External Award Opportunities

The American Academy in Rome supports innovative artists, writers, and scholars living and working together in a dynamic international community. Each spring, the Academy awards the Rome Prize and Italian Fellowship to a select group of artists and scholars. The Rome Prize supports innovative and cross-disciplinary work in the arts and humanities. Each year, the prize is awarded to about thirty artists and scholars who represent the highest standards of excellence. Fellowships are award in: ancient studies, architecture, design, historic preservation and conservation, landscape architecture, literature, medieval studies, modern Italian studies, musical composition, renaissance and early modern studies, and the visual arts. 

The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is both an honorary society that recognizes and celebrates the excellence of its members and an independent research center convening leaders from across disciplines, professions, and perspectives to address significant challenges. 

Academy members are world leaders in arts and sciences, business, philanthropy, and public affairs. They are based across the U.S. and around the world. These elected members join with other experts to explore challenges facing society, identify solutions, and promote nonpartisan recommendations that advance the public good.

The American Antiquarian Society is a national research library of American history and culture through 1876 which has been sharing American stories for more than two hundred years. The AAS library today houses the largest and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, children's literature, music, and graphic arts material printed through 1876 in what is now the United States, as well as manuscripts and a substantial collection of secondary texts, bibliographies, and digital resources and reference works related to all aspects of American history and culture before the twentieth century.

Fellowships

• Long-term Visiting Academic Research Fellowships 
  Hench application deadline: October 15
  AAS-NEH application deadline: January 15
• Short-term Visiting Academic Research Fellowships
  Application deadline: January 15
• Fellowships for Creative and Performing Artists and Writers
  Application deadline: October 5

The American Association for the Advancement of Science is the world's largest multidisciplinary scientific society and a leading publisher of cutting-edge research through its Science family of journals. 

AAAS Fellows are a distinguished cadre of scientists, engineers and innovators who have been recognized for their achievements across disciplines, from research, teaching, and technology, to administration in academia, industry and government, to excellence in communicating and interpreting science to the public. Eligible nominees are members whose efforts on behalf of the advancement of science or its applications are scientifically or socially distinguished and who have been a continuous AAAS member for at least four years leading up to the year of nomination.

American School of Classical Studies in Athens is the oldest and largest U.S. overseas research center. A consortium of nearly 200 affiliated North American colleges and universities, the School provides scholars a base for the advanced study of all aspects of Greek culture, from antiquity to the present day.

Multi-Country Research Fellowship, Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC): supports advanced regional or trans-regional research in the humanities, social sciences, or allied natural sciences for U.S. doctoral candidates, and postdoctoral scholars. Preference will be given to candidates examining comparative and/or cross-regional research. Applicants are eligible to apply as individuals or in teams. Scholars must carry out research in two or more countries outside the U.S., at least one of which hosts a participating American overseas research center. Please visit https://www.caorc.org/where-we-work for a list of participating overseas research centers.

National Academy of Education is an honorific society consisting of U.S. members and international associates who are elected on the basis of outstanding scholarship related to education. Founded in 1965, the mission of NAEd is to advance high-quality education research and its use in policy formulation and practice. The National Academy of Education accepts membership nominations annually.  Only current members are eligible to submit nominations. 

The National Academy of Engineering was founded in 1964, the National Academy of Engineering (NAE) is a private, independent, nonprofit institution that provides engineering leadership in service to the nation. The mission of the National Academy of Engineering is to advance the welfare and prosperity of the nation by providing independent advice on matters involving engineering and technology, and by promoting a vibrant engineering profession and public appreciation of engineering.

Election to National Academy of Engineering membership is one of the highest professional honors accorded an engineer. Members have distinguished themselves in business and academic management, in technical positions, as university faculty, and as leaders in government and private engineering organizations. Members are elected to NAE membership by their peers (current NAE members).

The National Academy of Medicine was founded in 1970 as the Institute of Medicine (IOM), the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) is one of three academies that make up the National Academies of Science, Engineering and Medicine (the National Academies) in the United States. 

