Humanities & Soc Sci Postdocs 2008-2009

Note: These postdocs begin in 2009

Last year's wiki page

Back to Academic Job Search

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All Souls College, Oxford University
( Deadline September 19, 2008)
 * Long "short list" to be drawn up on or by November 1, 2008
 * Short list completed and sent by email (11/3)

American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(info Deadline 17 October 2008)

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships
(info Deadline 15 October 2008)

Brown University, Political Theory Project Postdoctoral Research Associate Fellowship
( Deadline November 10, 2008)
 * Received an email (12/2), it states that there were 165 applicants for 6-7 postdoctoral fellowships and applications will be processed rapidly.

Cambridge University Library, Munby Fellowship
(info Deadline September 5, 2008)
 * No interviews
 * THE LINK IS BROKEN
 * Link was taken down when the deadline passed.

Carnegie Mellon University, Junior and Senior Fellowships in "Global Connections, Global Responsibilities"
( Deadline: December 1, 2008)
 * ack. via email (mid-November)

Christ Church, Merton and St. John's Junior Research Fellowships, Oxford.
(info Deadline: 12 noon, 8th December 2008) Q1: Were you contacted by a specific College? I've not received an acknowledgement.
 * acknowledged by e-mail (12/11)

Churchill, Trinity Hall, Murray Edwards (ex-New Hall) and Fitzwilliam Colleges JRFs, Cambridge.
Deadline: 23 November 2008
 * Shortlist should be asked for more material in mid-January.

Columbia University Society of Fellows in the Humanities
(info Deadline October 6, 2008)


 * 10/16 received self-stamped postcard acknowledging the application is complete.


 * 11/03 $30 charge on my credit card bill. it's that martini time of year in morningside heights.


 * 11/06 I didn't get a postcard - didn't include one - but they charged me so I know they got it! :) Did the ack. postcard give any details on timeline?
 * Interviews will be scheduled in December for January, with final decisions announced before March 1, 2009
 * Last year interviewees were contacted from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20 or so, for interviews scheduled in mid-to-late-January.
 * If we don't hear anything by the 20th should we assume our candidacy is no longer valid?
 * They say on the website that if you have not been contacted by Jan. 1 then you can assume candidacy is no longer valid, Dec. 20th or so might be just as realistic though . ..

Connecticut College, CISLA, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Study of Islam
( Deadline: November 1, 2008)

Cornell Society for the Humanities Fellowship
(info Deadline: October 1, 2008) -Rejection letter, 12/12

Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge
(Deadline September 24, 2008)
 * Has anyone heard from them?

Dartmouth University, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Leslie Center
( Deadline: October 15, 2008)

(http://scratchpad.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_postdocs_2007-2008#Dartmouth_Mellon_Postdoctoral_Fellowship_in_the_Humanities_and_Social_Sciences) deadline was much earlier than last year's so... candidates they'll bring to campus, I made it to their final selection round and so they will keep my dossier "active". Then mid-March I asked again and they said the offers were made and accepted. In short, yes there was an interview stage but probably for a small number of interviewees.
 * 11/13 Has anyone heard anything?
 * 11/14 Nope
 * 11/20 Rejection via mail (2)
 * Q: Any word on # of applicants or timeline?
 * A: Rejection Letter dated 11/4, postmarked 11/18. No timeline or # of applicants listed. Congratulations to those still under consideration and/or receiving fellowships.
 * 11/26 Anyone received any positive news?
 * Looking at the Wiki for last year's search, and it seems to run into February. So I guess it might still be quite a while before we know anything definitive?
 * I was a finalist last year and I had to wait till mid March to get a rejection email. But this year's application
 * Interesting. So was there an interview stage then last year, or did they just let you know somehow that you were a finalist?
 * By mid february I sent an email to them asking how things stand and I received a reply saying while I am not one of the
 * Rejection snail mail letter received on 12/1, dated 11/19
 * Any news?
 * Have yet to receive rejection or good news of any kind as of 12/4. I assume others are in the same boat? yes, same boat (×5) (12/4)


 * I heard that semi-finalists have already been notified. Can anyone confirm?
 * Still no contact, either positive or negative, as of 12/9 (x9).


