those areas are just the most over-subscribed for a fellowship that seems more humanistic and less rigorously interdisciplinary than many others... the very unscientific sample of daily rejections on this wiki are difficult to sparse in any case...
 * Yes, of course. The wiki sample is only representative of those that use the wiki (which may only be those from History and English).  I suspect, though, that History and English will not get postdocs at Dartmouth this cycle. If that is the case, it would have been nice to know that there were additional departmental restrictions beyond those stated on the web.
 * I'm in Comp.Lit./Spanish and was rejected two weeks ago.
 * it may just be that those departments moved faster.
 * I'm in English and haven't heard a word...
 * ABD, Southeast (history), rejection (10/29) C: C: when was the letter dated? That seems like a crucial piece of information...
 * ABD, East Coast, Romance Studies-Latin American Lit, rejection letter dated 16 Nov
 * There seems to have been a lull in the rejections, so how many are still in the running, and what is your dept.? English (X2) History (x3) Geography (X1) Italian (x1) Latin American Literature (x1) Middle East/Comp Lit (x2), Native American Studies (x1)
 * Does anybody know if they are going to interview at the MLA?
 * I assume not, just because they say on their website that they want to schedule interviews with finalists in January, and that finalists are selected in "early December." There could, of course, be an intermediate round of interviews, but I doubt it. I'm more curious what their definition of "early December" is for notification of finalists!
 * Its "early December" now! Does that mean we're finalists? :) Might as well try and be optimistic, right?  --Your optimism made my morning! I think one should always consider oneself a finalist until proven otherwise.   --Ditto on the optimism!  I figured I was going to be receiving a rejection letter since it's past "early" December, but it looks like there's some hope yet (12/12).
 * received email saying my app was in the group of files from which the finalists will be selected in early January. ABD Latin American Literature (14/12) (X1), History (X1), English (x1), Geography, Latin American, Latino/a, and Caribbean Studies (12/14), Comp. Lit. (X1), Italian (x1), Middle East/Comp. Lit. (x1)
 * should those who received this email this morning (Dec 14) assume that Darmouth is behind schedule? It seems like the initial schedule announced on the Humanities Center website had mid-December as the deadline for the selection of finalists and for scheduling campus interviews to happen in early January. Any insights?
 * Guess this means that the rest who were still waiting fora response will get our rejections in the mail.
 * So much for optimism. Sigh.
 * Rejection letter dated Dec 14 (ABD, East Coast). Good luck to the finalists!
 * Rejection letter arrived today (Ph.D., Classics, East Coast). Good luck to everyone in the running still!
 * Ditto, Government.
 * Rejection, dated Dec 14 (ABD, Slavic, Midwest).
 * Rejection arrived yesterday, 12/18 (ABD, English, west coast)
 * Rejection arrived 12/17 (ABD, American Studies, Latino Studies, Midwest)
 * Rejection via email, 12/21 (ABD, History) Everyone else's seem to be coming by mail. Huh.
 * Rejection by mail, dated 12/21 (received 12/23). The rejection comes after the email received on 12/14 which stated that my application was in the group of files from which the finalists will be selected in early January (see post above). What does this mean? Did they make further cuts before their deadline of early January?
 * It seems like 12/21 was the day they decided the finalists. That's why people received rejection letter this day via both email and snailmail. I guess the finalists will be notified in early Jan.
 * It seems like 12/21 was the day they decided the finalists. That's why people received rejection letter this day via both email and snailmail. I guess the finalists will be notified in early Jan.

Duke University-Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship
[http://www.postdoc.duke.edu/provost.html; Deadline Jan. 15, 2010
 * Does anyone know if there's any point in applying to this fellowship if you don't meet "diversity" criteria? I am a woman in an English department...not exactly underrepresented.

Duke University-Feminist/Human Animal Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship
Deadline Nov. 17, 2009

has anyone heard anything? (12/10)

Shark versus giant octopus: who wins?

Tough question! I might need to see a youtube video to make this decision. Does the absence of any comment on this fellowship mean I am the only one who applied? Or do other feminist/human/animal scholars not use the wiki? (12/22)

No, you're not the only one who applied, but with any luck, perhaps we are the only two who applied. They do have 2 postdocs. But no, I haven't heard anything. (12/28)

Here's hoping! (12/29) (x3 - not one of above posters :) )

Duke University - Writing Program
Info Deadline Oct 30

I submitted my application online about a week before the deadline, but never got any confirmation email or otherwise, nor was my own email inquiry answered. I'm concerned the online submission didn't work. Does anyone know what's going on here?

I didn't any any confirmation either. (x2) I had a look at the wiki from last year and they got over 300 applications and it's very possibly more this year. That may explain the lack of response. --Thanks!

I didn't get a confirmation at first, so I emailed them. Received email confirmation 11/5. I think they are not sending confirmations or it's slow. I wouldn't worry. I thought the online application didn't work too, but my application did go through.

Email asking to re-send cover letter, as there was a problem with the online submission. (11/10). Though I'm troubled about this undefined "problem" I am happy to receive at least some kind of confirmation that they have me in the system, since I had not yet received any confirmation. They are working on it!

I submitted mid October and emailed last night to ask if they ever received it. Got email confirmation of receipt today (11/17)

Q: Any requests for additional materials and/or interviews yet? (12/9)

I spoke with a current writing program fellow the other day and he said that the program received around 700 apps. Ouch. They are probably sifting through them now...

R: Holy guacamole. A colleague of mine is friends with the director. She told me that they consider the apps from science folks first.

Yes - this is true about the sciences. I worked with an phd student in the scienecs, and she has a job there now. She told me that they tend to hire at least 3 English/Comp people per year and then they look for sciences for the most part.

A: This just isn't true. First, the number of people brought in for interviews and offered jobs depends on a number of factors--including how many positions are available, which applicants accept the position, and what is needed in any given year. Second, while they do look for people from the natural sciences, since it is an interdisciplinary program, they are looking for people who want to teach writing above all else. Finally, they don't look for any particular discipline first. They try to find people from a variety of disciplines to support the mission of the program.

They had 750+ applicants. Committee just met to narrow pool to 100. Will meet again to narrow to 25 or so to bring for on-campus interviews. Have not sent out any rejection notifications yet.
 * Q: When was this decision made? (12/14)
 * Q: This is really helpful info. Any sense of timeline attached to the upcoming cuts? When they'll narrow to 25?

12/16 - Got an email and phone call to schedule on-campus interview in Jan. (x4) [The admin asst said they had ~750 applicants and are interviewing somewhere around 15.] C: congrats! what's your area?
 * -STEM field. Heavy on the "T".  Don't feel comfortable saying much more.
 * -I'm from an English department
 * Are all of those who got phone calls for interviews in sciences and mathematics? (No.) (x4)

12/17- received very nice rejection email, says I was a finalist and will remain on the 'active' list in case interviewees decline. (x5)

12/17- has anyone else heard nothing--neither rejection nor invitation to interview? (x9)

-- Let's be honest, no news is surely bad news in this case.-- Hope they received our applications! (x4) "And if you don't know, now you know."

12/22- Rejection received by e-mail (x9)
 * -- Thank the gods they had the foresight not to bother our faculty for recommendations; reams and reams of paper...! (x5) Amen. no nonsense bothering our recs until they are interested--and then the decency to send an email, without a $30 app fee. Good Blue Devils.
 * --Wow, over 750 applicants. Tells you how bad the market is. My rejection letters from the DWP in the past specified around 400 applicants
 * --Anyone else rejected by Duke but made it past the first cut for Harvard Expos? (x2)

Durham University (UK) Postdoc Research Associate
Info Deadline: Dec. 2, 2009

5 positions available on the history of the 'Tipping Point', two on climate change, two on financial crises (historical and recent), and one on the 'tipping point' as metaphor.

ECLA Berlin Postdoc Fellowships
Info Deadline: Dec 14, 2009

Has anyone received confirmation of submission on this one? -not me. (x2)

They do not send confirmations automatically. I had to email the person and ask, and got a nice and quick reply (12/31).

George Washington University - Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Contemporary History
Info Deadline Jan 18, 2010

Gothenburg - Fellowship in Globalization and Development
[|Info] Deadline: December 1, 2009

Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships
Info Deadline "To obtain an application form and deadline information, please contact the Embassy of Canada or the designated agency of your country"

Applicants must:
 * be citizens of one of the following countries: Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia, Switzerland. Applicants who have obtained Canadian citizenship or applied for permanent residency in Canada are not eligible for an award.
 * Does anyone know whether research needs to focus on Canada (or whether such researchers will be at a distinct advantage)?
 * It definitely doesn't have to be on Canada. I am not sure if it would be an advantage, but I was selected for a related scheme (Commonwealth scholarships) working on something totally unrelated to Canada, but justified by the research area of the members of faculty in the university I would be working at.
 * Research on Canada is almost required since the government is involved.
 * That is simply not true! Sorry, but I know it is not true.

Harvard Academy Scholars Program
Info Deadline: Oct 1, 2009
 * Received email confirmation of receipt of application saying that further info on the status of application would be sent in late November (10.16). (x2)
 * "Not chosen to be interviewed... Pool of 351 applicants" email (10/30) (x3) - dito (11/2) -- same (11/2)
 * Received email saying I was among 30 semi-finalists of 351 applicants. More news to follow after their next meeting on Nov. 10. (11/3) (x2)
 * Received email saying I wasn't selected for an interview, so they were right on schedule. Why can't other postdocs/searches be this conscientious? (11/10) (x2)

Harvard JFK School of Government - Belfer Center Fellowships
Info Deadline: Jan 15, 2010


 * Received email confirmation of receipt (1/4)

Harvard Center for the Environment Post-Doctoral Fellowship
Deadline Jan 15, 2010

Harvard College Writing Program
Info Deadline: Nov 5, 2009
 * Received e-mail confirmation of receipt (10/28)
 * Request for more documents (10-page sample; letters; course materials; commenting task); 11/19; e-mail  (x10)

C: a bit of advice for those sending more materials: harvard expos site has downloadable guides describing strategies for commenting on student writing and other such guides; this might help especially if you haven't taught in a similar writing program before. (Thank you for this note - very helpful!) Q: Any requests for additional materials and/or interviews yet? (12/9)
 * Has anyone received a rejection notice? Or received a request for more documents after 11/19? In other words, can I wipe this one off the list and focus my fretting on other hopeless causes? (11/23)
 * They asked that the additional materials be sent by December 1st, so if you haven't received a request by that time it may not be good news. Best of luck, though!  :-)
 * I just got a request for materials (11/25) to be received by Dec. 4th, so they may still be sifting through what must be a massive pile o' apps.

Not yet. (I was asked for more materials 11/19). Assuming they received over 300 applications (according to the wiki, Duke's Writing Program received 700), I wonder how

many folks they long-listed? With the amount of materials they required, I'm guessing 50 on the long list. If anyone is asked for an interview please let us know! (12/11)

R: I looked at last year's wiki and it seems that the Writing Program interviews non-local candidates at MLA... and then in Jan/Feb interviews local candidates. Making offers in Feb/March.


 * This position is also listed over at the Comp/Rhet wiki, where I just read: "Just found out they won't be doing interviews at MLA: they're doing all non-local interviews via video conference." I don't know where the info comes from or anything more specific. But I will keep a look out for updates and post here.

R: The info has been updated on Harvard's website. It now reads: "Preceptors are selected in a national search, which normally elicits submissions from 300 or more candidates, about 25 of whom are interviewed–-some via regional interviews and video conference calls and some in Cambridge in January and February. Five to ten are hired each year."


 * thanks for that. Doesn't that leave things open for MLA, however? Regional interviews that are not in Cambridge?
 * (12/18) I'm surprised to have heard nothing before winter break, although it appears looking at the academic calendar that Harvard's fall term ends on Monday 21st. Anybody heard how many total applications they received and how many made it to the "additional materials" round?
 * So, for those of us who received requests for additional materials (and sent them), but who haven't heard anything yet - does this mean we've been cut from the list of contenders?
 * But wouldn't we have heard from those who did get interviews? It is a bit mystifying to not receive any word before xmas, given the relatively early deadline.
 * I wrote, and received a polite reply that basically stated the timeline was up in the air. I don't believe anyone has been notified. We'll have to hold tight until Jan.
 * Thanks for that info. Good to know they are still in the process of making decisions-- but it's also crappy that they are STILL in the process! Grrr. I wish I knew if I had options-- especially with MLA coming up. Grumble.
 * I have received an email requesting interview in late January. (12/23) Email said that non-local candidates will be interviewed on Skype-to-skype video. (x3)
 * any seconds on this? does this mean the game is up?
 * Seems as if the game is, indeed, up. As someone who sent additional materials, and has heard nothing, I'm taking it that way. Merry (expletive) Christmas to me. (x5)
 * Those of you have gotten interview requests, are you local or non-local?
 * I am more or less local -- will be interviewing on campus.
 * I am non-local (x2)
 * There goes my hopes and dreams. Was hoping everyone so far was one or the other, so at least one group of us could keep the hope alive.
 * Ditto
 * My hope and dreams, as well. And to think I spent so much time on that damned student draft mark-up exercise!
 * Indeed, insult to injury. Eh, fvk 'em. (x3)
 * What insult? Do you think you're entitled to an interview just because you worked hard on that student paper? We all worked hard on it. You sound like someone who has never applied for a job before in their life.
 * Talked to someone in the department, and they were able to find out that the hiring committee will likely be doing several rounds of interviews. If they don't hire from the first batch of interviews, they'll go back to the pool of second-round applicants to select new interview candidates.  Apparently they did this when they hired my friend: he had given up hope but was invited to an interview in April.

