The Newberry Graduate Scholar-in-Residence program encourages PhD candidates in the humanities to conduct research in our collections and to join our community of scholars for a full academic year. We invite graduate students with advanced to PhD candidacy to apply for this status, with preference to those whose dissertation projects are well advanced. Students will receive a research carrel, access to the Newberry during extended hours, and opportunities to present their work-in-progress to the Newberry’s scholarly community.

How to Apply

Applications to become a Graduate Scholar-in-Residence are accepted each year in April and May. To apply, candidates must submit a project description, no longer than 1000 words. It should describe the research project, explain its significance, enumerate the Newberry materials to be consulted, and outline a plan of work. Candidates’ need for and intensive use of the Newberry’s collections is a crucial factor in our consideration of applications. Thus, please be as specific as possible about the Newberry materials to be consulted. For information about the Newberry’s collections, see our Core Collections and consult the Online Catalog.

In addition to the project description, applicants must complete the application form and submit it along with an up-to-date c.v., no longer than 5 pages, and two letters of recommendation. These materials will be reviewed by a sub-committee of the Newberry’s Academic Council. We expect that graduate scholars will be “in residence” at the Newberry at least 10 hours per week from September through May, which will enable them to make good use of the collections and participate in the Newberry’s intellectual community. Like postdoctoral scholars-in-residence, graduate scholars should be willing to provide a small amount of service to the Newberry. Unfortunately, the Newberry cannot offer remuneration to Scholars-in-Residence, but we can offer some privileges, including reserve space for paged materials and the ability to read at the Newberry during extended hours when we are closed to the general public.

Please submit application materials electronically to research@newberry.org. The application is due May 1, 2013. We expect to notify applicants about their acceptance in June 2013. We expect the Graduate Scholars-in-Residence to begin their residencies on September 3, 2013, so that they can join the new long-term fellows in the fall orientation activities.

If you have any questions, please write to research@newberry.org.