 * How annoying. I'm beginning to think my application materials were used as kindling for ye olde Christmas bonfire.
 * You're not alone. I've had that same feeling for awhile now.
 * Actually, I'd assume it's a good thing if you haven't heard anything, because this probably means you haven't been rejected and are still in contention.


 * Does anyone know how many fellowships are offered? the website says one, no?
 * 12/10 Rejection letter received, dated 12/3. I was beginning to worry there for a minute! (x2)
 * A thought just occurred to me: do you think Dartmouth could have prevented all this agonizing/ notoriety with a simple postcard or confirmation email? Or does all of our postings give the postdoc free advertising? ;)  [BTW, I still haven't heard a damn thing.]

Duke University, Thompson Writing Program
(info Deadline: October 31, 2008) Anybody was contacted for further supporting materials (12/12)? Since I haven't been contacted for further materials, I assume that I didn't make the initial screening :(
 * 11/14 - received confirmation with race/gender monitoring form. Timeline is notification of search status by mid-December (x3)
 * any news so far? (12/8)
 * Nothing, but it isn't mid-Dec. yet . . . (12/9)

Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, JRF
(info Deadline: October 9, 2008) Haven't heard anything either. That probably means we weren't short-listed...
 * original info said shortlist would be contacted 18th November, anyone heard anything?
 * yes, shortlist of 39 candidates was contacted by email on 18th November

Emory University, Transforming Community Project, Atlanta, GA, USA
Info ( Application Review Begins: December 15, 2008)]

The Transforming Community Project (TCP) at Emory University invites applications for its Community Research Post-Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship is a 1-year appointment beginning February 2009, with a possibility of renewal. Eligible candidates will have completed a terminal degree (PhD, MD, JD, MFA, MBA, etc.) by December 31, 2008. The field of academic specialization is open; applicants from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged to apply.

Freiburg Institute of Advanced Study
(info Deadline August 1, 2008)

Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge
( Deadline October 10, 2008)
 * 12/5: Has anyone heard from them?

Harvard Society of Fellows
(info Nomination deadline September 5, 2008)

Request for nominee information and samples due in September, decisions for finalist interviews to be made by end of November, final decisions to be made by the middle of December.


 * 10/7 Received post card confirming materials received.


 * 10/24 From last year's wiki, it looks like people were starting to get interviewed around now. Has anyone heard anything beyond an ack. of receipt?


 * 10/25 Nothing yet. Seems like they got started a bit later than last year, so likely people will begin to hear back about interviews next week.


 * 10/25 As far as I know, interviews are actually already underway.


 * 10/26 Oof. How were interviewees contacted?


 * 10/27 The information I have from the SoF says that interviewees will be contacted by phone and that this is an on-going, gradual process through the end of November. Interviews will be scheduled and "conducted from late September through early December" at the SoF's offices in Cambridge.


 * 11/7 Anyone interview yet? They should be about 1/4 to 1/2 done with interviews, right?


 * 11/16 talked to a former Fellow right before turning in the application, who confirmed what is said by 10/27 re: "late September through early December". interviews finish first week of december.  also have a friend/colleague who was called for interview back in late october, and i think it's tomorrow, which means they were scheduling pretty far in advance.  nothing confirmed, but my sense is that those of us who have not yet been called for interview, won't be.


 * 12/5 Has anyone who interviewed head anything yet? I feel like they should be making their decisions soon.


 * 12/8 If the schedule follows last year's then they will have called their first choice last night (Sunday) and the rest of us will receive letters around mid-week.


 * 12/10 Any news? Seems like maybe they're behind last year's schedule.