Harvard Humanities Center Fellowship
[|Info] Deadline: Dec 1, 2009


 * Just a brief note of complaint that their $35 fee is only payable by check and cannot be sent separately, meaning there's no way to use a dossier service for the application. Thanks, Harvard, for making an application fee even more obnoxious than it needs to be!
 * Surely they will accept a separately mailed check? I am in Europe, using Interfolio for applications in US and Canada . . . or am I being too idealistic in assuming they will understand?
 * I have emailed them to ask this very question, and so far, no reply. EDIT: No, I take that back--they just emailed me and said it would be OK to mail a separate check, though they were surprised one might need to.
 * (sarcasm) G*d bless their little hearts . . . certainly, why would anyone ever need to do such an outlandish thing? (/sarcasm) some of these places really still live in the 50s
 * ack. email 12/8 (x3) did you both send out on Dec 1? just curious given that's when I did and I have not gotten the ack. email (paranoia setting in--sigh...looking forward to a break during the holidays from this application madness). I sent it Nov 30. I mailed mine on December 1--late afternoon. +  the ack. email states that final decisions are made mid-February
 * FWIW, I also mailed December 1st and have also not yet gotten the email.
 * ack. email 12/9
 * No acknolwedgment email for me, but they cashed my check on 12/4 so I'm taking that as an acknowledgment.
 * ack. email 12/11, mailed late Dec. 1. They appear to be taking some time.
 * 35 bucks check cashed. A: Me too and I'm at the very end of the alphabet. I don't know if this means that they are almost finishing reviewing the dossiers...(12/22)
 * perhaps not - I assume the review and the money are independent procedures; got my confirmation almost two weeks after they cashed the check.

Harvard Society of Fellows
Info Deadline (nomination letter): September 4, 2009
 * Anyone receive request for materials yet? (9/14)
 * yup, check your snail mail (9/14) -- There it was! (9/15)
 * Anyone care to share how many writing samples you sent? (I sent one).
 * I sent three: short published paper, short unpublished paper, finished diss chapter (about 50 pages altogether). - I sent two: two published articles based on the dissertation (55 pages together). -- I sent 3: a pub'd article, a finished diss chapter, and the intro to my diss (close to 100 pgs; I'm sure it's WAY too much).
 * Does anyone know when they start arranging interviews?
 * 10/5 postcard acknowledgment that materials have been rec'd. -- Mine too (October 6).
 * 10/14 received phone call to set up interview for early November (sent in application right at 9/25 deadline) (x3, though my deadline was later)
 * Congrats, but what do you mean--your deadline was later? -- Thanks. I mean that they roll the deadline depending on when they receive your nomination letter. One of my colleagues was given a deadline three weeks earlier than mine.
 * Hmm...my phone is eerily silent... (x3)
 * Come onnn phone! I want to hear Nobel laureate Walter Gilbert's cheery voice on the other end!  Ringringring!
 * Give it a rest. We're too good for Harvard.
 * Does anyone know what the interviews are like?
 * A: I did one two years ago. All 12 or so of them in a semi circle around you peppering you with questions.  Then dinner, which is the real interview. --Thanks for the info!
 * on average how many applicants are there? (x2) and how many interviews would be scheduled?
 * In the past, interview invites have been rolling, and they did a few interviews a week through the end of November.
 * That's interesting. After I saw that some people had been called, I just wrote this off, and have been checking from time to time purely as spectator sport. But maybe the fact that we haven't been contacted yet doesn't necessarily mean anything? (x2) -- Possibly, though when I was called, there were only two dates available (with four candidates to be interviewed on each date), with the last date towards the end of November. That doesn't mean they aren't still calling, but it sounds like the availability is narrowing.  -- Thanks much for sharing your info.
 * Has anyone who's interviewing gotten a letter confirming the interview date after flights were booked?
 * 10/27 call to schedule interview.-- Congrats. Any updates on their scheduling (ie, how many dates were still available)? -- Thanks. Seems like there were still spaces in early November.
 * also 10/27 call for an interview, although my deadline was Sept. 24. does anyone know if these later call dates mean that we were some kind of back-up or is this random?
 * Why the need to delete my comment twice ("I can tell when I'm not wanted...") and insert an editing comment, ("really, this is just unhelpful negativity. take it to the venting page.")? It's self-deprecating humor. I'm making fun of myself and light of the wait to know something, anything. I would gladly share any information--if I had any. How is that "unhelpful negativity?"
 * Seriously, if you do not like what someone wrote, then do not read it. Delete only your own comments.
 * I agree with the self deprecator on this one. No, I didn't find the post useful or entertaining or interesting, but I respect the fact that this is an open forum, and that it's not my or anyone else's place to delete someone else's posts. --Thank you both for your comments.--the self-deprecator
 * Has anyone received a notification of rejection yet? I have not heard anything and it's 11/07.
 * I haven't. Doesn't surprise me, though.  I think they tend to keep people on the hook until all offers are made and accepted.  (11/8).
 * Curious about application strategies. How many here consulted past short-listed candidates (x2) or past/current junior fellows (x3) on how to put together a competitive application? Or no one at all? (x2).
 * Has anyone received a call to set up an interview this week? Based on these comments, it seems like they're contacting a new batch of people every two weeks...  or maybe this is it and we have only rejection to anticipate?
 * I wonder how the Senior Fellows make their decisions. The interviews go by so quickly, and the week I was there, very few of them even attended dinner. Guess there's no way to tell until they call-- or don't.
 * Does anyone have an interview 11/30 or after? Wondering if 11/23 is the last day because of the holidays. I need to know when to start staring fixedly at the phone and willing it to ring.
 * I have an interview on 11/30. Not sure if that's the last day or not. Does anyone know how many people they fly out for interviews each year?
 * I'd like to know that too. I think between 40-50 based on how many people were there my week and some guesswork and multiplication. A lot of people come from Harvard, though, so I don't know how many of those are actually flown out.
 * Well, the term ends today there, so hopefully we will hear something within the next week or so.
 * I have heard that it is about 50-60 people who are interviewed, for the ten or so positions, though there are a only a few positions in each sub-field (they won't take all humanities or all sciences people, there has to be a distribution). Better odds than most searches, for those who have gotten this far. I have also heard that they plan to get back to people by mid-December, but I don't know how binding that is. Good luck to all...
 * Thanks for the additional info, poster above!
 * (12/13) It looks like today is probably the day the decisions are being made (according to the last two years' worth of wiki discussions, it seems to be the second weekend in December when the decisions are made). If anyone hears anything today, Sunday, or tomorrow, Monday, please post. Thanks!
 * I agree, calls should go out today or tomorrow.
 * Is it usually via email or phone? A: Previous years' wikis indicate phone.
 * You're killing me, Buster (aka HSOF) -- No kidding. My nerves are shot! Pass the forget-me-nows.
 * Has anyone received notice yet?
 * My guess is that if none of us interviewees have heard anything, it'll be tomorrow before we do, since the SOF seems unlikely to start notifying people at an hour that would be late for overseas people. So hopefully the silence means we've survived another day-- but if anyone DOES know anything, please put the rest of us out of our misery!!!
 * Yes, anyone who gets the magic phone call, please post as soon as you hear anything (from another interviewee with bitten-to-the-quick nails)
 * Heard through the grapevine: those selected were informed by phone on Sunday, 12/13.
 * $@!%. x3
 * Got a letter today (12/15) saying "not chosen". At least it is unambiguous! On to the next thing to worry about. Congrats to those who made it through (and to all of us who made it this far anyway).
 * 'tis the season for rejection fa la la la la, la la, la, crap.
 * Can I stroke my ego by saying that my rejection letter said they were "most impressed" with my credentials, or do they say that to everyone? If so, it's a little lame.... -- It's pretty standard "rejection"-fare, but that being said, if they did call you up for an interview, they must have been pretty impressed to begin with, just maybe not enough for their final cut. But there will be other victories, to be sure.
 * All letters include that "most impressed" rhetorical flourish. Pretty lame indeed, feel like they are insulting my intelligence. Is it true that every year 99 % of the selected fellows are people who have been somehow affiliated with Harvard? Everybody with a real chance seems to have been an undergraduate there and nominated by a Harvard professor.
 * Does anyone know if there are alternates for this? R--Don't know, I too am yet to receive my rejection letter as of 12/17, but I'm assuming it's just taking the letter longer to reach me on the West Coast. R2-- Same here, in the Midwest. I would love to believe it's a sign that there's a B-list, but I think that's probably not right. Looking at the current list of fellows, a couple years have 12 or so, and another has 8, which suggests to me that they make a couple of extra offers straightaway, and that they aren't fussed if they don't get a full cohort of 10, either.
 * No, I don't think you necessarily needed to be affiliated with Harvard to get this. Perhaps it is helpful, but a friend of mine got it last year and she had zero affiliation.
 * You can see all of the affiliations on the Junior Fellows page of their website. It is not just Harvard, but it is all Ivy League and places similar.
 * Are rejections coming to homes or offices?-- Just answered my own question: home. "Most impressed with your work and your interview..."-- but not impressed enough, obviously! Sigh.
 * I'm wondering about the "B-list" possibility, too, since I didn't get a call last Sunday, but I also haven't gotten an official rejection yet (and I'm just down the road on the East Coast... and today's mail already arrived, 12/18...). Anyone have a "real insight" into this v. just speculation? Also, I talked to a former Fellow the other day whose experience said that they do not necessarily make all offers/calls at the same time, because toward the end there's a lot of in-fighting and "horse trading" among the Senior Fellows regarding selection (like any competitive admissions process, people go to bat for certain candidates, and then "duke it out" with their colleagues). I'm trying not to get my hopes up (again), but it's hard when you feel like you're being kept holding the line...
 * On the Harvard affiliation point, of course it is not "necessarily needed"--however, the conventional wisdom about this fellowship has long been that a Harvard link is a significant helping hand, "zero affiliation" exceptions notwithstanding. Someone with a lot of time on their hands could do a "scientific" analysis of this, because the names of all Fellows since the 1930s are listed (both by year and by discipline), and their backgrounds can be researched easily.  I did a little analysis for just my own discipline and found that over 70% of Fellows in that category got their PhD at Harvard.  That's some pretty damning evidence in support of the "conventional wisdom".
 * A former Fellow told me they usually have a list of (on average) 10, drawn up all at once, with 2 alternates, and if you're one of the alternates you'll hear--and then it's anyone's guess how long it will take to get a final word on whether another candidate turned down the offer and they can invite an alternate.
 * Re: Harvard affiliation. Yes, evidence is pretty strong about the need of some kind of affiliation with Harvard. I was told by Senior Faculty at other Ivy League universities and also by a former fellow that the letter of nomination makes all the difference. To have a real chance you need a nomination from Harvard faculty or former fellows. I wish I knew this before applying, I would've saved myself very precious time and energy.

Haverford College John B. Hurford Humanities Center Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships
Info Deadline: January 30, 2010
 * this year's theme: intersecting histories of sex, state, and society in the early modern era

Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Fellowships
Info Deadline: Sept 8, 2009

IAS Visiting Scholars
Info Deadline: Nov 1, 2009

ISAW Visiting Scholars Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU
Application deadline 14 December

Jackman Humanities Institute University of Toronto
Anyone else having problems submitting the application? I keep getting error messages

- A: I submitted on 11/25 and it was fine. -A2: I also received error messages until I reduced the size of my files. They say there is an 8MB upper limit. I had to reduce mine to 6.25MB before the system accepted the documents. -I emailed them and they said it was a 4MB limit - I wish I had known about the 8MB, I could have kept at least some quality of my images

-Q: Does anyone know if this postdoc gives preference to Canadian applicants? Just curious as I'm weighing the odds.

- I wondered the same thing. Most job applications seem to have a Canadian "disclaimer," and I did not see that on this one. Anyone have an idea how many people applied?

It seems they just extended the submission deadline to Dec 2 (was Dec 1). . . any sense why? Because of the tech snafus above? -Could be tech snafus. I also wonder if its about recommendation submissions. I submitted by dossier service (i.e. Interfolio) and it took them a couple days to get my letters uploaded. So perhaps extending the deadline is to give lead time for that sort of thing. Re: amount of applications, I had hoped that the theme of Image and Spectacle might have narrowed the applicant pool, but geez, maybe not! I suspect we'll hear numbers after everything gets submitted and tallied.

- Guess that's better odds than 1400...
 * 400 total applicants

According to Jackman, the Dec. 2nd date was NOT an extension, but an error. So, those of us who did have tech problems uploading our docs on Dec. 1st could be out of the running. I find it a tad cold-hearted that they might not own up to their website's poor design and accept the Dec. 2nd applications. Also, is it not a little lame that their theme is "Image and Spectacle," yet they didn't anticipate large image files with the writing samples?
 * How can the Dec 2 deadline be an accident when it used to explicitly say Dec 1 in the very same spot? Are they claiming a mistake in data entry? What's your source, "according to Jackman" - did you email them?
 * Agreed. I think it was quite clear that the deadline was Dec. 1 all along.
 * I submitted my app. well before 12/1. I noticed the change to 12/2 when I logged-in to check that everything was in order. If I were having problems submitting docs on 12/1, I would have called them and not assumed that the unexplained change to 12/2 was correct. I understand the OP's frustration, though.
 * OP here. By "according to Jackman" I mean that I called them on 12/2 and explained that I couldn't upload the evening before (it was after 5 on 12/1 when I had problems--so no way to reach them) and the person I spoke with said the Dec. 2 date on the website was incorrect. My original post was only an expression of frustration and commiseration with anyone else on the wiki who ran into similar tech problems and confusion. Be nice--This isn't about shaming other applicants; shaming large institutions I'm all for ;)
 * that's absurd. i didn't apply for this one and now i'm doubly glad. what a bunch of jokers. if it said for an instant the deadline was dec. 2, then that is the deadline. you can't expect 400 people to pick up the phone and ask if the info on the website is correct or not.
 * good luck everybody.
 * Well, now I'm getting paranoid. If the status of my application says "submitted," does that mean everything went in and was accepted? If so, then they did extend the deadline, at least for recommendations - my letters were uploaded by Interfolio on 12/2. Any thoughts?
 * I was wondering the same thing - I have no idea when my recommendations were submitted, and when I tried to check the website a few days ago it wouldn't even let me log in because the application deadline had passed.
 * That is very weird. Maybe you should call them to find out what's going on. I am still able to log-in. My status says "Submitted" and when I click the printer icon under "Actions", an application summary/user profile info page comes up; I then click "cancel" to the print prompt and scroll to the bottom of the document. It confirms that each of my referees has submitted his/her letter.
 * Received an acknowledgment email today (12/18) stating that my application was now complete. Prior to that, it was indicated on their website as being "submitted."
 * Were they still waiting on references? I have not heard anything since submitting (my status, too, has been "submitted") and Interfolio uploaded my letters on 12/1.

