Frequently Asked Questions

The NHC welcomes applications from faculty at research universities, liberal arts and teaching colleges, Historically Black Colleges Universities, Hispanic-Serving Institutions, tribal colleges and universities, and international institutions, as well as independent scholars.

Successful candidates earned a PhD or an equivalent terminal degree in their discipline, such as the MFA, at least five years prior to applying for the fellowship. The NHC does not fund post-docs; the applicant must be working on a significant project beyond their dissertation and have published at least one single-authored book or a substantial body of peer-reviewed scholarship. All candidates must be engaged in humanities research that will result in publication.

Fluency in written and spoken English is required. Most successful candidates are mid-career or senior scholars, or emerging scholars with a strong record of peer-reviewed publications beyond the dissertation project.

In addition to scholars from all fields of the humanities, the Center accepts applications from individuals in the natural and social sciences, the arts, the professions, and public life provided those projects are informed by and significantly contribute to humanities research and scholarship. Humanities scholarship is interpretive and makes logical arguments from evidence, often texts. It aims to define and understand problems rather than effect immediate policy outcomes.

The typical proposal is for a single-authored book, but other forms of humanities research-based work are eligible. The National Humanities Center is open to new forms and expressions of humanities scholarship.

No. The NHC does not fund doctoral research or writing projects. Applicants must have a doctorate or equivalent terminal credentials prior to applying. Please read the eligibility question above carefully.

The NHC supports collaborative projects; however, the applications will be evaluated on their individual merit. Collaborators must apply individually and focus their application on their individual contribution to the project. If you are considering submitting a collaborative application, we suggest contacting the NHC at fellowships@nationalhumanitiescenter.org.

The Center mostly funds academic year fellowships (September through May). However, fall (September through December) and spring (January through May) fellowships are also available. Applicants should indicate their preference on the online application. If selected, candidates typically have the opportunity to update their preferences for their term of residency. Requests to begin the fellowship prior to the start date or remain at the NHC after the fellowship end date cannot, however, be accommodated, and neither can requests to be in residence for a partial term (i.e., part of the fall or part of the spring term).

Yes. The NHC library supports the work of the Fellows in a number of ways, including:

• Procurement of books, articles, AV materials, archival scans, and all other research materials required by Fellows
• In-depth reference assistance
• Training in the use of electronic research tools
• Hosting roundtables with in-house experts and guest speakers on topics such as scholarly communication and publishing in the humanities

The stipend amounts awarded are individually determined, according to the needs of the Fellow and the Center’s ability to meet them. The Center seeks to provide half salary with the expectation that the Fellow’s home institution covers the remaining salary. (For Fellows with unusually high faculty salaries, the NHC may not be able to meet half salary. In these instances, it is usual, and common, for home institutions to cover the remaining portion.) Other grants or institutional support that Fellows will receive during their fellowship may also reduce the amount of the Center’s stipend.

Institution-based applicants (i.e., not independent scholars) are strongly urged to apprise their institutions that they are applying prior to submitting their application. With rare exceptions (i.e., where designated funding exists), the NHC is unable to provide full salary for applicants based at educational or research institutions.

Please note that the stipend amount you are offered will be based on the salary you listed in your application. Because of our careful budgeting to accommodate an entire cohort, we are not able to offer higher stipends based on raises received after the application has been submitted.

The project description cannot exceed 1,000 words. Project descriptions should emphasize the objectives and scholarly significance of the proposed research as well as the sources and methodology to be used. Applicants should distinguish what will be original about the proposed work in contrast to existing publications on the subject. Proposals should convey the importance of the project for advancing knowledge both within a scholar’s own field and for the humanities generally. In the concluding paragraph of the project description, applicants should summarize the present status of their research, including how much has been done in relevant collections and archives, and what they would hope to accomplish at the National Humanities Center. Projects that do not explicitly address their project status and projected timeline may be deemed ineligible. Applicants should avoid using overly specialized language or field-specific jargon so the project description can be reviewed not only by scholars in the field of the proposed project, but also by scholars from across the humanities.

For a book project, provide a chapter outline indicating the purpose of each chapter. For other major projects, describe the structure of the project and indicate the stage of completion for each section or module proposed. Projects not indicating stage of completion may be deemed ineligible.