Harvard Academy Scholars Postdoc

 * Does anyone know when their interview notifications begin?
 * 11/12 received rejection. email said they received 300+ applications.
 * 11/12 Ditto.
 * 11/14 Ditto
 * 11/18 Received call for campus interview

Harvard Humanities Center Postdoctoral Fellowship

 * $35 application fee. Gotta love that.  I'm debating whether it's worth applying.  Does anybody happen to have any particulars about their search criteria?  I see that both of their current fellows are in the Art History department.
 * Well, $35 is better than the $60 they charged last year!!
 * Credit crunch.
 * Q. Anyone know how many applicants there were last year?
 * don't know. two harvard grads were chosen for the postdoc, though.  both in art history.
 * A: I seem to recall that the two postdocs were both Brown Ph.Ds.  The people they have listed in art history may be graduate student fellows.
 * A: the art history people are grad student fellows, just fyi.


 * ACK received, snail 11/19
 * Q: Anyone have any ideas on how to pay if I don't live in the States, (and therefore don't have an American bank account)? At least Columbia took credit cards.
 * A: I would email them and ask if they accept international money orders. That usually works.
 * A: In the UK I'll be paying the equivalent of about $20 in FEES to get a $ banker's draft. Money orders only come in sterling, so unless they accept other currencies, I don't think I can do that. I've also already emailed twice to ask, no reply at all.
 * A: I'm applying from Ireland and I got an International Bankers' Draft in US$ made out to Harvard. Only took ten minutes and the fees were reasonable.  Should be no problem doing the same in a UK bank.

Hertford College, Oxford, Drapers' Company Junior Research Fellowship
(info Deadline: 14 November 2008)
 * Interviewees will be contacted in December, interviews to take place week of January 19, 2009

Historic New Orleans Collection, Dianne Woest Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities
(info Deadline August 1, 2008, fellowship to commence after January 1, 2009)

The Huntington Library Postdoctoral Fellowships, NEH, Mellon, and Barbara Thom
(info Deadline December 15, 2008)


 * 12/5 snailmail postcard acknowledging receipt of app.

Johns Hopkins, Mellon Postdoc: Concepts of Diaspora
(info) any news?

The Library Company, Philadelphia, Postdoctoral Fellowships
(info Deadline, November 1, 2008)

McGill University Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities and Related Social Sciences
(deadline: November 30, 2008) -must receive faculty sponsorship and reference letter to apply


 * Does anyone know anything about the decision timeline for this?


 * The aim is for decisions to be announced before the holidays.

Michigan Society of Fellows Post-Doctoral Fellowship
(info Deadline September 30, 2008)

It charges every applicant 30 bucks. (Did it do this last year?) It asks our very busy mentors to upload letters directly up to its website. I am not sure if it accepts a dossier.

Yes, the 30 bucks was charged last year, and the year before that, and the year before that. . . Such is the record of my optimism. No dossiers accepted, to my knowledge.

Does anyone know if we are required to submit 3 separate writing samples for a grand total of 20 pages? Or 1-3 samples that are each under 20 pages? I can't seem to figure out the language online. Thanks!


 * A: I'm assuming 1-3, each under 20. The other option is too unreasonable.


 * Q: I just "submitted" under the assumption that I should pull my material together, and not wait around for my lovely, overworked referees. But it told me I submitted an "incomplete" application. Will my referees now not be allowed to submit references?


 * A: Yes they will.  Although you won't be able to look at the references, they are registered as part of your application.  Thus, you haven't submitted anything yet, and won't be allowed to until the references are submitted by your referees.


 * A: You can't submit until the letters are already in. I got an email saying my app was incomplete right after I submitted, wrote them and asked and they said it was just a technical glitch and I was good to go.  So you can assume the same I think.


 * Thanks!


 * Q: Does anyone know what the decision timeline is on this?  I know the deadline has only recently passed, but I guess  the whole point of the Wiki is to fill the information vacuum.