Jean Monnet Fellowship
Info Deadline: Oct 25, 2009
 * In my Max Weber Fellowship rejection letter they said that Jean Monnet applicants will be notified in mid-January. (18 Dec)

Johns Hopkins University Mellon Postdocs
[http://krieger.jhu.edu/research/mellon/index.html#deadline; Deadline: Nov 12, 2009

E-mail confirming receipt of application (11/11)

Heard 400+ applications. (11/19) make that 450+ applications! (11/23)

Anyone know the process for this one--will they request writing samples? will there be interviews?

They will make the first round of cuts in December, then select 10 people, offer the positions to three of those, and then move down the list (of 10) if the first three already have jobs. The first round of offers should go out around February 1st. (11/23)

Q/observation: There are 450+ people who work on "concepts of diaspora"!? Wow!

Well... for $48K plus health insurance plus research and moving stipends, diaspora might suddenly become a lot more central to one's research! That said, it is a very hot topic these days.

Just got my email ack. today for an application sent in late October. So they may be behind on that first round of cuts. (12/9) Anyone yet to get an acknowledgement of app? A: I haven't received an acknowledgement of app as of 12/22
 * wow.
 * Mine came today (12/11). x2
 * Mine came today (12/13) Are they working on a Sunday afternoon?
 * Ditto (12/14)
 * Hopefully this means that they are pushing to make the first round of cuts before the break and stay on schedule. (12/13)
 * Rejection by e-mail (12/22) (X3) Q: When did you receive confirmation of receipt of application?
 * A: Oct 30
 * still waiting for my rejection. Did anyone else receive theirs yet?
 * Yes, I have also received mine today (12/22). The email states that the competition will open also in the next three years.
 * still waiting for my rejection, too....
 * I wonder if the rejection letter mentions anything about the timeline for this process or the number of applicants still under consideration. Many thanks!
 * Q For those of you who have received rejections, would you mind revealing your fields? I've heard first-round cuts often depend on departmental needs, and I'm wondering which departments are not taking people this year... A: From talking to the director several months ago, this postdoc isn't very department-focused. If they are interested in your work they will find a department home for you - he gave the example of people getting their PhD in history departments and then being place in anthropology departments.
 * Thanks!
 * Rejection via email on Christmas Eve. Super classy. (12/24)
 * has anyone heard anything positive? still waiting on my rejection here (update: rejection received! 12/28)
 * I think that this is one of those postdocs where no news is good news.
 * Email rejection (12/29)x2
 * Received rejection 12/29
 * To those who received rejections, could you share the information in the email (for example, if it listed how many applications, etc.)? Thank you very much!
 * This is all the rejection said :"On behalf of the Mellon Diaspora Fellowship committee, I write to say that while the faculty has decided not to advance your application to the final rounds- we would like you to know that there will be three more such competitions in each of the next three years. As such, you are encouraged to apply again."
 * Thank you very much for this information!
 * How many people out there have yet to receive rejections? 21 (1/10/10)
 * Does anyone have information about how many applicants are still in the running until the Ten finalists are selected (including the Three top choices)?
 * Looking at last year's wiki, it appears that with the first big cut, they narrowed it down to "a few dozen" candidates. Perhaps the process is the same this year?

Lilly Fellows Program
[http://www.lillyfellows.org/index.htm; Deadline Dec. 15, 2009

Ack. letter (12/8): "Our selection committee will begin reviewing completed applications after the deadline and will contact individuals regarding their status in January."

E-mail rejection (1/5)

E-mail notification of semi-finalist status. Six finalists will be chosen around Jan. 12 (1/5) x2

Luther College Postdoctoral Fellowship English and Enviromental Studies
Deadline: Oct. 20, 2009

Has anyone heard anything?

A: I had a telephone interview a few weeks ago. Last I heard, they had selected three candidates for campus interviews and were planning to have a signed contract by Dec. 16th.

A: They have selected three candidates - are doing campus visits this week. Will make final decision by Dec 14th

Macalester College - Wallin Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Studies, Islamic World Studies
info Deadline: November 15, 2009
 * (12/29) Has anyone been asked to supply rec letters yet? Yes, around thanksgiving. - Ok, thanks.
 * Hnm. Never heard anything; presume/hope that my having submitted when it was the 16th (Central time) but still the 15th (PST) was the cause of the silence.
 * Not to squash your hopes, but I submitted well ahead of the deadline and never heard anything either, so if others were asked to submit rec letters (as indicated above), I say we're out of the running.
 * I got a request for my writing sample (chapter) in late Nov...received email that folks would be invited to campus in mid-Feb.

Madison Wisconsin - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human Rights
Info Deadline: Dec 15, 2009

Magdalen College, Oxford Fellowship by Examination
Info Deadline: Oct 12, 2009
 * When they say that "candidates must have undertaken no more than four years' graduate study" they mean post-doctoral study, in Americanese, correct?If they require a PhD AND that you not have done more than 4 years graduate study, that would be a pretty tall order, wouldn't it?
 * No; remember that UK PhDs are research-only, with a theoretical duration of just 3 years (I suspect that this might be negotiable for US doctoral students, but I don't know anyone who has asked).
 * I asked! And I was told that I can apply as a US PhD provided I make it clear in my application that the research-only portion of my PhD studies was 4 years or under
 * What is the "examination" - is it a defense of the work you submit, or something else?
 * I think it refers to the fact that if you are shortlisted, you have to sit a "viva," or a defense of your proposal/research. Kind of like a dissertation defense, but live as in a UK viva.
 * I know it has been just 10 days since the deadline but has anyone heard anything? My referee received an acknowledgement email but that's all I know. Any news on when they ask for more material, interviews etc?
 * Request for more materials received by email Nov. 4. (x2)
 * General question for those submitting applications for positions/post-docs in the UK (or outside the US more generally) from the US: Will you go out of the way to submit things on A4 paper, or just use our normal US Letter size? In the case of Magdalen, they ask for a single copy, which suggests they'll make additional copies upon receipt, which will no doubt be in A4. Finding and printing on A4 in the US is not easy, however. Thoughts? -- I sent them PDF copies of Word Docs that I had reformatted into A4. I figured it was worth the effort if only to show some consideration; but then, I'm not one of the people above who got a request for more materials, so maybe A4 ingratiation isn't that helpful. (Oh, and if you need hard copies, I know a friend of mine bought some A4 paper online inexpensively, so it might be good to keep on hand just in case.)
 * For what it's worth, I'm applying to both American and European jobs from Europe, and using a mix - sometimes in the same app - of American and A4 paper. Unless you are writing extremely close to the margins, you can put either type of paper in the photocopier of the other and it comes out fine.
 * I gather they are requesting work from candidates one subject at a time, so all is not necessarily lost if you haven't yet heard anything.-- Thanks, that's very helpful to know.
 * And sure enough - my work was requested today (11/12) - Anthropology
 * Anyone feel like revealing what subjects have been dealt with? Put your colleagues out of their misery! (x2) History, requested 11/4. Geography requested 11/4.
 * Anyone heard anything about Modern Languages?

Manchester U - Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute postdoc fellowship
Info Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellowship
Info Deadline: March 1, 2010

Theme: “Sensing the Unseen”

Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Fellowship
Info Deadline: Nov 30, 2009

Max Weber Fellowship
Info Deadline: Oct 25, 2009


 * Is anyone else having trouble uploading their application materials on their electronic app page? I keep getting error messages that say they only accept uploads in pdf or rtf format. I've put my materials in both formats, but still the same error message for 2 days now...(10/25)
 * I think I had that problem until I replaced spaces in filenames with underscores. Sorry this info comes so late. (11/3)
 * email confirmation of completed application (23 Oct.)
 * offer received. Q: was this by email, phone, or post? A: that was by email.
 * no word -- anyone else receive an offer, or have any idea if all offers have gone out? (7 Dec)
 * may I ask what's your area / which department you chose? (11 Dec) A: Political and Social Sciences (16 Dec).
 * as a previous MWP fellow: be prepared for a lot (way more than one would expect) of required program activities, week after week after week...
 * Just received a rejection email saying they had 1042 applications for 43 positions. So, I'm one of the 999 (18 Dec). (x3)
 * Email with notification of "alternate" / "reserve list" status. They will know by mid-Jan if they will move to the reserve list for new offers. (12/18)
 * Same *on the reserve list* email for me too-wondering if there are any chances for an offer...know 3 people that got an offer after being on the reserve list but that was for a doctorate, not MWF.. (1/8)

McGill University - Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities and Related Social Sciences
Deadline: November 23, 2009
 * Received email that candidates have been contacted, been put on the list of alternates (12/15)

National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships
Deadline May 5, 2009


 * 12/4 Q.: Has anyone received the result? I've heard that announcements are being made either by email or by mail--is this depending on acceptance or rejection?
 * E-mail rejection received 11/30.

National Humanities Center Fellowships
Info Deadline: October 15, 2009
 * (Q: does this fellowship only accept advanced faculty, people who already have a job? It says that "young scholars are encouraged to apply," but they must have a substantial record of publication, and almost everyone who got it last year was an Associate prof.)
 * It also says that young scholars should be aware that the center does not support the revision of dissertations. So unless you've already got the diss published, and are on to the next thing . ..
 * At one point in their materials they refer to a 1,000 word proposal; in another they refer to it as approximately 1,000 words which must fit on four pages. How strict do you think the 1,000 word maximum is?
 * Has anyone had any kind of acknowledgment of their application materials? I've heard nothing, and it's officially been a month.
 * I have applied for this fellowship in the past and think they do not send anything other than the rejection notice. 11/17

Northwestern-African American Studies
Deadline: 31 December 2009


 * Anybody have an idea of the dollar amount of the stipend? (Not that I'll be looking down my nose at any offers, mind you.) (12/17)
 * No idea. I'm assuming this is one of those post-docs where the salary will be unknown until they make an offer to someone. (12/19)

Northwestern-Linguistics Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
Info   Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

Ack. email received (12/17)

Notre Dame Center for the Philosophy of Religion Fellowships
Info Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Residential Fellowships
Info Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute for International Studies Visiting Fellowships
Website Deadline: November 2, 2009
 * Anyone get a receipt notification yet? (11/6)
 * No.
 * Does anyone know if they contact everyone in February, both shortlist and rejections, or if they contact successful candidates before February? (12/10)

Notre Dame Moreau Academic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowships
Deadline: December 10, 2009

Rec'd email ack 12/11, 12/18

Nottingham Advance Research Fellowship
Info Deadline: Dec 14, 2009
 * School of English Studies will sit down the week of 12/7 to decided which applications to support, applicants will be notified of results on Tue, 12/8.
 * No word yet (english studies 12/8 18:43)...are they emailing?
 * according to the contact person for the School of English Studies, yes . . . but I am still waiting, too . . . might be they are meeting later this week, or there was no time to send out emails today?
 * I wish they had just left it vague, then I wouldn't have to check my emails every 10 seconds!
 * REJECTION STRIKES AGAIN 09/12 15:26.
 * Did anybody apply through the Cultural Studies dept? If so, any news or further info about when they planned to shortlist? Thanks!
 * yes, after I emailed on Saturday to ask, I was informed that they chose one out of 27 applicants to shortlist, and it was not I.
 * Thanks! I guess that means it was not I either... That's nice that they took the time to let us know!
 * Email notification of departmental selection (1 of 5) for larger university process of selection - American Studies (12/8)

NHC Wellesley Fellowships
Info Deadline: December 1, 2009 Does anyone know what Departments are they are looking for postdocs this year?
 * No. I contacted the NHC and they said to contact the individual departments.
 * Anyone get an acknowledgment on this yet?