The election of individuals to NAM begins with a confidential nomination by two NAM members who are well acquainted with the candidate’s work. In sponsoring the nomination, the NAM member affirms his or her personal assessment that the candidate meets the NAM’s primary criterion of excellence and outstanding professional achievement in a field relevant to the mission of the NAM. Each year, up to 90 regular members and 10 international members are elected to the NAM by the regular membership body at large. The annual nomination cycle begins on November 1 and closes on February 1. 

Members of the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts resident community of scholars include the Kress-Beinecke Professor, the Andrew W. Mellon Professor, the Edmond J. Safra Visiting Professor, the A. W. Mellon Lecturer in the Fine Arts, and approximately 18 fellows at any one time, including senior fellows, visiting senior fellows, research associates, postdoctoral fellows, and predoctoral fellows. Fellows and professors who relocate to Washington are provided with housing in apartments near the National Gallery of Art, subject to availability. They are also provided with studies in the East Building of the National Gallery. Lectures, colloquia, shoptalks, and other scholarly gatherings complement the fellowship program.

You can learn more about the various Professorships and Fellowships offered here. 

Each year, the Institute for Advanced Study selects approximately 200 Members from an average of more than 1,500 applicants. Members are selected by the Faculty of each School, and come to the Institute for periods as short as one term or as long as several years. Young scholars and applicants from non-traditional backgrounds who have outstanding promise are considered, as are senior scholars whose reputations are already well established. The major consideration in the appointment process is the expectation that each Member’s period of residence at the Institute will result in work of significance and originality. Many Members pursue research related to the special interests of one or more of the Faculty. In other instances, the research of Members is in areas not currently represented by a member of the Faculty.

Applications must be submitted during the academic year preceding the year of membership. Application materials and guidelines are available from each of the four Schools:

School of Historical Studies

School of Mathematics

School of Natural Sciences

School of Social Science

ACLS is one of the leading private institutions supporting scholars in the humanities and interpretive social sciences at the doctoral and postdoctoral levels.

The longest running program in ACLS’s portfolio, the ACLS Fellowship program supports outstanding scholarship in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. In the most recent competition year, ACLS awarded approximately $3.6 million in support to 60 exceptional scholars.  

Given the disproportionate effect the current economic downturn has had on emerging, independent, and untenured scholars, ACLS continued in the 2021-22 competition year to offer these fellowships solely to untenured scholars who have earned the PhD within eight years of the application deadline. 

Fellowships include the following named awards: 

• ACLS Barrington Foundation Centennial Fellowships in Classical Studies 
• ACLS Carl and Betty Pforzheimer Fellowships in English and American Literature 
• ACLS Centennial Fellowships in the Dynamics of Place 
• ACLS Frederic E. Wakeman, Jr. Fellowships in Chinese History 
• ACLS H. and T. King Fellowships in Ancient American Art and Culture 
• ACLS/New York Public Library Fellowships (separate application required) 
• ACLS Oscar Handlin Fellowships in American History 
• ACLS Pauline Yu Fellowships in Chinese or Comparative Literature 
• ACLS Susan McClary and Robert Walser Fellowships in Music Studies 
• ACLS Yvette and William Kirby Centennial Fellowships in Chinese Studies 

Beckman Young Investigators Program (BYI) provides research support to the most promising young faculty members in the early stages of their academic careers in the chemical and life sciences (first four years of TT position), particularly to foster the invention of methods, instruments and materials that will open up new avenues of research in science. Applicants should have not yet received a major award from another organization. Proposals that already have substantial funding will not be considered for the BYI award (see eligibility for more information).

See the Research & Economic Development Office's Limited Submission Opportunities page for internal and external deadlines. 

Burroughs Welcome Fund makes grants primarily to degree-granting institutions on behalf of individual researchers. 

• Career Awards at the Scientific Interface (CASI) provide $500,000 over five years to bridge advanced postdoctoral training and the first three years of faculty service. These awards are open to U.S. and Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and temporary residents.
• Career Awards for Medical Scientists (CAMS) is a highly competitive program that provides $700,000 awards over five years for physician-scientists, who are committed to an academic career, to bridge advanced postdoctoral/fellowship training and the early years of faculty service. BWF will make up to two additional awards to clinically trained psychiatrists who focus on research at the interface between neuroscience and psychiatry. These proposals must clearly demonstrate evidence of integration of neuroscience and psychiatry in project design.
  