A: Last year's wiki has people finding out at the end of January. But you'll have to dig through the archived history to see whether interviews occurred before then.


 * A: There are no interviews. Winners are notified at the end of January, with no intermediate steps.


 * Rejection letter, dated 11/20 (postmarked 12/1). 498 applications received, 100 semi-finalists identified.  Good luck if you're one of the 100. (x3)


 * has anyone received a letter identifying them as one of the 100 semi-finalists?


 * no news from them yet as of today (12/4)


 * for those who received the rejection letters - were they sent to your home or office?


 * I got a rejection letter today (12/4) at my home (x4)


 * No rejection yet as of 12/4 at either office or home, no word of semi-finalist status either. (x7)


 * No rejection yet as of 12/8 at either office or home, no word of semi-finalist status either. (x5)


 * I just added to the above number, but it's pretty clear that the rest of us will probably not hear anything till they make their final decision in January.


 * So does that mean that if we haven't gotten rejection letters yet, we should consider ourselves still in the running?


 * I think that is right. In the past they have notified the top-30 or so "finalists" before the final decisions in late January.

National Humanities Center Fellowship
(info Deadline 15 October, 2008)

Newnham College, Cambridge University Research Fellowship Competition
(Deadline November 7, 2008)
 * long shortlist notified 11 december via email
 * may i ask your field?
 * classics

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, NEH Two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship
(info Deadline November 1, 2008)


 * AHA interview scheduled, 12/10

Penn Humanities Forum, Mellon Postdoc
(info Deadline October 15, 2008)

Princeton Davis Center for Historical Studies, Fellowships
(info Deadline December 1, 2008)
 * For "senior scholars with established reputations" as well as "early career scholars"
 * 2008-2010 Theme: Cultures and Institutions in Motion

Princeton Society of Fellows
(info Deadline October 1, 2008)


 * 10/27 Received ack. of complete dossier via mail, decisions and interview invitations will be made by the end of January/
 * 12/7 Received request for missing letter of recommendation to be sent ASAP -- perhaps this means that they're now sitting down to decide?

St John's College, Cambridge University, JRF
(Deadline 1 October 2008)
 * 11/13 - shortlist contacted
 * by email or phone?
 * 11/18 - email rejection

Selwyn College, Cambridge University, Centenary Fellowship
(info Deadline September 5, 2008)


 * 10/16 - short list of semi-finalists have been notified

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, JRF
(Deadline 15 October 2008)
 * Anyone heard anything? (11/18)
 * not I
 * Rejection email, bizarrely sent to uni email address which I did NOT put on the application... (11/19)
 * No rejection, no invitation for an interview either (11/20)
 * Redaction and apology for sending duplicate rejections from last year, plus a rejection for THIS year (11/24)
 * Rejection email (11/24)

Stanford Humanities Fellows Program
(Deadline 8 Dec 08)
 * Application sez successful candidates will hear by 3 March 09.


 * this is completely different from the Stanford I-Hum fellowship, right? Yes.
 * Anyone else's materials not register on the online application? I submitted mine early last week, but the form still claims to have received no materials. (12/10)


 * Don't worry. It takes them a little while to go through all of the applications. My online application said "no, no, no, no" for about two weeks after I sent my materias.  Then one day it said "yes, yes, yes, yes."


 * And isn't that something we all want to hear....


 * that's what I thought. I repeated it for a minute like an incantation when it finally posted to my app: "yes, yes, yes, yes." Bon courage.