NYU - Liberal Studies Program
Info Deadline: December 1, 2009

I'm guessing that each group maps onto each of those. I'm group 1 and I'm in the Global culture/literature/arts. But that's 6 categories and there are seven positions - I wonder where they'll double up 1/10 - did anyone get asked for letters of references or additional materials?
 * mmm, I guess these days teaching 3/3 qualifies as a postdoc?
 * I don't think this belongs here, since it advertises for faculty positions, with renewable (term) contracts.
 * why not just leave it here? it's not hurting anyone...(11/16)
 * I agree with the third poster. It's clearly not a postdoc, but it really doesn't fit any category.  So, let's just leave it here for those of us who applied. (x5)
 * Anyone receive an acknowledgment yet? (12/14) - The announcement did say "pending administrative and budgetary approval," so maybe they're still pending on it.
 * If you log into your application, you may find (as I did 12/26) that it's been assigned a new title and confirmation #.
 * Thanks for posting this! I've got a new number too.
 * Yes, I've got a number in "group 2."
 * Any idea what those groups mean? One group per position? Specialty? Definite v. maybe?
 * I would guess one group per position; do you also have the old application listed, as well? (I am a bit confused)
 * Now that I look at the original post, it lists the following specialties:
 * Global Culture/Literature/Arts
 * Global Economics
 * Global History
 * International Politics
 * Science/History or Philosophy of Science
 * Science and Public Policy
 * Rather oddly, when I log in, my app is now listed under the original general job title (with no additional group number), and also listed separately as an application for a specific discipline that more or less maps on to one of the ones listed above-- but it's not actually *my* discipline. Hm.
 * I'm Group 1 and Global culture/literature/arts as well.
 * Hmmm. Where do you see this when you log on? I'm not getting anything.
 * I see two listings. One is for Master Teacher with the date of my application. Right underneath I see Master Teacher, Global culture, etc. with a different date.  I suspect that they segregated applicants into categories based on discipline and created a new job listing.
 * Maybe...I only see the Master Teacher one when I log on. Maybe that's all they think I'm good for! Q: Does anyone else see only one listing ("Master Teacher"), as I do?
 * I'm in group two and applied to Global culture/literature/arts as well, so I'm not sure about thetheory of the person above. But I don't know what else it might mean.
 * I'm group 1 and definitely Gloabl culture/literature/arts. I also turned my app. in the day it was due, so I don't think the number could have anything to do with when applications came in. I wonder if for the poster above me there was a mistake and you should have been in group 1 in that all of literature/culture people here are so far in group 1. Oh, how I want this job!
 * I'm in Group 2 *and* in Global Culture/Literature/Arts, so maybe that's where the doubled up. Don't you just wish you were a scientist sometimes?
 * anyone in anthro? where did y'all end up?  I am in Group 2, I'm anthro.
 * I'm a modern European historian and was placed into a "Global History/International Politics" grouping. This suggests that they combined those two positions.
 * I'm in anthro too, and I'm in Group 1.
 * I'm in Global Culture/Literature/Arts Group 2, Master Teacher, and Science/History/Philosophy of Science. 3 groups. At least I can't say I wasn't considered!
 * I seem to be listed in two groups, but NOT the one which is blatantly my discipline. My PhD is in one of the areas people are being put into, and yet I'm not in that group. That's annoying, as I probably have the best shot competing in my own field.
 * They're obviously not there yet. It still says "0 out of 0" under "references received". Mayhaps somebody should email an inquiry?

NYU Academic Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity
Any news on this one? Esp. interested in #s of applicants...

Nope. I didn't even get an acknowledgment of the receipt of my application yet. (12/23)

I don't think you'll get an acknowledgment. Just the application complete status when you log in to the online system. Last year, they had 200+ applicants. (12/23)

Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 2 Year NEH
Website Deadline November 1, 2009
 * This seems to have a serious bump up in pay this year
 * Received letter acknowledging receipt of my application (11/7). "By the end of January all applicants will have been advised of their status in the competition."

Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 1 Year Mellon
Website Deadline November 1, 2009

Oxford - St. John's, Christ Church & Merton Colleges Joint JRFs
Info Deadline: December 11

Does anyone have an email address for these fellowships where questions can be sent? I can't find anything on any of the forms, though they reference email several times in the application materials!

I second that request: They say letters can be emailed, but no email address! Quite a hassle to request letter writers to mail things to Oxford from US.
 * How is it a hassle for recommenders to mail letters from US to Oxford? Surely, that also goes for the opposite direction? I do agree, though, that everything should move to electronic submission, email at the least . . . saves trees and postage, ya know?


 * I can't speak for the penultimate poster, but for me, I find the mailing a hassle simply because recommenders are often so harried this time of year that they forget to mail letters on the first, second, or even third request. When you're dealing with transatlantic transit times, prodding them repeatedly to mail your letters requires a lot more advance planning to ensure ontime arrival than if they can simply email them at the 11th hour. And yes, it does go both ways in terms of the mailing problem, US to England and England to US; likely the poster above was simply referring to his or her particular case, for this particular job, not suggesting it's much more onerous for applicants to send letters eastward than westward.
 * I don't understand what is so much more difficult about addressing a letter to the UK than it is to the US. You need to allow a little more time -- my application took about a week to get there, but I mailed it over Thanksgiving weekend. As for an email address, just go to the website of the college you're applying to -- the Academic Administrators are all listed, complete with contact info.
 * Again, no one is saying it is more difficult to address a letter to the UK. Further, no one is suggesting applicants themselves cannot plan sufficiently in advance for mail to arrive. You are misreading, or reading very uncharitably, if you gleaned either of those points from the comments above. The point under discussion was related to referees mailing letters, which can cause difficulty for letter-writers who have multiple other obligations and who therefore tend to do things closer to deadlines. (x2, from England)
 * RES (from above): I'm quite clear on that, I'm just confused as to why the UK vs. the US changes anything for anyone involved -- couldn't this concern be applied equally to any letter being requested at this time of year? Hasn't chasing down referees been a challenge since we were all filling out college applications? I included the amount of time it took for my letter to reach Oxford to give a sense of how much time/notice referees would have needed; I also offered the information on how to find the email addresses for each college's academic administrator that the o.p. requested in case there were people out there trying to beat the deadline. Just in case, however, here they are: Merton, Victoria Lill, Academic Administrator, victoria.lill@admin.merton.ox.ac.uk; St. John's, Eileen Marston, Academic Administrator, academic.administrator@sjc.ox.ac.uk; Christ Church... well, I confess, I can't find the email for the Academic Administrator at Christ Church. (Actually, looking at my watch, I see this is now irrelevant, as the deadline passed a short while ago; sincere apologies if not providing this information yesterday prevented anyone from filing recommendations.)
 * Christ Church: acknowledgment of application; interview date (if invited) Feb 4. (12/18) (x2) Via email or snail mail? Thanks. (12/18) -email.
 * Merton: request for written work (01/11).

Pennsylvania State University Africana Research Center Postdoctoral Fellowship

 * Rejection by mail, dated 12/7 (x2)

Princeton Center for African American Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship
Info Deadline Nov 20 2009


 * News? (1/5)

Princeton Center for the Study of Democratic Politics Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows
Info Deadline Nov. 15, 2009


 * Any word on this one? (1/3)

Princeton Davis Center Fellowships
Info Deadline Dec 1, 2009


 * 2010-2012 Theme: problems of authority and legitimation
 * Any word on this one? (1/3)

Princeton Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance Fellowship
Info Deadline Jan 15, 2010

Princeton Writing Program
info Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

E-mail ack. (12/18) x2 --Email says candidates will be notified of application status by April 15.

Princeton Society of Fellows
Info Deadline: October 1, 2009 Q: UPENN Teaching or UPENN "virtuality"? A: This is a TT Q: thanks!
 * Question: Has anyone receive confirmation on their submission? I sent mine weeks before the deadline and still haven't heard from them.
 * Nope. (10/23) (x3)
 * last year they had almost 1000 applicants--probably takes them forever to move through all of the aps.
 * received postcard confirming they received my application yesterday (10/24) (x2)
 * received postcard confirming receipt 10/26 -- ditto, and, it says interview candidates will be contacted by the end of January
 * received postcard confirming receipt 11/04 (I'm in the Netherlands)
 * received more than 1400 apps this year. yikes.
 * yeah yikes. wow. that's nuts.  --1395 rejections and wasted effort will make princeton narcissistic
 * I'm less concerned about the institution's ego. what is worse is that it will leave a lot of very smart and qualified people unemployed. And that's a shame. And no one (narcissistic institution or not) is addressing that issue.
 * Yes, the numbers are astounding and deeply disturbing. It is a very sad situation in the humanities right now.
 * One issue always left out of this discussion: at least a thousand of those applicants had no shot whatsoever. Time for many to take a more realistic approach.
 * I don't mean to get snarky, but are you, previous poster, part of the illustrious 400? (11/28)
 * What an arrogant and inconsiderate statement. In one simplistic and naive claim, the poster dismisses the work of a thousand people. A sad reflection on academia.
 * All judgment aside, it also begs the question: how do you ("one") know whether you are part of the happy few?
 * Not sure how it's naive to say that. If your Ph.D. is not from one of a handful of schools (we all know which ones they are), if you don't have a track record of publication and/or prestigous graduate research fellowships, it's a waste of time money and paper to apply.  Is it really so horrible to point that out?
 * It's just you sound like a snot, is all. And in case you're wondering, yes I meet all of your little criteria there.  (x3)
 * I think it's worth pointing out that even if one "doesn't have a shot" or meet all of the above criteria, it can still be a useful process to work up an application for these big postdocs. First, you never know. Second, the due date is relatively early in the fall, which helped me get some ideas together that I have since fine tuned for other postdocs that are perhaps more attainable. I don't expect to hear back from Princeton and that's okay with me. I'm still glad I applied. (x2)
 * Okay, can we stop snarking at each other now and get back to commiserating and conveying useful information?
 * I'm glad everybody applied too. On another note, this board is deader than dead compared to last year.  More hopelessness or fewer funding opportunities or both?  --more hopelessness. oh, well.
 * A friend got a call on Friday about interviewing (12/5) - Q: What field is your friend at? -A: Lit. Sorry (very sorry), it was Penn, not Princeton.
 * That seems like very early contact, based on the information on the acknowledgment card and last year's wiki, anybody have information about if the process has changed somehow? Perhaps to deal with the increase in applications?
 * Sigh of relief (x1400)
 * I withdrew my application for personal reasons, so now it is down to 1399 !!
 * any new news?
 * the website says we will know by late January, so at least most of us can still hold out hope for a few more weeks, unlike with some of the other big ones (e.g., Columbia) that notified earlier (12/31)

Rice University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships
http://hrc.rice.edu/PDCall.aspx

Ack. receipt via email, 12/3

Q: did you send your application via email or snail mail? - I sent it via email. I asked for confirmation in my first email, and then two weeks later again, for which I received a very nice response about three days later, mentioning that they were swamped with applications and that it therefore takes some time to confirm.

Q: Is there anyone who hasn't received anything (e.g., ack. receipt)? I'm yet to hear from them.
 * Thanks!
 * Thanks, too, for the response. That application took forever to complete, formatting the 6 documents as a single PDF attachment.

A: I haven't received anything either; got my app in just before the deadline, though. (x7); I sent my application in about three weeks before the deadline, and I haven't heard anything either (x2).

- It seems the only person posting that received an ack. receipt specifically requested it - two times. They are probably negotiating a slew of applications (like everyone) and will confirm receipt at some point in the future. I wouldn't worry.

-After a couple unanswered emails, I called to make sure that my application was indeed there. The very nice woman I spoke to said that they were, of course, totally deluged, and were thus not really answering emails or acknowledging apps. She said on the phone that my application was complete and in the pile. It sounded like they haven't done any winnowing yet and wouldn't for some time.

-Has anyone received any kind of form letter acknowledgement? The office was really helpful with some questions I had about submitting recommendations, but I haven't followed up with them since it sounds like everyone is in the same boat when it comes to receiving an acknowledgement. A: I submitted my application super early (October) via email and got an email confirmation a day or so later.

-I submitted mine in early October and have heard nothing.

Rice University - Medical Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship
http://hrc.rice.edu/MedPDCall.aspx Deadline: December 15, 2009

- I know it's early but anyone know what the process will be for this search, campus interviews, what have you?

Rice University - Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Postdoctoral Fellowships
Info Deadline: January 15, 2010

Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt
Info Deadline: January 15, 2010. Theme: "Representation and Social Change"
 * Email acknowledgment of receipt of application (12/22). Email states that the decision is expected by the end of March, and that applicants will be notified via postal mail.

SAR Resident Scholar Fellowships
Info Deadline: Nov 1, 2009
 * recieved letter confirming receipt 10/26; ditto (11/2)


 * Since the posted info says that the Weatherhead Fellowship is open to all Humanities and Social Sciences, I applied. But as I was putting together my ap I finally noticed that virtually every recipient is from an Anthro dept.  Does anyone have a sense of whether people from other disciplines actually have a prayer?  Thanks for any info/impressions.
 * Most SAR fellows are indeed anthropologists and they used to ask for projects directly related to anthropology in their applications (I am not sure if they still do). The School was founded as an institute for archaeological research of natives in the Southwest and shifted to broader anthropological research of natives in the 60s.  I gather that there have been some changes more recently, but I am not sure how their mission has shifted.  I believe that James Brooks, an ethnohistorian who has written on Apache relations, is the current head. --  Thanks for the info.--- i had a SAR fellowship recently--- they would definitely be open to non-anthropologists, great place, good luck.
 * snail mail ack, 11/9. anyone know how many applicants they get for this?

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Scholars-in-Residence Program
Info Deadline: Dec 1 2009

SFI - Omidyar Fellowships
[|Info] Deadline: Nov 2, 2009

-email rejection (12/18)

SSHRC
Info Deadline: October 6, 2009

Has anyone submitted?

Nope, but I did get that email that CCV is down. Hopefully it's not a problem.
 * Yes: yesterday (October 3). I was determined not to run into busy-server-at-the-last-minute problems. I instructed my referees to have their appraisals uploaded by October 5th at the latest so they wouldn't run into that problem, but they all came through by Oct. 2nd.
 * (Oct 5) No: my referees can't get into the EAMS system. I called sshrc and they said that there may be an extension due to technical problems. Even the person answering the phone couldn't get in! Argh.
 * Maybe it's already been resolved. I logged in twice today without any problems.
 * Oct 5 again: yes, things have sorted themselves out. Whew.
 * Oct. 6: but today the EAMS system seems, once again, to be down/in-and-out of operation.
 * Done!! A bumpy ride... but better than last year.
 * Congrats. It's nice to be done with that thing.
 * Just thought I'd ask - does anyone know anything about this year's budget? I wonder how many postdocs they'll have this year.
 * Just email a programme officer and ask.
 * Has anyone received an acknowledgement of receipt from SSHRC? I ask because I received one by email for the FQRSC application.
 * Yes, November 24, by email.
 * Did everyone get this email? I didn't receive one.
 * Neither did I. Anyone else?

