Clark Postdoctoral and Graduate Fellowships

In addition to the collections for which the Clark Library is well-known, the Library houses a wealth of primary source materials ranging from the 16th to 20th centuries for research on topics including queer, disability, and ecocritical studies, as well as music/musicology, astronomy, geographies, mathematics, games, crime and incarceration, translation, architecture, foodways, and how-to manuals, among many other areas.

Information on the Clark’s holdings can be found here: https://clarklibrary.ucla.edu/collections/what-we-collect-and-why/

Applicants are required to include a list of relevant resources with their proposal. Many of the Clark Library holdings are now integrated with the UCLA Library search. If applicants have any questions about the Library’s holdings, they should feel free to contact the Library at clark@humnet.ucla.edu.

In response to evolving researchers’ needs, the Clark Library’s ongoing commitment to make the shared cultural record as widely available as possible and to incorporate principles of equity, diversity and inclusion when facilitating research with the collections, there may be an option for some fellowships to be partially remote for U.S. citizens and permanent residents. International fellows are not eligible for partially remote fellowships due to visa restrictions, and must be fully present for the duration of their fellowship. Please note that the Ahmanson-Getty and Dissertation Fellowships are among those excluded from being held partially remotely.

Clark Library staff will meet virtually with qualified fellowship holders to determine jointly whether their project is appropriate to be held partially remotely. If so, they will provide personal reference consultations and digitization of relevant holdings, to the extent that the Library’s resources will allow. If conducted partially remotely, the length of the fellowship may be flexible, depending on research needs. If you have any questions about partially remote fellowships, please contact clark@humnet.ucla.edu.

Applications are considered once each year. Applications for appointments to be held anytime during a given fiscal year (from July 1 to June 30) must be received in the preceding fiscal year, by February 1.

Fellowship inquiries may be directed to Myrna Ortiz at ortiz@humnet.ucla.edu.

Please see here for a list of current Fellows.

In 2025–26, the Clark Library is partnering with the American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) to offer the opportunity for Clark Library Short-Term Fellows to apply for an American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) Research Fellowship. The ATBL Research Fellowship is an add-on short-term fellowship that supports research projects that make use of collections on site in any department in the British Library. The collaboration between the Clark Library and the ATBL allows fellows to conduct research in dialogue between the Clark Library collections and those of the British Library. For more information, please visit the ATBL Research Fellowships website, and for FAQs, please see here.

As part of the application, we are requesting only the names and contact information for referees. Letters of recommendation will be requested directly from referees and are not due on the February 1 deadline. A Google Account is required for uploading proposal & CV documents via the application form. Fellowship applications are due by 11:59 p.m. PST on February 1, 2025.

2025–26 Fellowships Application Form

Ahmanson-Getty Core Program Fellowship

The theme-based resident fellowship program, established with the support of the Ahmanson Foundation and the J. Paul Getty Trust, is designed to promote the participation of early career scholars in the Center’s yearlong Core Program. Awards are for three consecutive quarters in residence at the Clark. Fellows are expected to make a substantive contribution to the Center’s conferences and workshops, and their research should pertain to the announced theme.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), a writing sample (less than 10,000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $69,073 fellowship for three consecutive quarters in residence at the Clark Library
  • Eligibility: Open to U.S. applicants, as well as international applicants who are eligible for a visa. Applicants must have formal documentation of Ph.D. being awarded by August 1. Fellows are expected to have full-time involvement in scholarly pursuits during the period of the fellowship.
  • Academic Level Requirements: Ph.D. awarded in the last six years
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Yes

Browse list of Ahmanson-Getty Fellows

Clark Bibliographical Fellowship

This three-month fellowship provides support for bibliographical research using the Clark’s collections. Eligible projects include textual scholarship; historical, analytical, or descriptive bibliography; the study of book or manuscript production, circulation, and use; and related fields.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $12,000
  • Eligibility: Open to U.S. applicants, as well as international applicants who are eligible to pursue research in the US
  • Academic Level Requirements: Open to academic and independent researchers from all backgrounds. Applicants should hold a Ph.D. degree or have appropriate research experience.
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Yes

Browse list of Clark Bibliographical Fellows

Clark Short-Term Fellowship

Fellowship support is available to scholars with research projects that require work in any area of the Clark Library’s collections. Applicants must hold a Ph.D. degree or have equivalent academic experience. Awards are for periods of one to three months in residence.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $4,000 fellowship per month, for one to three months
  • Eligibility: Open
  • Academic Level Requirements: Available to all scholars, including predoctoral candidates
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Fellowship may be taken partially remotely by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, pending consultation with library staff. Non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents must take the fellowship in-person due to visa restrictions.