Stanford IHUM
(Deadline TBA)

Sweet Briar College, Teaching Postdoc

 * ack email, 12/5
 * ack email, 12/8
 * dossier request sent directly to recommenders (12/11)
 * I'm afraid I don't know what the above comment means. Could you explain?  Why send a dossier request to the letter writers or is there some other 'recommender'?
 * Ditto to above. A dossier is by nature already a collection of letters. I assume they meant that Sweet Briar contacted each of their recommenders individually, although the refusal to accept a dossier from a departmental credentials service seems very odd indeed. And, Q: how did you know that your recommenders were contacted? Did Sweet Briar tell you, or?
 * Clarification: Sweet Briar contacted each of the recommenders individually for their rec letter rather than contacting the applicant. The recommenders passed on this information to the applicant; no contact from Sweet Briar to the applicant.
 * ack email, 12/12
 * Thank you for the clarification - this makes sense now. But wow, they are moving fast if they already contacted from letter writers.  Does anyone know anything about Sweet Briar's timetable?


 * I got the distinct impression from brief exchanges that all applications received by 5 Dec would receive full consideration.

Tulane University, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities
( Deadline: December 1, 2008)
 * Ack. snail mail, no details (11/08)

University of California President's Postdoc

 * Successive acknowledgements re. various materials (11/21)

University of California at Berkeley Chancellor's Postdoc

 * Complete application notification (11/18)

University of Chicago, Harper and Schmidt
(info Deadline: November 3, 2008)

-no definitive answer but take a glance at wikis from previous years and you will see why they have a reputation as notoriously slow. While interviews tend to occur fairly promptly in February, some alternates will likely receive their offers as late as April 2009. ..
 * Q: The deadline is slightly later this year than last. Anyone know if we'll hear anything before the holidays?
 * A: The U of C typically waits to award new postdocs until they know which of their current postdocs are leaving for tenure-track jobs. In other words, their fellowships aren't really decided upon until the tenure-track job market has wrapped up.
 * That's true, but I think the initial poster was probably just asking if U of C would be requesting additional materials before the holidays. If so, answer is: that is the usual run of things.

Note: They received around 1100 applications this year (from a well-informed inside source, but this sounds pretty high--more than double what they received a few years ago).

WOW, yes, that is a HUGE jump from previously. Is it...the economy? Anyway, thanks for posting this info. I don't suppose you know when they'll be asking for additional materials, do you?

That is an enormous applicant pool!?!? I know someone said above that the number of fellowships awarded depends on how many current fellows leave, but does anyone know -roughly- how many they award each year? Thanks.


 * I was just looking at the list of current fellows. Slightly more than a third of them got their Ph.D.'s at Chicago, for whatever that's worth.


 * In terms of how many are awarded each year, if you go on the current fellows page, you can see how many there are, and that will give you a rough idea of how many could conceivably open up. Q: Has anyone been asked for a Writing Sample yet this year??


 * No requests here. After looking at the current fellows page, I calculate (roughly, with a big guess) they'll be looking for three, or a maximum of four, humanities fellows this year. I don't know how this will break down when one takes into account different fields in the humanities.  1100 applicants: yikes.  Given the dire state of the job market this year, I would imagine there won't be much movement among Harper Schmidt fellows who haven't completed their time there.  Good luck to all.

12/11 Writing sample requested via e-mail. (x2)
 * are you humanities or soc. science?
 * humanities (x2)

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies
(info Deadline January 15, 2009)

2009-10 Fellowship Application Deadline: January 15, 2009 http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/historicalstudies/
 * Um, yeh, that's what it says above. Do you have any NEW information to post?

University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Institute Mellon Postdocs
(info Deadline December 1, 2008)

When did they put this one up? It must have been mere weeks before the deadline - I kept checking through September and October, finally concluding that they must not be offering it this year...


 * Anybody have a sense of whether American applicants are given equal consideration on this fellowship? There's not much information on current fellows on their website.
 * application acknowledged (12/10)

University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture Postdoctoral Fellowship



 * The website says the application information will be posted in "the coming weeks"


 * 11/12 Website says: In the face of increasing financial uncertainty, the Institute regrets that it will not be able to offer new graduate-level and postgraduate-level fellowships for the 2009–2010 academic year.