Stanford University Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities
Info Deadline: November 20, 2009

- Note that this fellowship, unlike the other Mellon fellowships, is not open to all fields. This year goes only to Asian Languages, Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, Linguistics, Slavic Languages and Literatures.

-Question: what are the 'other Mellon fellowships' to which you refer? Through the Stanford Humanities Center? Just curious...

--Other big Mellon pdocs that are open to all disciplines are Princeton, Michigan, Penn (teaching), among others. -Ah, gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Q: Is there anyone who hasn't received anything (e.g., ack. receipt)?

A. They said they were having problems with the automated email. Supposedly as long as you can see your application online, it should be ok.

A2. They said check your app. online. No confirmation yet.

Notes: I applied in Linguistics; e-mail confirmation of receipt on 19-Nov. (x 2)

A:

Stanford University Program on Global Justice Fellowships
Info Deadline: Jan 8, 2010

Ack. email 1/9: "we hope to have made our selections by mid February"

Swarthmore Mellon Post-Doc Fellowship in Gender & Sexuality Studies
Info Deadline: November 30, 2009

- very nice ack. of receipt of application (11/23) x 2

- email ack. of receipt of application (11/30)


 * The women's studies page is listing a scheduled MLA interview (12/14)
 * according to the women's studies page on the wiki, they've selected their top 10 candidates and have scheduled interviews with them. (12/16)
 * kind, encouraging rejection email today (1/4) x2

Temple University Center for the Humanities
Info Deadline: January 25, 2010

Tufts University
Info Deadline: February 1, 2010

Tulane University Mellon Post-doc
Just a heads up - the fellowship requests that fellows will teach in one of their four interdisciplinary programs (Africa/African Diaspora, Asian Studies, Jewish Studies, American Studies). An email to the contact professor confirmed that if your specialties are outside these areas, there's no point in applying. Very prompt and honest.

--Thanks for this very useful information!

Q: Does anyone know whether the "one-page dissertation summary" and the "titles of a few sample classes" are to go within the cover letter or is this a separate document? Thanks!

Assuming this means you got a mats request - when and in what form?

--I'm not the questioner, but I actually faced the same question. The announcement includes the above request in the body, and then omits it in the quick and dirty list of what you should send. So, I'm assuming that no request for more materials was made to anyone yet; I think that the questioner is simply confused by the ad, as was I. And BTW, to the questioner: I included that extra info in a separate doc. Not sure if that was correct, but it's what I did.

--I am the questioner and the person above perfectly describes the reason for my question. Thanks for your advice and good luck!

University of California Berkeley - Mellon Postdoc Humanities
Info Deadline: Jan 22, 2010

E-mail ack. (12/21)

I can't get the application form to download. Anyone else having problems? -Never mind, solved the problem with some prompt help from the Mellon contact person. *What's the secret? I downloaded the Adobe upgrade but still having trouble... For me, it was that the Mellon PDF was automatically opening in Preview. (I have a Mac.) It took opening Adobe and dragging the file into the program. So a very obvious fix for me, because I'm dumb. There's no way I'm getting this postdoc. &gt;Thanks! I'm sure this is what's going on with me, too.

University of California-President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
http://www.ucop.edu/acadadv/ppfp/; Deadline: Nov. 02, 2009

FYI: Here were the numbers from last year, according to a current fellow: 141 applicants and 7 awardees in the Arts and Humanities. The Social Sciences had 177 applicants and 5 awardees. I wonder how the current budget crisis will impact this for 2010-2011...

-thanks for the numbers from last year on this one. Nice to get a sense of the percentages. Good luck to us all.

Q: Does anyone know when they might contact finalists for transcripts?

A: I don't think they will contact you for transcripts unless you are actually offered the postdoc. I was an alternate last year and they never asked me for one.

University of Cambridge - Clare College JRF
[|Info] Deadline: December 14, 2009

University of Cambridge: Corpus Christi JRF
Deadline: November 25 2009

University of Cambridge - Emmanuel College Junior Research Fellowships
Info Deadline: October 8, 2009

Rejection e-mail on November 18...

Request for written materials received, Nov. 17: they asked for both hard and soft copies: hard copies have to arrive by Nov. 23rd, so a very fast turnaround (x2)

This "very fast turnaround" of hard copies is unfair and discouraging to persons who must post their materials from other countries, which is already expensive and made much more so by having to use some sort of express/rush courier service (whoever deleted my comment last time, please do not delete this).

I agree about the unreasonableness of this fast turnaround. It seems like all the Cambridge JRFs are this way. I think they set themselves very tight deadlines, but in doing so presume that candidates are UK-based. I'd expect a more "global" outlook from a top international university, but Cambridge does things its own way. One of the Cambridge colleges, I think Sydney Sussex, sent an email recommending that applicants keep their written materials "lodged" with a contact in the UK in case they are requested. There's a presumption of being tied to the UK too, but at least they give you a heads up about the process.

That is crazy about keeping written materials "lodged"! To their credit, when I asked if they would be flexible regarding hard copies arriving a bit after the deadline (which for me meant a huge difference in shipping costs--like US $40...), they said that was fine, since they get electronic copies this year...

Magdalene College, Cambridge, is even worse. They state on the application form that they'll request written materials by telephone on the afternoon of Jan 11, and expect to receive two hard copies by Jan 13. Do they imagine that candidates have nothing else to do except apply for their fellowship? It seems they have not updated their systems since the days when these things were intended for their own graduate students, who would just have to pop across the quad to hand their essays in. I don't want to allege that they still favour insiders - Cambridge colleges draw fellows from all over the place. But if they want seriously to recruit internationally, or even just nationally, they need to make their application processes practical for people based elsewhere.

University of Cambridge - Five College Joint JRFs
[|Info] Deadline: November 22, 2009
 * supposedly we will hear "after January 12th.."

University of Cambridge- Gonville & Caius College Junior Research Fellowships
Info Deadline: October 1, 2009
 * Note: Must be graduates/current students of a British institution, with no more than 4 years post-doctoral experience see below.
 * Actually I'm not sure if '4 years of post doctoral experience' is correct. I think its 4 years of post graduate study- which in the UK means 4 years after your undergraduate degree. The Caius website also says that "Candidates must be graduates of, or research students in, a University in the British Isles, and they must have completed not more than four years of full-time research (or part-time equivalent) by 1st October 2009." This would therefore disqualify the vast majority of 5th year PhD students from the US.
 * It is not post graduate study; it is "full-time research." A taught masters does not count. A research masters (MPhil) or a PhD program probably does.
 * Does anyone know if there's a shortlist for this one? Or do we not hear anything until certain applicants are called for interview in January?
 * (18/12) An email went round acknowledging applications about this time last year (according to last year's wiki), but it's not clear whether that went to all applicants or just to those who were shortlisted. Has anyone heard anything?

University of Cambridge: Homerton JRF
Deadline November 30 2009

Reached first shortlist: Email received January 7

University of Cambridge - King's College Junior Research Fellowships
[|Info] Deadline: November 13, 2009

Rejection by email - 12/12

Has anyone received a request for written work?

Yes- request for written work by email, 12/12. They request 2 writing samples, up to 80,000 words total.

Q. I'm unsure how to interpret the request for written work. "Two papers" suggests two contained pieces of work. I have no papers anywhere near that length. Also, does anyone know how many people are in this situation -- in terms of keeping dates free and whether travel from outside the UK will be provided? (Or is it a telephone interview?). Sorry for the questions! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. (12/13)

Q: may I ask what your field is?

A: History... Oh, I forgot that it's open to all disciplines!

Q: Has anyone else not received any word as of yet? 12/14 (x2 - I think this is an internal hire - I was told Cambridge does this often?)

Why do you think some people have not heard anything yet?

is this just a history post? any other disciplines being considered? dec 14 - Anthropology is also being considered.

thanks... are you suggesting making the written work interdisciplinary? are most people already england-based for this?

A: At least one in musicology is being considered, and that candidate is based in England, but of U.S. nationality. Not sure what happens _often_, but JRF hires I've seen are usually PhD candidates internally or from an Ivy League school in the States.

Q. Do you know how many people are being considered? Or any more about what they're looking for?

Rejection (anthropology): 300 applicants for 1 position (12/16)

--- ditto. these numbers are crazy!

University of Cambridge - Magdalene JRF

 * Deadline November 30 2009

University of Cambridge - Newnham JRF
Reached first shortlist (writing sample stage) - email on 12/17 (literature field)

University of Cambridge - Peterhouse JRF

 * Deadline: November 15 2009
 * Reached first shortlist: email received November 30

University of Cambridge - Peterhouse College Fellowship & College Lectureship in History
5-year fellowship in "either ancient, extra-European, modern British, or modern European History" (details)

Deadline: December 31 2009

This should be moved to the History Job page, I think. It's not a post-doc.

It is listed on the World History page.

University of Cambridge - Randall Dillard Fellowship, Pembroke College
Info Deadline: December 1, 2009 "Applications should reach The Senior Tutor's Assistant by 1 December 2009 and should include the following information: 2. A brief statement of your next research project, in about 1000 words of non-technical language."
 * Q: I am just finalizing my application for this fellowship, and I realise that I am not sure about the details of the request for details of current research and proposed research. Can anyone guess: should I send a 1000 word account of my current research and a seperate account of my proposed research, in addition to these 1000 words? Alternatively, is the intention for me to send 1000 words which contain a description of both my current and proposed research? In another alternative, am I supposed to send a 1000 word account of proposed research and a separate account of current research? These are the bits of the application that confuse me:
 * From the website:
 * 1) the usual particulars, and a short account of the applicant's academic record and career so far, including a note of any other appointments for which applications are being made
 * 2) an explanation of the nature of the applicant's current research in about 1,000 words of non-technical language, a brief statement of any future research project, together with a statement of published and unpublished work; the work itself should be available to the Electors shortly after the closing date but should not be sent until requested"
 * From the form itself:
 * "1. An explanation of your current research, and
 * One statement of 1000 words to address both current and future research was my read of the instructions.
 * 09 December: email thanking for application and saying they are being reviewed over the next two weeks. (x 4)
 * 28 December: the two weeks have passed... has anyone heard?
 * Email request for written work Monday January 4th
 * May I ask in what field?
 * Classics
 * email rejection (1/8) (x4)
 * over 300 applications

University of Cambridge - St Catharines College Junior Research Fellowships
Info Deadline: October 31, 2009
 * 11/19- Received email of making the long short list and requesting that written work be sent by email by November 30th x2.

University of Cambridge - Sidney Sussex College JRF
Deadline: October 20 2009 13 November: received email warning they are in the process of shortlisting and work will be required only 3 days after shortlisting. (x5) Rejection by email 23 November (x3)

University of Chicago Society of Fellows
Info Deadline: Nov 2, 2009
 * Q: App asks for 2-pp teaching statement writing about a text of their own choosing, then provides examples: I assume that the examples not a list of texts from which one *must* choose? (p.s. wish the apps for these postdocs were as standardized as those for TT-jobs; super tired of tweaking and rewriting the same materials over and over again)
 * A: If selected as a fellow, you will be asked to teach the books that they list as examples, so it is generally a good idea to pick from what they give you or pick a similar "Great Books" text.
 * It does say that the text should be of your own choosing. I interpreted this to mean that it should indeed be a text of your choice and not one of the few they provide.  I have an example 2 page teaching statement from someone who won this two years ago and she chose her own text which is not one of the 'great books' or canonical texts listed as an example.
 * I certainly hope the texts aren't limited just to the books they provided; if all they want is what's listed, their "humanities-wide" fellowship definitely seems to skew heavily towards people in just a smattering of disciplines.