Browse list of Clark Short-Term Fellows

Kanner Fellowship in British Studies

This three-month fellowship, established through the generosity of Penny Kanner, supports research at the Clark Library in any area pertaining to British history and culture. The fellowship is open to both postdoctoral and predoctoral scholars.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $12,000
  • Eligibility: Open
  • Academic Level Requirements: Available to all scholars, including predoctoral candidates
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Fellowship may be taken partially remotely by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, pending consultation with library staff. Non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents must take the fellowship in-person due to visa restrictions.

Browse list of Kanner Fellows

Clark Dissertation Fellowship

One or two fellowships are awarded each year to UCLA doctoral candidates whose dissertation involves extensive research in the Clark Library’s holdings. The award is for nine months during the academic year.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $36,000 fellowship. Funding for tuition fees and other expenses must be provided by the recipient’s academic department or other resources
  • Eligibility: Open to UCLA doctoral candidates. Awardees may not work more than 25% time in University of California employment during the period of the fellowship.
  • Academic Level Requirements: Doctoral candidate
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Yes, students are expected to be undertaking dissertation research at the Clark

Browse list of Clark Dissertation Fellows

Kenneth Karmiole Endowed Graduate Research Fellowship

This one-month fellowship, established through the generosity of Kenneth Karmiole, is available to all graduate students for research at the Clark Library, using archival and printed book materials, on any subject. Fellows are required to give an online presentation of their research upon completion of the residency.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $4,000 for one month of residency
  • Eligibility: Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or individuals matriculated at an American university
  • Academic Level Requirements: Open to all graduate students, including those who have not advanced to candidacy
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Fellowship may be taken partially remotely by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, pending consultation with library staff. Non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents must take the fellowship in-person due to visa restrictions.

Further details and browse list of Karmiole Fellows

Clark Predoctoral Fellowship

One-to-three-month fellowships are available to doctoral candidates whose dissertation research involves the area of seventeenth- and eighteenth-century studies or one of the other areas represented in the Clark Library’s collections. These fellowships are made possible with support from the Ahmanson Foundation, and Sidney Stern Memorial Trust.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $4,000 fellowship per month, for one to three months
  • Eligibility: Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or individuals matriculated at an American university
  • Academic Level Requirements: Open to all graduate students
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Fellowship may be taken partially remotely by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, pending consultation with library staff. Non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents must take the fellowship in-person due to visa restrictions.

Browse list of Predoctoral Fellows

Wilde-Holland Fellowship

This 1–2 month fellowship is available to a postdoctoral scholar, graduate student, or visiting scholar for research using materials from the Oscar Wilde collection at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library. The fellowship, established in 2021, honors the writer and cultural figure Oscar Wilde and his grandson Merlin Holland, a scholar who has dedicated himself to studying and celebrating Wilde’s legacy.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $4,000 fellowship per month; for one to two months
  • Eligibility: Open
  • Academic Level Requirements: Available to all scholars, including predoctoral candidates
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Yes

Further details and browse list of Wilde-Holland Fellows

Loren and Frances Rothschild Endowed Graduate Research Fellowship

This one-to-three month fellowship, established through the generosity of Loren and Frances Rothschild, provides support for bibliographical research in eighteenth-century British literature and history using the Clark’s collections. Eligible projects include textual scholarship; analytical or descriptive bibliography; history of printing and the book trade; history of the material text; and related fields.

  • Application Requirements: Applications should include a research proposal (less than 1000 words), and a CV. Applicants should identify relevant resources from the Clark Library at the end of their research proposal
  • Award Amount: $4,000 fellowship per month; for one to three months
  • Eligibility: Graduate students who are U.S. citizens or individuals matriculated at an American university
  • Academic Level Requirements: Open to all graduate students, including those who have not advanced to candidacy
  • Is this fellowship required to be taken onsite?: Fellowship may be taken partially remotely by U.S. citizens and permanent residents, pending consultation with library staff. Non-U.S. citizens or permanent residents must take fellowships in-person due to visa restrictions.