Call for Applications: 2016 UCLA Library Special Collections Short-term Research Fellowships



2016 UCLA Library Special Collections
Short-term Research Fellowships

The UCLA Library Special Collections Short-term Research
Fellowships Program supports the use of special collections
materials by visiting scholars and UCLA graduate students.
Collections that are administered by UCLA Library Special
Collections and available for fellowship-supported research
include materials in the humanities and social sciences, medicine,
life and physical sciences, visual and performing arts, and UCLA
history.


THE FELLOWSHIPS

James and Sylvia Thayer Short-term Research Fellowships
Thayer fellowships provide support for research in any
collections administered by UCLA Library Special Collections.
Stipends range from $500 to $2,500 and vary yearly; grants
in 2014 averaged $1,530 and in 2015 averaged $1,300.
Awards are funded by an endowment established by longtime
UCLA benefactors James and Sylvia Thayer.

Barbara Rootenberg Library Research Fellowship in
the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences
Rootenberg fellowships promote the use of materials
in History & Special Collections for the Sciences in UCLA
Library Special Collections. One annual fellowship is
awarded in the amount of $1,000. The award is named
for Barbara Rootenberg, an alumna of the UCLA
School of Library Service and an internationally-renowned
antiquarian bookseller.

Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of
Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Books
Ahmanson Fellowships support the use of medieval and
Renaissance monographic and manuscript holdings in
UCLA Library Special Collections: the Ahmanson-Murphy
Collection of the Aldine Press; the Ahmanson-Murphy
Collection of Early Italian Printing; the Elmer Belt Library of
Vinciana; the Orsini Family Papers; the Bourbon del Monte
de San Faustino Family Papers; the Medieval and
Renaissance Manuscripts Collection; the Richard and
Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance
Manuscripts and Early Printed Books; and the Medieval
and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts.
The fellowships provide $2,500 per month for up to three
months. Administered by the UCLA Center for Medieval
and Renaissance Studies, this program requires an
application separate from that for Thayer and Rootenberg
fellowships; information is available on the Center for
Medieval and Renaissance Studies website at


ELIGIBILITY

Thayer and Rootenberg Fellowships:  United States citizens
and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S.
who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, or independent
research are invited to apply. Research residencies may last
up to three months between February 1 and December 11, 2016.

Ahmanson Fellowships:  United States and international
graduate students or scholars holding a PhD (or the foreign
equivalent) who are engaged in graduate-level, postdoctoral,
or independent research are invited to apply. Research residencies
may last up to three months between July 1, 2016 and June 30, 2017.


APPLICATION CONTENTS

Researchers can submit a single application for “Short-term
Research Fellowships” in order to be considered for either the
Thayer or Rootenberg fellowships. Applications must be received
on or before December 1, 2015.

Applications must include:
·         Cover letter
·         Curriculum vitae
·         Outline of research topic and special collections
to be used (two pages maximum)           
·         Brief budget for travel, living, and research expenses
·         Dates to be spent in residence
·         Two letters of recommendation from faculty or
other scholars familiar with the research project.
Please note that the committee cannot consider
letters of recommendation from the librarians or
staff of the UCLA Library.


APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS 

Application materials, including letters of recommendation,
may be submitted in PDF format by email to
lib_lscfellowships@library.ucla.edu.  Letters of recommendation
in PDF format can also be sent by email, either by the person
writing them or by the applicant.


REVIEW PROCESS AND NOTIFICATION

A committee will evaluate the research proposals,
and applicants will be notified of the committee’s
decision by email on or before January 15, 2016

Fellows may be asked to speak briefly about their recent
or ongoing research at an informal brownbag session
with local scholars during their visit.


CONTACT INFORMATION

Submit print format applications, or direct questions
about fellowships, to:

Short-term Research Fellowships Program
UCLA Library Special Collections
A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library
Box 951575
Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575
Phone:  310.825.6940