 * Their core courses pages give I think a better idea of what they would want you to teach and the types of text they use in the program. I imagine what distinguishes different disciplinary approaches is not just the choice of the texts (which are a fairly broad list of major Western thinkers), but the manner of using them.
 * why oh why did they make the hard copy receipt deadline on a holiday??? All of that work for nothing, will miss the deadline...
 * 11/10 just saw this on their website "NOTE: Due to the fact that the post office will be closed on the 11th for Veteran's Day, all mailed materials will be accepted through November 12." --THANK YOU for your insight, you made my day
 * Q: Does any one know when things start happening in this fellowship usually? When do they in general start to give any sign of what is going on? Thanks.
 * A: Last year, Humanities got started in mid-December, and Social Studies not until January. However, everyone seems to be running a bit behind this year because of the increased number of applications. I wouldn't be surprised if that's true here too.
 * Q: Does any one know what materials they request for the second round?
 * A: Good question. Last year (2008-09) in Social Sciences it was one writing sample ("of up to 50 pages") and one syllabus ("of a previously taught course"). Good luck! (12/10)
 * It was the same for the Humanities and the request came on 12/22.
 * 12/11 request for writing sample and syllabus of stand-alone course (+1 mine was in the Humanities field)(x5)
 * Heard through the grapevine that two U-Chicago PhDs were told that they have "strong chances" of getting positions here, so buyer beware..Sadly, I too applied and am not at U-Chicago.
 * Of course, this is all word-of-mouth, but I guess it's a sign of the times if these big fellowships become safety nets for a department's recent grads in a down market.
 * A portion of fellows in the past always came from UC. It seemed like that they were linked to the faculties in the committee. Then, the same guys also got hired at UC. I didn't apply for this one...just thinking about 1000+ applications gives a me headache. -- I think one usually has a hometown advantage, just because other people on the faculty (and in other disciplines) will know your hot-shot advisors in a way that can't be said of other universities. I doubt they are letting in sub-par people, but their very good people probably have a leg-up on other very good people for the reason of familiarity and trust. Which is probably true of any of us when we apply to places where we know a lot of people. Especially when the place (like Chicago) has a very specific idea about what kind of curriculum it does and what kinds of graduates it cultivates.
 * With that mentality nobody should apply to this but UC people... I don't know, call me an idealist, but I think that you apply and try to put a good application and then see, you never know...it is a long shot, that is true, but I feel I have at least to try. Good luck to every one! Hopefully we will start to know something in concrete soon.
 * Thanks for the helpful info! Of course, most of the people who are currently at Chicago would be highly qualified for this post. And you make an excellent point that it's tougher to reject the student of a hot-shot adviser whom you see every day than the student of a hot-shot adviser elsewhere. The fact that fewer of those highly-qualified people at UC will secure a tenure-track job elsewhere may make it even more likely that they will shut out other candidates. Would be kind of fun to bet on what % of next year's fellows are from Chicago. Well, morbid fun, but that's my favorite kind.
 * Q: The person who wrote "12/11" request for writing sample--did you mean for this year's competition?? I assume yes, but I was confused by the previous discussion.  I also was in touch with someone who referred to the 1000 apps. "on their desk" just this Tues....  Thanks for clarifying!  --re: "12/11"--that was me, and yes, referring to this year's (2010-2011) search.  I am at U of C and can corroborate all of the above chatter about hometown advantage--but only because I've spent several years teaching in their "core," which essentially qualifies me by default for the "job." I also know the 2 recent phds referred to above and can tell you that at least one of them already has a book deal and most likely will have several offers.  Honestly, we here at the U of C believe that the committee (in Humanities) is biased against hiring its students, but there is always at least one inside hire.  I have heard that in the Social Sciences, there are guaranteed spots for U of C phds.
 * Q: Does any one know how many persons are usually contacted for these additional materials? Is it a rather long short list? -
 * To "12/11"-Thanks for the info!
 * Is it over? Was 12/11 the end, or are there more emails that will go out? Just wondering whether I should cross it off my list...
 * Yeah, cross it off. Why would you want to get that UofC smell on you anyway?
 * Have there been any requests for additional materials in the social sciences? I know it's a long shot because of the guaranteed spots for U of C PhDs, just thought I'd check...
 * Re: all the discussion about U of C favoritism, FWIW, I hold one of the most prestigious dissertation fellowships the U of C offers, have two committee members who are on the Society of Fellows (not on the selection committee, but still, their recs should theoretically "count" more), I've taught in the Core with excellent course evaluations, and did not get so much as longlisted for the Humanities jobs. So U of C people reading these old posts next year ought to be wary of feeling they can cakewalk into these jobs, and equally, I think non-U of C people shouldn't write off applying. From what I've been told by some of the profs in my department, there is increasing scrutiny of internal hires at all levels at the U of C.
 * From asking very direct questions while at Chicago, I learned the following: UofC students have a distinct advantage over all others for a HS if they have taught the core sequence 'self, culture, and society.' It is one of the few, if not the only, exceptions. Why? Because it is a very particular sequence, taught according to a very particular methods and in accordance with a very particular perspectives. Those who run the sequence are very concerned with keeping things as is. More often than not, those from Chicago who are selected as HS Fellows, had already taught this sequence at least two years as graduate students, have been through the drill of the weekly faculty meetings dedicated to teaching this sequence (and thus in constant view of the selection committee), and have had at least one, if not two, of the main people who run this sequence on their dissertation committees and orals committees. Beyond the 'self, culture, and society' sequence the selection process is far more open to non-UofC phds, and the selection usually runs along the same lines as any other postdoc.
 * 12/30: Re: nondated's question above: any requests for additional materials for social sciences?
 * 1/8: Additional materials requested for the social sciences (by email) (x6). Anyone know how large the applicant pool is at this point?

University of Chicago Provost's Career Enhancement Postdoctoral Scholarships
info Deadline: November 1, 2009


 * Email acknowledgment of completed application (29 Oct.)
 * Email acknowledgment of application (11/2)
 * Q: Anyone know about # of applicants this year or last?
 * A: Last year's wiki indicates about 250.

University of Michigan Du Bois-Rodney-Mandela Fellowship
Info


 * News? (1/5)

University of Michigan Society of Fellows
Info Deadline: September 30, 2009
 * what is the deal with the writing samples? is it between 1 and 3, or are 3 required? (9/25)
 * It says between 1 and 3 and total pages can't be more than 25 or something. But then online form won't let you submit w/o three.  So i submitted the same article (circa 25 pages) three times.  (9/25)
 * No, Each sample should be around 20 pages: you can submit longer work, either in installations, or as one sample and then in the others just write a note saying that is what you did. I know this for a fact because I asked, and that was the reply I got from the administrator.
 * I wrote and asked if I could submit one sample of 60 pp or two that equal 60 in length. They wrote back and said they require three 20-page samples. I guess that doesn't preclude cutting up one large sample into three parts.
 * Does anyone know if you are allowed to submit the same research proposal two years in a row? Thanks.
 * I asked the same question (about submitting a lengthy writing sample) and was told that it's fine to split a longer text into multiple documents. Seems like the total page count is what they're really worried about.
 * Am I the only person who is getting an error message when they try to go to the online ap? (9/30, 3 PM EST):  "Error: Could not connect to the database. Please try again later."
 * sigh. there goes another $30. at least harvard and princeton aren't so crass as to milk us for our pennies....
 * does anyone know when they usually notify people about making the short list or the interview process? - Around February, and there are no interviews.
 * I wonder why they extended the deadline on this one.

-Q: For those of you who received rejection notices, how did they come? Email? Snail mail? -A: Snail mail.
 * Does anyone know if they conduct interviews for this one? - they don't.
 * rejection received 11/12 (dated 11/6): "your file is no longer being considered." Letter says there were 860 applications and they've narrowed it down to "about 400" semi-finalists. (x5) - 860x$30=$25,800 - maybe they'll offer an extra fellowship...Michigan dollar scheme!
 * Wow, last year's search had 498 applications received with 100 semi-finalists identified. Good to know how to gauge the heightened competition this for year's postdoc fellowships.
 * So if I haven't received a rejection, then does that mean I'm still in the group of "about 400" semi-finalists?
 * If they do it like last year, yes, that means that you're a "semi-finalist." I didn't get my rejection for last year's cycle until Jan or Feb of this year.  No news is (provisional) good news.
 * rejection received 12/2, dated Nov. 30, via snail mail. Letter says they are now down to 180 semi-finalists. (x2)
 * Thanks for the update, 12/2. What's your region? -Midwest
 * Rejection received 12/4, dated Nov. 30 (snail mail to NYC). Does anyone have theories about how semi-finalists are selected? They've got to have some speedy way of eliminating lots of people...--I suspect that they are not reading the application materials carefully. Neither are the eliminations based on applicants' academic achievements/institutional prestige etc. And their multiple writing samples were quite fishy, given that they didn't even promise to abide by some sort of honor code (unlike Oxford) to keep them from misuse.
 * Good question. I made it further last year when I was ABD; I've got a much stronger CV now, but I got the reject today too (West Coast).  I'm nonplussed . . . bemused, even. (x2)
 * Ditto on doing better last year (got rejection yesterday, East Coast). My application materials were much weaker all the way around last year (proposal, samples, and to some extent CV).  Perhaps they start eliminating a bit by discipline at this point in the process?
 * People, there's no need to be negative or take things personally. There are so many factors in this process, such as which departments received fellows last year, who in each department is on sabbatical next year and therefore needs a replacement, who is on the different committees each year, and so on, and it's only to be expected that results will be different each year. Also, even if only 10% of the applications were strong - and I have no doubt that many more are - when there are so many applications in the process, it's clear that many talented, well qualified people will be cut early. ---Michigan Customer Service? It's going to be tough for 855 "people" not to react negatively, especially if they had to pay $30 for some speedy cutoffs.
 * Just curious: What are the disciplines of those who have received rejections?  --History; anthropology; political science; art history; sociology
 * I just got back from a professional conference where I spoke to a current fellow. This fellow also reassured that the SOF gets so many qualified applications and that those departments with 2 fellows (with fellowship years left) already are least likely able to contend for a new fellow. At this stage I was told that the remaining applications are forwarded to the departments for their input. --There are two fellows with years left in my discipline, so that's nice to hear. But it would be even nicer if, like Stanford, the Michigan SOF would announce at the beginning which departments were getting postdocs.
 * Rejection received 12/5 by mail. "reviewed some 860 candidates in order to identify about 180 semi-finalists." -Q: Would you mind stating your region and the date of the letter?
 * I was just informed by a faculty member of the history dept at Mich that history has until the end of this week to review MSF apps and offer its input (8 Dec) x2
 * Question: For those of you who received rejections, were they sent to your home or office address?  (I'm out of town and fretting that the rejection is in my dept mailbox.)  Thanks. --Mine was sent to my home address.
 * Are there MLA or other interviews?
 * No interviews, as I recall. Regarding earlier posts—rejection sent to home address; English/comp. lit field.
 * My friend was interviewed on phone last year, but didn't get it.
 * Rejection dated 11/30. East Coast. History.
 * Rejection received 12/16 (East Coast [Canada]). English.
 * Question: for the most recent post, what was the date on the rejection?
 * Additional question for the poster with the 12/16 rejection: did the letter mention anything else? It seems like the previous two rounds of rejections included the number of candidates still standing. Anything of the kind in the current round of rejections?
 * Anyone else convinced that they accidentally through their rejection letter into the recycling, tucked between stacks of coupons and magazines and the other unimportant stuff mailed to your home address? YES! you are not alone...Even worse: what if that mythical letter contained a real offer? A: According to last year's page, offers are made by phone, and not letter. My typo has been killing me; all attempts to be cool and let it stand have failed; read "threw" for "through" in the original posting.


 * Anyone have any news? Are they choosing a shortlist directly out of 180, or will there be another cut (and round of rejections) first?

University of Michigan Mellon Sawyer Post-Doc - Ethnicity in Africa
Deadline: November 13, 2009

Q. Any news on this one? (11/30) - No, but it would be helpful to know if they acknowledge when a file is complete. OP here - I've still heard nothing and I'm sure my file is complete :( (12/13).

University of Minnesota Quadrant Fellows
Info Deadline November 20, 2009


 * Any word? (1/3)

University of Oxford - Nuffield College Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships
info Deadline: November 6, 2009


 * anyone invited for an interview yet? it's supposed to be in the end of this month... (1/8)
 * still haven't heard anything (1/8)

University of Pennsylvania, Critical Writing Program

 * Deadline: January 5, 2010

University of Pennsylvania, Penn Humanities Forum Postdoctoral Fellowship
http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu/mellon_cfa.shtml
 * Deadline: October 15, 2009
 * Theme for 2010-11: Virtuality
 * 5 one-year postdoctoral fellowships are available
 * received rejection email (12/16) (x6)
 * received award offer via email (12/22)
 * congrats! so was there no interview for this?
 * my congrats as well:) can you tell us your field? pretty please?

University of Pennsylvania Mellon Teaching Postdoctoral Scholarships
Deadline: November 30, 2009
 * Q: Am I right in thinking that they don't want a separate cv other than the cover sheet form that they provide? Thanks in advance.
 * A: That's how I interpret the instructions.


 * Q: So this was the one on virtuality? I was confused at one point, thinking that there were two, one themed, and the other just a mellon like the ones at Columbia or Stanford. Can anyone clarify?


 * A: I believe this one has nothing to do with the Society of Fellows themed postdoc on "Virtuality." It is it's own thing...I'm sure it too will receive tons of applications.
 * A: Penn has two Mellon postdocs but they are quite different. One is the Mellon Postdoc in the Penn Humanities Forum, drawn from the humanities, a 1-year (themed to operate with the other PHF seminars and lectures, in 2010-11 the theme is "virtuality"); Two is the Mellon Postdoc, drawn from across all fields, a.k.a. Penn Mellon Teaching Postdoc (2-year, housed in home department, teach one class per semester).

-- The offer was for the UPenn Mellon Teaching postdoc, not the Penn Humanities Forum "Virtuality" postdoc. It is kind of surprising that they would send out a notification so early. The application guidelines said they were especially interested in people in three fields: Mediterranean archaeology, Philosophy, and English literature. I have no idea if each field is on the same timeline or not, though... has anyone in Philosophy or English heard any news?
 * Q: Has anyone received an acknowledgment of application? (12/14) A: Nothing (x5)
 * Offer made for a Mediterranean Archaeology postdoc (12/22; notification by email).
 * Do you mean the Penn Humanities Forum or the UPenn Mellon Teaching postdoc? It would be really early for the Mellon Teaching offers to be made. Alternatively, if it is the teaching postdoc, perhaps the time line for each field is different? OP, did you list this under the correct heading or did you mean Penn Humanities Forum? Anybody else have insights here?
 * Thanks so much for the response and congrats on the offer! I applied for the English literature position and have heard nothing. I guess it's possible that some field searches are run more efficiently than others. I'd love to know if anybody in the other two fields (Philosophy and English) received an offer. Anybody?
 * English, have heard nothing (12/23)x4 (1/8) x3 (1/12)x2
 * I am guessing it will be a longer wait for the other fields, as Mediterranean Archaeology is a smaller field, with fewer applicants to review, than English and/or Philosophy.