The Cottrell Scholar program honors and helps to develop outstanding teacher-scholars who are recognized by their scientific communities for the quality and innovation of their research programs and their potential for academic leadership. The Cottrell Scholar Award (CSA) is available to early career faculty at U.S. and Canadian research universities and primarily undergraduate institutions. Eligible applicants are tenure-track faculty who hold primary or courtesy appointments in chemistry, physics, or astronomy departments that offer bachelor's and/or graduate degrees in the applicant's discipline.

The Fulbright U.S. Scholar program offers teaching and research awards to U.S. citizens in more than 130 countries. College and university faculty and administrators, as well as professionals, artists, journalists, scientists, lawyers, and others, can join more than 400,000 Fulbrighters who have come away with enhanced skills, new connections, and greater mutual understanding.

Visit the UB Fulbright page for more information on award types, UB seminars, and external resources to support faculty in the application process.

The Getty Foundation supports institutions and individuals committed to advancing the greater understanding and preservation of the visual arts in Los Angeles and throughout the world through grant initiatives that increase access to museum collections, strengthen art history as a global discipline, advance conservation practice, and support current and future leaders in the visual arts. Since 1984, more than 8,000 grants have been awarded benefiting over 180 countries on all seven continents.

Getty Scholars Grants are for established scholars, or individuals who have attained distinction in their fields. Recipients may be in residence at the Getty Research Institute or Getty Villa, where they pursue their own projects free from work-related obligations, make use of Getty collections, join their colleagues in a weekly meeting devoted to an annual research theme or the African American Art History Initiative, and participate in the intellectual life of the Getty.

The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation offers fellowships to exceptional individuals in pursuit of scholarship in any field of knowledge and creation in any art form, under the freest possible conditions. 

The Foundation welcomes applications from mid-career individuals with a significant professional record and a promising future in their chosen field. Awards are not available for the creation of residencies, curriculum development, or any type of educational program, nor are they available to support the development of websites or blogs. In addition, they do not support the writing of literature for children or young readers, or support any other type of work intended for young audiences. 

The HHMI Investigator Program supports more than 250 Investigators, located at more than 60 research institutions across the United States, who are widely known for their scientific discoveries, their innovation, and their success in pushing the bounds of knowledge in biomedical research. In addition to their research programs, HHMI Investigators participate in educational activities and hold leadership roles at these host institutions. With our backing, as well as support from other sources, Investigators direct a research team and create a lab environment well suited to tackling profound science questions.

Applicants should have more than five but no more than 15 years of experience since beginning your first post-training, professional position AND be tenured or tenure track. 

HHMI’s community of basic researchers and physician scientists bring innovative approaches to the study of biological problems in basic and biomedical sciences, plant biology, evolutionary biology, biophysics, chemical biology, biomedical engineering, and computational biology. Research on health education, health care delivery, or health services are not eligible fields.

The Lasker Awards program was created in 1945 by Albert and Mary Lasker to shine a spotlight on fundamental biological discoveries and clinical advances that improve human health, and to draw attention to the importance of public support of science. Lasker Awards are given in the categories of Basic Research, Clinical Research, Special Achievement, and Public Service. 

MacArthur Foundation Fellowship is a $625,000, no-strings-attached award to extraordinarily talented and creative individuals as an investment in their potential. Nominees are brought to the Program's attention through a constantly changing pool of invited external nominators chosen from as broad a range of fields and areas of interest as possible. Nominations are evaluated by an independent Selection Committee composed of about a dozen leaders in the arts, sciences, humanities professions, and for-profit and nonprofit communities. 

The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine provide independent, objective advice to spark progress and advance science, engineering, and medicine for the benefit of society. The work of the nonprofit, nongovernmental National Academies is grounded in the expertise of our three academies — the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the National Academy of Medicine. 

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) is an independent federal agency created in 1965. It is one of the largest funders of humanities programs in the United States. NEH grants typically go to cultural institutions, such as museums, archives, libraries, colleges, universities, public television, and radio stations, and to individual scholars.