Washington University in St Louis, Mellon Postdoc
(info Deadline December 1, 2008)


 * The website says "Dec 1 2007" -- is there an updated listing somewhere?


 * Current ad posted last week on H-NET (ad), guess they have forgotten to update their website.(8/17)


 * Receipt acknowledgement by email (11/15)
 * Rec'd email acknowledgment on 12/10; also 12/11; also 12/12.

Wesleyan University Center for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2009-2010 Theme: "War"
( Deadline November 3, 2008)
 * Email sent to a list of fourteen people to notify them that Wesleyan has received and is currently reviewing their application materials. It strikes me as a bit strange that the list isn't BCCed -- the email addresses of the other applicants are all visible in the email. (12/9)
 * Also received email acknowledging application (12/9) (x3)
 * Looks like it could be a bloc of names that are roughly alphabetical (12/9)
 * I agree. The email was sent by the administrative assistant, who could have been trying to send a few hundred notices out, one batch of fifteen or so at a time.  Mistakes happen.

Discussion and Comments

 * QUESTION - I have no idea how to format this, sorry. I'm wondering if others have any interest in gathering a list of postdocs with no campus interview.  Would it be possible to mention it with each listing?  Maybe it's just me, but the constant travelling gets to be not worth it after a while.
 * I think such a list would be difficult to run (separately to this one), but feel free to note on any postdoc listings 'this one does not do campus interviews' or something similar. I'm not sure that complaining about the hassle of interviews is something that many people would be sympathetic to: plenty of us WOULD love to get an interview!!
 * Fair enough, but the 'close but no cigar' treatment gets old fast too. Just thought people might find it more time-effective, but I definitely hear your point.
 * Can we (meaning someone more technologically inclined than myself) borrow the model from last year, where the History lists the fellowship modified?
 * Happy to, but not sure how! And some jerkoff just DELETED the whole wiki page from last year...


 * QUESTION -- Can anyone tell me where I can find information on how many applicants there are for the various postdocs? (I'm trying to communicate the difficulty of actually getting one to my significant other.)
 * Last year's page has some figures for particular fellowships. Ballpark figures for the prestigious societies of fellows (Harvard, Princeton, Columbia) put it at around 800 apps. I believe. Rejection letters sometimes mention the number of applicants, for fellowships in history last year that I applied to (rather than humanities in general), they had 250-300 applications.
 * The numbers usually mean nothing to your significant other, but good luck anyway.


 * I see that above someone says some jackoff deleted last year's wiki page? Quelle disgustement. If that is true, you can still view the History, which will show you what it looked like. If you do so, please restore the page. Thanks!


 * QUESTION - If, after applying for a postdoc, there is a change to my cv - a new publication - should I send a new cv to the SC? I know this is done for T-T jobs, but I haven't heard of anyone doing it for a postdoc. But given the long timescales of some of these postdoc searches, a lot can change on a cv in that time! Has anyone done this?


 * A: I did it last year between an interview and decision in order to add two publications. It didn't work in my favor. But obviously other factors are always at play.


 * QUESTION - What's the etiquette? Some of these fellowships have late notifications (like Princeton's Society of Fellows), so what if we're offered a T-T--it certainly wouldn't be something I'd want to decline (either way).  Does that make any sense?


 * A: First of all, if you are asking about what happens if you accept and then later reject, that goes way beyond *etiquette.* Do not even think about doing that, not even if your acceptance was "only" verbal. Second, you should have 2 weeks after an offer to draw things out, and negotiate. If you get a TT offer, take that time to negotiate your contract; mention that you're in the running for a big pdoc and ask if they'd consider giving you a year--if you do get the pdoc--to push your project forward before the tenure clock starts. Meanwhile, go over to the chronicle webpage and look under the Careers fora. This question has been covered ad nauseum under the Job Seeking experiences category (as have many others), so should be helpful for you.