University of Pittsburgh - Humanities Center Residential Fellow
Deadline: October 16, 2009
 * Received rejection via email (12/18) x3
 * Notification of runner-up status; they'll keep my name on waiting list but said it was very unlikely their first choice would fall through. This one looks to be finalized (12/21)

University of South Carolina Institute for Southern Studies postdoc
Info Deadline: December 15 2009

University of South Florida
Postdoctoral Scholars Social Sciences and Humanities, 2010-11 Sustainable Societies Deadline: Nov 30, 2009

Some sites (or distributed pdf-notices) have the deadline listed as Nov. 15th. Has anyone confirmed with them, by chance?

I sent my application today (11/18) and got their confirmation of receipt. So I think Nov 30 is the deadline. A: Yes, the deadline is November 30.

yes, and they're serious about the cover letter addressing their strategic plan - they asked me to correct and resend it when I failed to do so adequately (11/19)

Wow, does that mean they already read your cover letter and allowed you to edit it? That's great for you.

Yes, this happened to someone else who submitted an application -- they got a lengthy response about what to include and what to address. Unreal - I've never heard of a Selection Committee guiding you through the process and providing recommendations along the way. That's much more helpful than my advisor.

Did you all get confirmation of your application the day you emailed it? I sent mine two days ago and have not received confirmation, I just wonder if I should follow up on this. Thanks! [I also sent mine in a few days ago, and did not receive confirmation until tonight. . . when I was notified that I should more explicitly address the strategic plan. It seems they really want you to copy and paste the goals from the website into the letter. My sense is that we don't have to worry about lost or incomplete apps - nothing is going to get past this guy].

Did you have your recommendation letters sent to their email address the same day with your application? If not, perhaps they want to see your complete application before notifying you. I had everything sent in at the same day and then got their confirmation that my application was complete.

Does anyone know the timetable for this one (i.e. when they are reviewing apps, when finalists might be notified, etc)?

I updated my contact info with them and was told January at the earliest....

Contacted for phone interview by relevant department (12/16)x3 - do you mind telling us which department please? A: Anthropology x3

If this year is anything like last year, interviews and such will happen on different timelines.

Had a phone interview today (1st week in Jan) (x3), and when I asked about a timeline, the dept. representatives said that they're required to submit their list of candidates to the next level up at the end of this week, then everyone meets some time in the next few weeks about all of the candidates to whittle down the list--candidates with offers should hear by early-mid February. [I thought this interview was for the USF Anthro Dept Instructional Postdoctoral Scholar, but was surprised when they called to find out that it was the Sustainable Societies One -- it's been very confusing!]

A colleague in my sociology dept was contacted about being a finalist; this dept also confirmed they would be picking candidates to send to the university-level committee this week.

Anyone apply to the English department and get called for a phone interview?

University of South Florida
USF Anthro Dept Instructional Postdoctoral Scholar.

Deadline Dec15th.

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies
Info  Deadline: January 15, 2010. Applications materials, including letters of reference, should be submitted electronically to the Director, Julie Hardwick, at [mailto:historyinstitute@austin.utexas.edu historyinstitute@austin.utexas.edu]

University of Texas at Austin, English Department
Deadline: November 15, 2009.


 * any news?
 * I've been told by a fairly reliable source (someone who received this postdoc recently) that news from UT usually comes in Jan/Feb.
 * Have they sent out acknowledgements for this postdoc?
 * I never received one. Anyone else?
 * Me neither. (X3)

University of Texas at Dallas, Arts & Humanities
Info Review of applications first week of December.

Submit materials electronically through online application. Humanist List Posting (more specific)

Has anyone heard anything about this? (12/11)

University of Virginia, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, Post-doctoral Residential Research and Teaching Fellowship
Deadline: December 1, 2009 Info


 * Any news? I never even got an ack after sending in my application in mid-November. (1/4)

University of Western Sydney - Research Lectureship in English Lit or Linguistics.
Deadline: 11/30

https://uws.nga.net.au/cp/

Received the following email 12/22: Thank you for your application for the Research Lectureship position. We received close to 400 applications for twelve Research Lectureship positions. Therefore, due to the holiday break we will not be finalising the interview shortlist until mid January. Should you be selected for an interview, you will be notified by the College in late January.

Got the same email. Any idea what the process will be for applicants outside of Australia?

Van Leer Institute Jerusalem - Polonsky Postdoctoral Fellowships
Info Deadline: Jan 31, 2010

Walters Art Museum Mellon Curatorial Postdocs
 Deadline: December 1, 2009

Warburg Institute, University of London: Frances Yates Long-Term Fellowship in Cultural and Intellectual History
http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/Fellowships/Longt.htm

Deadline: December 4 2009
 * Email ack. 12/09

Washington University Mellon Postdoc
Info Deadline: December 1, 2009. received ack today (12//22) No MLA
 * Received e-mail saying all materials have been received / application is complete (11/9). No other info on number of applications, etc.
 * how long after you submitted your materials did you receive this confirmation? I still haven't heard anything. (12/6) A: About 5 days later. But I sent my materials nearly a month before the deadline, so I'd assume that's why processing time was so short. (12/6)
 * Didn't they interview for this last year? They must already have a short list then no?
 * No, the search was canceled for lack of funds, and they never made it to the interview stage. They did tell applicants that they were welcome to re-activate their applications from last year, so they did hold on to the files (they also welcomed new applications instead, as per the applicant's preference).
 * think they did actually have interviews scheduled before the rug was pulled out from under them.Interviews were going to be at MLA, which made many speculate about what they actually mean by "interdisciplinary."
 * i think in the past they've held interviews at the MLA and the AHA (if you check the list of past fellows, there are a number of names of historians and lit people that I recognize)
 * received ack. that application is complete via email (12/17) Q: when did you submit? i sent mine on 12/1, and still haven't received ack. -A: I submitted mine 11/20 and received my ack only today (12/17), so it's clearly taking a lot of time to go through all of them. So I wouldn't worry if you haven't received yours yet.
 * received ack today (12/17) as well; my app. arrived on 12/1, though.
 * anyone know for sure whether they're really going to be doing interviews at MLA? Seems like an awfully quick turn-around time, sincethe deadline was only 12/1.
 * received ack today (12//21). seems like they're still in very early stages of going through apps...
 * received ack today (12//21). seems like they're still in very early stages of going through apps...
 * received ack (12/29) (x4)
 * anyone else not receive an acknowledgment yet? For those of you who did, who was it from?  (This way, I can do a search of my inbox to see if I mistakenly overlooked it.  Thanks!
 * I received my acknowledgement about a week ago from the following email address: mhausman@artsci.wustl.edu.
 * Thanks so much! I _did_ overlook it!  Whew.
 * I still haven't received an ack! now i'm worried my materials didn't arrive...
 * Ditto! R: wouldn't worry, I just got one the other day.

Wesleyan University - Center for the Americas Mellon Postdoc
Deadline: December 4, 2009

(2 postdocs: "Wesleyan University invites applications for two fellowships: (1) Native American Studies: We seek a cultural anthropologist or historian whose research focuses on indigenous peoples of the Americas; (2) Latin American Studies: We seek a postdoctoral fellow whose research focuses on literary and/or cultural production in the borderland zone of the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States.")
 * Has anyone received confirmation of receipt of application?
 * Not here.
 * Me neither (1/9)
 * 12/9--i asked for confirmation in my email with app materials, got it about two days later, very nice message
 * Did the e-mail mention anything about the timing of the process?

Williams College - Bolin Fellowship

 * email acknowledgment 12.10 (x3)

Yale University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities
Deadline: postmarked by Jan 1 Q: It seems the competition "opens" Jan 1, no? And the deadline is in fact Feb. 5. Do other people agree? R: Yes. Under "Application Procedures" it says that materials are to be postmarked by Feb. 5th.

link

3, 2-year positions available

R: I assumed that the one-page was for a description of teaching interests (or philosophy) and then, in addition, some sample syllabi.
 * One of their requests is a one-page (!) statement of "teaching interests and sample syllabi." Any thoughts on how to accomplish this in one page?

Yale - Post Doctoral Fellowships in South Asian Studies
Deadline Jan 5th.


 * Receipt of application by email (Jan 4) x2

Project Proposals

 * Question: I'm wondering how people feel about sending a proposal to revise your diss vs. proposing a new project. Is the former considered to be not original enough and/or is the latter considered to be not very believable (because everyone assumes you will indeed turn your diss into a book? Any advice from people who have been successful with postdocs? (9/26)
 * Answer: I was interviewed last year for one of the fancy-schmancy postdocs (I'm not bragging, by the way; I completely blew it), and I sent a proposal for a brand-new project. Whether this helped or hurt is hard to say. I know people who have gotten the very best postdocs by proposing to revise. If you do get an interview, it's a hell of a lot easier to talk about your dissertation. Sorry I don't have a more decisive answer.
 * ANSWER: I got a postdoc this year and a few interviews etc for others. I sent a proposal for an additional chapter/ new research that I tried to fit into the larger scheme of the revised dissertation. But that made sense for my work, so I think if you can show how your work is grounded in doctoral research (either dissertation or otherwise) but takes it in new directions, that is the best. What this looks like for everyone is different, though. Hope this helps and good luck!
 * ANSWER: I defended my diss early in the summer, spent the summer writing and revising a project proposal for a new project. It was funded absurdly well. (Three full-year grant offers.) But it had also been on the back burner conceptually for a couple of years, so it was pretty well-developed AND it was on a maddeningly hot topic that had nothing published on it and was becomingly increasingly of interest. It was also a lot easier to talk about than my very abstract theoretical dissertation. So I think the funding I landed was due to a combination of factors. I agree with previous poster: what works best for each person varies. Good luck!!
 * ANSWER: My impression from speaking to senior colleagues (I'm defending later this year and applying to post-docs right now) is that post-docs expect you to be applying for support to revise your diss. That said, they also advised me to indicate some things I had discovered along the way that I would like to incorporate into the revised project, suggesting that I'll be doing more than just rewriting existing material.
 * A: Good question. My chair actually chided me for making my postdoc proposal too close to my diss topic, so I've written another one that has a few connections to my diss, but is actually a new project.  (I'm in anthro - btw).  It might be helpful for us all to check in at the end of this cycle to say what worked and what didn't.  For example, adding a list to this thread saying: Fellowship name; discipline; status (got it/didn't); postdoc proposal=diss, postdoc proposal extends diss, or postdoc proposal is a new project altogether.   This would be very helpful - competitive altruism at its best.  I'll report in later, and I hope others will join me.
 * Okay! The table's all ready to go.

Outcome of your Postdoc Competition
To make a new entry in the table:

1) Enter the edit function. 2) Right-click on an existing row in the table. 3) Select "row" from the menu and choose insert row before or after.

Application Format

 * Question: Because I am looking for more things to be obsessive about, here's a question: do people tend to staple, paperclip, or neither the individual components of an app (cv, writing sample, etc...) since i imagine they photocopy these, stapling seems obnoxious but paperclipping seems messy.
 * Answer: If the application requires multiple sets of materials (e.g., Columbia SOF) then I staple each set. -- Another Answer: since Harvard specifically asks not to use paperclipping, but to staple, I assume that this is the preferable way to go.
 * Answer: I paper clip or don't do anything, but I don't staple -- since things have to be photocopied, I've also assumed that stapling creates more work for them on the other end. That said, Harvard is obviously a counter-example. I also put my name and a page number in the footer of every page, starting anew with each separate document, somewhat countering the need for stapling or paper clipping.

Specific Competitions

 * Questions: These may seem like a vague questions, but are Oxbridge JRFs worth applying for, especially if one's main discipline is English literature? If they are, what's the competitive standard (i.e. about how many publications, etc.)? The reason why I ask is because I suspect - and would like to be corrected if wrong - that English would be at a disadvantage. It seems to me that it's more difficult to produce 10+ articles in English than in, say, Psychology or Sociology, where co-authoring is common.
 * Similar Question: Are these worth applying to if your discipline is social anthropology?
 * Answer: JRFs are not done (generally) by 'tick boxes'; applications will be assessed by people who have some awareness of the disciplinary fields involved, so if there's a comparative difference in publication speed and style which is discipline-specific rather than candidate-specific they'll be well aware of it.
 * Question: anyone have any info on the Minnesota postdoc? The info was out by this time last year. I tried emailing the contact info on their webpage, but have not received a response. I also asked a faculty member, who just said that he has yet to hear anything.
 * Answer: I wrote them a while back to ask about the postdoc and just got an email today saying that UMN is not holding a competition at this time (10/29)

Application Strategies

 * Question: Is there anything to be lost by turning in things early?
 * Answer: yes. If, say, a response from a journal about your submission can make your cv look better; or encourage you to rewrite and improve your paper/writing-sample (I lived to regret applying early more times than I care to remember).