Fellowships provide recipients time to conduct research or to produce books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, or critical editions resulting from previous research. Projects may be at any stage of development.

NEH invites research applications from scholars in all disciplines, and it encourages submissions from independent scholars and junior scholars.

Applicants interested in research projects that are either born digital or require mainly digital expression and digital publication are encouraged to apply instead for NEH-Mellon Fellowships for Digital Publication

Each year, the National Humanities Center welcomes up to forty scholars from across the humanities and all over the world. In addition to scholars from all fields of the humanities, the Center accepts individuals from the natural and social sciences, the arts, the professions, and public life who are engaged in humanistic projects.

Mid-career and senior scholars are encouraged to apply. Emerging scholars with a strong record of peer-reviewed work may also apply. The Center does not support the revision of doctoral dissertations.

The National Medal of Science was established by the 86th Congress in 1959 as a Presidential award to be given to individuals "deserving of special recognition by reason of their outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, or engineering sciences." In 1980, Congress expanded this recognition to include the social and behavioral sciences.

The National Medal of Technology and Innovation (NMTI) is the nation’s highest honor for technological achievement, bestowed by the president of the United States on America's leading innovators. The Medal is awarded to individuals, teams (up to four individuals), companies or divisions of companies for their outstanding contributions to America’s economic, environmental and social well-being.

The NIH MERIT (R37) provides long-term grant support to investigators whose research competence and productivity are distinctly superior and who are highly likely to continue to perform in an outstanding manner. Investigators may not apply for a MERIT award. Program staff and/or members of the cognizant National Advisory Council/Board will identify candidates for the MERIT award during the course of review of competing research grant applications prepared and submitted in accordance with regular PHS requirements.

The Faculty Early Career Development (CAREER) Program is a Foundation-wide activity that offers the National Science Foundation's most prestigious awards in support of early-career faculty who have the potential to serve as academic role models in research and education and to lead advances in the mission of their department or organization.

Long-Term Fellowships are intended to support individual scholarly research and promote serious intellectual exchange through active participation in the Newberry’s scholarly activities, including Fellows’ Seminars and Weekly Colloquium.

These residential fellowships are available for 4 to 9 months with a stipend of $5,000 per month. Awardees may combine their Newberry fellowship award with sabbatical funding or other stipendiary support. Fellows are welcome to stay in residence at the Newberry beyond the terms of their fellowship, but the amount of their stipend cannot be increased beyond the initial award.

Please see the list of long term fellowships here.

Established in 1948, The Pew Charitable Trusts is a global nongovernmental organization that seeks to improve public policy, inform the public, and invigorate civic life. Pew’s support for biomedical research and scholarship program give young scientists in the United States and Latin America the opportunity to continue their studies, take previous research in new directions, or pursue ideas that spark their intellectual curiosity.

Please see the guideliness for submitting to this limited submission opportunity on the Research & Economic Development website. 

The Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE) recognizes outstanding scientists and engineers who, early in their careers, show exceptional potential for leadership at the frontiers of knowledge. This Presidential award is the highest honor bestowed by the U.S. government on scientists and engineers beginning their independent careers. 

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is striving to build a national Culture of Health where everyone has the opportunity to live a healthier life. The RWJF Health Policy Fellows program, which seeks to build and maintain strong and diverse leadership and a workforce skilled in health policy, is critical to that vision.

The Searle Scholars Program makes grants to selected universities and research centers to support the independent research of exceptional young faculty in the biomedical sciences and chemistry.

Please see the guideliness for submitting to this limited submission opportunity on the Research & Economic Development website. 

The Sloan Research Fellowships seek to stimulate fundamental research by early-career scientists and scholars of outstanding promise. These two-year, $75,000 fellowships are awarded yearly to early career researchers in recognition of distinguished performance and a unique potential to make substantial contributions to their field.

Please see the guideliness for submitting to this limited submission opportunity on the Research & Economic Development website. 

The Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars welcomes outstanding and award winning scholars, practitioners, journalists and public intellectuals to take part in its non-partisan dialogue. Each year, the Center hosts around 160 scholars who conduct independent research on national and/or international issues addressing key public policy challenges.

Fellowship