Your curriculum vitae cannot exceed four pages. It should include relevant educational and professional experience and a representative list of publications. NHC Fellows are chosen based not on their record of past achievements but, rather, on the strength of their project proposal and its supporting documents. Think of the brief CV less as an opportunity to highlight all your achievements and more as a chance to demonstrate past experience and publications that position you well to execute the specific project for which you are applying. Application reviewers may review a project less highly when a longer, less focused CV is provided.

Letters of recommendation should specifically address the merits of the project and the scholarly qualifications of the applicant for a fellowship at the National Humanities Center. It is wise to include references who do not work at the applicant’s place of employment and who were not on the applicant’s dissertation committee. (It is acceptable to include committee members, but it is often less strategic to include only committee members.). For international applicants, letters of recommendation from scholars with experience at US, British, or European research institutions can help contextualize a candidate’s preparation for a residency at the National Humanities Center.

No. References are not provided access to your application materials through the reference portal. Applicants should provide references directly with relevant application materials.

Yes. Applicants are able to use letters from dossier services to apply for the program, though the Center does prefer letters of recommendation that speak directly to an applicant’s project. To submit a letter from a dossier service, fill out the reference invitation as requested, but in place of the reference’s email address, enter the Interfolio (or other dossier service) assigned email that corresponds to the letter in question.

The online application requires that three unique email addresses be entered for the three letters, for security purposes. If one person has been tasked with uploading all three letters, references may forward their reference portal login information to the uploader to give them the appropriate access.

References should first try using a different browser (Google Chrome tends to work well; Microsoft Edge should be avoided if possible). If issues persist, references should contact nhc@onlineapplicationportal.com for assistance.

We do encourage applicants to finish their online application as soon as possible so that letter writers will have sufficient time to write and upload their letters.

Our system converts uploaded documents to Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF). Slight variations in formatting are a byproduct of the conversion process. Our reviewers are aware of this and slight irregularities will not affect the review of an application. We recommend that applicants save their documents as a PDF file prior to uploading them. If applicants choose to upload MS Word documents, it is best to use simple formatting. Applicants can check the original document as follows:

• Using the “show formatting” function on a computer, applicants can look for formatting that might have created problems, such as hard returns at the end of each line, text included in tables, diacritical marks, footnotes or endnotes, unnecessary page or section breaks, etc.
• Applicants should delete unnecessary formatting and try uploading their document again. If they continue to have problems and feel that their document is difficult to read, email nhc@onlineapplicationportal.com for assistance.

The PDF conversion software that our platform uses does not support all non-English language characters. Review the PDF after uploading to be sure the characters appear correctly. Applicants can save their document as a PDF first, then upload again. Adobe Acrobat should support non-English characters.

The PDF conversion process can cause formatting changes that affect the length of a document. Applicants should not be concerned; slight variations are common and do not affect the evaluation of your application. Keep in mind, however, that including documents substantially over the limit may negatively impact the review of your application.

All applicants who have successfully submitted their online application by the competition deadline will be emailed about their status in February. Decisions will be emailed from nhc@onlineapplicationportal.com. Applicants who have not received an email by the end of February should email the Center at nhc@onlineapplicationportal.com to inquire about the status of their application.

The fellowship class is typically announced in early April on our website.

Alternates who are offered a fellowship will receive a phone call from the Center’s vice president for scholarly programs. All applicants can expect to receive notification of the final outcome of their application by the end of March.

If you are selected, the vice president for scholarly programs will call you at the preferred contact number that you indicate in your application. (You will not be contacted by phone if you have not been selected, so typically a phone call in January or February means good news!)

Applicants selected as Fellows have one week to 10 days from the date of the offer to let the NHC know of their decision.

No. The stipend amount you are offered will be based on the salary you listed in your application. Because of our careful budgeting to accommodate an entire cohort, we are not able to offer higher stipends based on raises received after the application has been submitted.

Fellows receive information about housing, transportation, and schools (if applicable) in the area. Fellows will make their own housing arrangements, and the NHC provides assistance and resources.

Yes. The National Humanities Center welcomes fellowship applications from scholars engaged in advanced humanities research regardless of citizenship or national origin. The NHC will sponsor eligible international applicants on a J-1 Research Scholar Exchange Visitor visa. Click here for information about eligibility criteria for exchange visitors. In addition, exchange visitors must satisfy English language proficiency and medical insurance requirements. Click here for details.

Yes, all exchange visitors sponsored on a J-1 visa must satisfy English language proficiency and insurance requirements. Please see the J-1 visa website for more information on eligibility.