Accepting / Negotiating Offers

 * Question: Has anyone ever accepted a postdoc fellowship, and then backed out when they won another (better) one down the road? Is it legal?
 * Answer: I don't know about legality, but it is very poor form. Postdocs, even fancy postdocs, accept that you may renege on an offer if you get a tenure-track job. But to do so for another postdoc? Very dicey. That being said, I'm sure it has happened.
 * Answer: A different PoV from someone with significant non-academic work experience (private & public sector): All's fair when you're on the market and you receive another offer that you like better. In my opinion, the academic market is no different; people just act like it is. I get frustrated with academics hamstringing themselves into feeling obliged to accept offers they aren't happy with. You are talent. You're marketable. As long as you haven't signed a contract, you are free to bid adieu to the first employer and accept another offer. It's how you do it that makes all the difference. Ring up the person who made you the first offer. Explain that you've received a second offer that is much more aligned with your priorities (career, personal, you don't need to specify more than that because it's none of their business). Thank the person and institution profusely, and be incredibly gracious about the whole thing. Then post a thank-you card to them, for making the offer in the first place. In other words, act professionally, so they are left only with regret that they couldn't retain you. Also, look at a second postdoc offer as a bargaining chip: you might be surprised, but if the employer really wants you, when you make that call, they might tell you they're willing to make a better offer.
 * Answer (same person as first answer above): There are other factors involved here that should be addressed. Postdocs typically give you a period of time to make a decision before accepting, particularly if you are one of the first choice candidates. Take that time if you have another potential offer from a better postdoc that you are waiting on. Also, you will probably get the contract VERY soon (days) after you make the oral commitment, so we really are talking about breaking a contract. The postdoc folks will probably not issue official rejections to the other finalists before they get your contract. If you have signed the contract and they have sent out the rejections, they will be very unhappy with you if you renege. And the idea about "bargaining" with humanities postdocs is not, IMHO, a good idea. Humanities postdocs are, with very few exceptions, not negotiable. And postdoc committees do not get "attached" to particular candidates like faculty search committees. They are happy to go to one of the other finalists if you try to pull any nonsense. (All of this, IMHO, of course...though I do currently hold a very competitive Mellon postdoc, so I am not just making things up.)
 * PoV here. These are good distinctions to point out. I'm coming from the medical social sciences, so I suspect our experiences and advice reflect the different norms in our fields. I had two postdoc offers this year from departments in med schools, and there were no postdoc committees, only the employer. In both cases, they made it very clear they were attached to me and I could negotiate.
 * First answer person again: I think most prestigious postdocs inform successful candidates well before less prestigious ones, so it is probably unlikely that someone would face this scenario. But in this job market, it would be a nice problem to have! In general, I think good advice is to be upfront and honest with people. (Or perhaps I'm just naive.)
 * Yes! (PoV again). You have no idea how much employers appreciate candidates being candid with them. (Former vocational counsellor here). It show respect, class, and courage, which no one forgets. It dignifies them, and you. And: most employers can usually detect when someone is fudging or withholding information. You can do a lot of damage to your integrity if Employer A (who you turned down) talks to Employer B (who you finalized with) (since they turn out to be colleagues), and A finds out you gave different reasons to B for turning down the initial offer. Honesty is respected.
 * But what happens if you're required to let institution #1 know in, say, 3 weeks (by contract), but you won't know what the results for institution #2 (which is a better fit) are until 3 months later? In these times, you can't really gamble. I would imagine you need to sign the contract for #1 in case #2 falls through. And if #2 is successful, you must renege on #1 - which shouldn't be a problem if both postdocs don't actually start until months later. Right?
 * Yes, (getting back to the earlier question), people do renege after they've signed contracts, before a position starts. I would not want to do it, unless I was completely miserable with the first offer, or if the employer revealed some new conditions that had not been made clear at offer. You're better off negotiating a verbal offer than reneging on a signed offer. (And no one in any other non-academic industry has a crystal ball, either, so no, you don't gamble if there's only one solid offer. You take it. But you negotiate, meanwhile, if you're not satisfied). What I'm trying to emphasize is that you can, contrary to belief, negotiate (unless you are one of thousands of postdocs in a humanities field where if you decline there's someone else to take your place, as person above points out). You can negotiate salary, benefits, start date, your duties. You just need to do it with diplomacy. Finalizing a position can take quite a while, especially if you're negotiating, so there may be a long window of opportunity. If another offer rolls along while you're still negotiating, you're free to decline the first offer and accept the second, or use the second to negotiate a better offer with the first. It's how the job market works. Postdoc employers, particularly those running centers of research with multiple sources of funding, can sometimes top up your salary by drawing from another funding source. They will be honest with you if they can't. All you can do is ask. As I said, if you're going to renege on the first offer before you sign, do it professionally and graciously in conversation, and always send a thank-you card for the offer. If it's a small universe you work in, you will probably have the opportunity to work or collaborate with the first employer down the road, so you want to be thinking of this as relationship-building. You can address this during the conversation by saying that you're looking forward to working with that person at some point. Again, you're showing appreciation both that the person considered you and long-term interest in their work. A comment like says you're not just seeing them as a place that's offering you a salary.
 * (new poster) Last year I was offered a 1 year postdoc and they asked me to sign an acceptance thing by a certain date, but I had an interview for a 3 year postdoc so I asked if I could wait on the decision before signing (about a week after the acceptance thing was originally due). They said yes. I didn't get the 3 year one. However, I would also note that whilst they wanted me to accept the offer at this point, I didn't receive a confirmation of award until I had submitted my PhD. It seems a bit one-sided, really. I suppose that just reflects the fact that it is one-sided, in that they have all the power.
 * Is it OK to email a university for my post-doc application status? They are supposed to notify us by this month and I would like to know my status before reserving a flight ticket for another interview.
 * A: I've done it before and found that - if you explain the situation and why you need to know - the response is generally favorable.

Wiki Behavior
Q: Why is it that people keep posting new postdocs the date of the deadline or shortly afterwards so that no one can learn about them in time to apply? A: Sounds like you answered your own question. One may certainly wish all comers the best, but do you really expect other people to do your research for you? I hate to be ugly about this but use those skills that you expect to be paid thousands of dollars to exercise. Find your own opportunities.
 * Question: can anyone shed light on why a user or users is/are repeatedly deleting entries from the 2007-8 Hum/Soc Sci post-doc page?
 * Answer: No, but my guess is it's someone who tried to edit the page, deleted entries by mistake, and then didn't know how to find the edit log to restore the previous page. And is too embarrassed to ask for help or own up. (Happened to me...I deleted an entire, well-used wiki...but I eventually found the log, and restored!)


 * That is my guess. I, frankly, do not really get it. If there are 700 applicants instead of 800, the chances are still pretty slim.  A sad reflection on the nature of the academic market.

A sad reflection on human nature too--I think a wiki site should be a place where there is a good-hearted and generous exchange of information that is mutually beneficial to all. As many hours as one spends researching postdocs and jobs, there is no way one can find all of them. Schools will pick the people that are the best fit, so why keep information to oneself?


 * Hi everybody. I don't know whether this will be much help now, although there are some postdocs with January deadlines (and beyond) posted here. In any event, you might want to pass this on to your colleagues who will be looking for postdocs next year (or keep it in mind for the future). It really is an excellent resource:

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/studentgrantsfellowships/

CV Content
Question: When does it make sense to include on a CV that you were chosen as an alternate for any particular postdoc or fellowship? Do people still do this? In what cases does it make sense, and are there cases where you don't want to do it (anymore)?

Answer: I think that if you were chosen as an alternate for a postdoc last year, you should definitely put it on your CV. Especially b/c the job markets this year and the last were so highly competitive, it really demonstrates that you have potential and are probably an even better candidate now. Though if it was two years ago, I wouldn't list it since people might wonder what you're still doing in school. My two cents. Thanks for your thoughts. . . I guess, then, that this would go doubly for alternate status from a postdoc search this year.

Answer: I agree with above poster. Does it make you more look more competitive for the position you're applying to? Then by all means include it. Other things to put on your CV: the dollar value of each of your grants, fellowships, scholarship, travel awards, etc. And: "declined" in parentheses, after the date & name of the award, if you declined it. In your cover letter: mention the total dollar value of all your funding.

Answer: This depends, and I can attest (from our job market handout) that at least some people/departments find it to be tacky or gauche to list either declined positions or full dollar values for everything. And think about it, if you list 3 declined positions, that's great for you, but are the search comm members going to be seething with rage at all your opportunities? For the money, it seems to be the case here that with grants, you are welcome to list dollars, but with fellowships, they don't necessarily like to see dollars. If you prefer not to list dollars, you want to give some information about the grant size or duration so that you give an accurate picture (eg. small, 1-year, 2 year, "full funding"). Best thing to do is look for exemplar/good candidate CVs in your area and see what they do. So personally, I dollarize competitive grants, but not fellowships, and since they were small grants anyway, that's me being honest too.

State of the Academic Job Market
Q: where are all of these other jobs waiting to snap up smart Ph.D.s?  Where are all of the hundreds (thousands!?) of great Ph.Ds. going to go--the ones who are being churned out every year and for whom there are no academic jobs?
 * the academic job market is so dehumanizing in the way it pits us against each other - I just posted a bunch of postdoc opportunities (ahead of deadlines) as an act of resistance and as an assertion of our humanity. Happy holidays everyone.
 * that is very nice of you; thanks. this should absolutely be a venue for us to support each other. 12/21
 * Well done! keep in mind that this is exactly the time that reveals a person's character--selfish and "ugly" actions speak for themselves.
 * For OP, who is finding the market dehumanizing: it really needn't be this way. Here are some suggestions: 1) Don't succumb to the mentality of being "pitted against each other." Cultivate a small group of supportive colleagues with whom you routinely share your cover letters and CVs for comment and criticism. Work together to make each other more competitive, and reinforce each other's successes. 2) Your non-academic accomplishments and skills will make you stand out from the crowd of PhDs in similar fields. Departments need candidates who can do other things besides deliver curriculum and get grants: they need bodies who can teach their students how to apply for grants, reform curriculum, build bridges with administration, secure funding for and manage their new center of innovation, etc. Identify what unique suite of skills you can bring to a position. Outline those skills in your cover letters (e.g. "here is how I can contribute to the success of your department." Wow 'em with your versatility. 3) I keep harping on this on these wikia but here it is again: consider expanding your job search beyond academia. You're talented, ambitious, smart, analytical, and passionate. You can write well. I don't think most PhDs realize that those skills are in short supply. Employers everywhere are looking for them. If you can demonstrate you're a good fit for a position, you'll be snapped up.

A: a) Open your eyes, my friend. Business, health care, non-profit, government, consulting. Start by visiting your career center to learn how to access these markets. b) Exactly. No one should be undertaking a PhD assuming that they are going to get an academic job. There just aren't enough jobs to go around, and that's not likely to change. See the thread on Dear Search Committees. See also the Chronicle forums for good discussions about the realities of the academic job market and the pros and cons of getting a PhD. c) "Business, health care, non-profit, government, consulting" = Anyone that will hire and pay.

Response A is lousy and cheeky. -- The question was petulant and rhetorical, asked by someone who sounds as if s/he has no idea how to conduct a non-academic job search and expects jobs to materialize without looking.

The answer was factual: these are (broadly) the industries that will hire PhDs, and a career center is often the best place to start if you don't know how to identify them or how to market yourself.

--It does not take a Ph.D. to realize that a rhetorical question does not merit a response, much less a snarky one. Furthermore, Ph.D.s are, as the original poster stated, churned out every year, regardless of the prospects of jobs. Beyond that, it IS an utterly miserable job market, everywhere.

Perhaps the answer isn't as convenient as one might like it to be, but I think it's a fair point. It's more difficult to independently seek out and/or create a (non-academic) career for yourself than it is to play the game of academia or even to visit a career center. That is where the frustration lies. It's new, it's scary, and it's something many of us will not be used to. It's difficult, but frankly and more importantly to those who participate in this forum, it's not the type of system we have been used to in our 10+ years of higher education, and really, our education since age 5. We are more used to a 'work hard in the system and be rewarded' type of life. Getting a job in this economy may require thinking outside the box a little more as well as luck and many other factors. I could go on, but I just want to reiterate that I feel strongly that one shouldn't take out their own frustrations out on someone that tries to answer a (perhaps intentionally rhetorical) question. More on this subject: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/04/nojobs; See also the comments.
 * Interesting. I go to a large state university and my career center has no idea how to help PhDs... they are totally focused on undergraduates and have refused to help me at various stages, stating that their funding comes from undergrad sources, and not graduate students. And a note about seeking job opportunities outside of academia: my consultant friends tell me that there really isn't money for anyone right now. What are they doing? Going back to grad school....
 * You make a really good point. Career centers are largely geared towards helping undergrads. I'm sorry--and really annoyed--to hear that your career center has refused to help you. Who then is supposed to provide you with these services? This is a problem I've been talking about with our career center graduate coordinator for the last few years, how grad students are just left to fend for themselves by their departments. It's her hobby horse, then it became mine. It's in everyone's interest if universities make it a priority to deliver career training to PhD students from the start.
 * I wonder if this is the appropriate forum to be asking 'rhetorical' questions anyway? We are a breed of educators and researchers who, I would like to believe, are more inclined to answer questions helpfully and give advice when asked for it than to sit back and ignore them. We ask why things are the way they are and my theorize possible solutions to them. I didn't read the responses to be lousy, snarky or cheeky and wires do tend to get crossed when discussing things this way online. My point: if you ask questions here, most likely they will be answered by someone.
 * Thank you, poster, for your compassionate comment. You're reminding me that it is challenging, even threatening, for people at this stage to rethink career direction. Since this has turned into a long thread, would it be useful to start a new page on job seeking tips, to exchange practical Q & A on finding jobs inside and outside of academia? (e.g. negotiating contracts, cover letter & CV questions, what to include in an application)
 * Yes, perhaps some subheadings would do as this is getting long and its only just turned January. Might I add that a lot of the discussion you just mentioned can be found in various forms on the Chronicle for Higher Education forums (apologies if someone has said this already).
 * It doesn't hurt to mention the Chronicle forums again.http://chronicle.com/forums I've put subheadings in. (I moved one entry). But I'm wondering whether we should move this discussion to a new page altogether? It sure is a long scroll down the page to get to Q&A.

-- I heart Marc Bousquet. Check out: http://howtheuniversityworks.com/wordpress/