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/

Information on applying for Clark Library Fellowships:

  1. Fellowship applications are due on February 1, 2027 at 11:59 p.m. 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.
  2. All fellowships at the Clark must be taken in-person. Fellowship recipients must be prepared to spend the duration of their fellowship in residence at the Clark Library.
  3. A Gmail account is required for uploading proposal & CV documents via the application form.
  4. For most fellowships, only the names and contact information for two referees are requested. Referees may be contacted by the Fellowship Committee, and are not required to prepare letters.
  5. For Dissertation Fellowship and Ahmanson Predoctoral Fellowship applications, letters of recommendation are required from two thesis committee members. Referees will be contacted by the Center after the application period closes on February 1, with letters of recommendation due by February 16, 2027.
  6. Applicants are required to include a list of relevant resources with their proposal. Many of the Clark Library holdings are 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.
  7. In 2027-28, the Clark Library is collaborating with the American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) to offer the opportunity for some Clark Library Fellowship recipients 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.

Fellowship inquiries may be directed to fellowships.c1718cs@humnet.ucla.edu.

For additional information please consult our fellowships FAQ page.

Please see here for a list of current Fellows.

Fellowship applications are due on February 1, 2027 by 11:59 p.m.

2027-28 Fellowship Application

Getty Clark Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

The Center for 17th- and 18th-Century Studies and the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library invite applications for the Getty Clark Library postdoctoral fellow for a Ph.D. whose research will benefit from the Clark Library’s rich collections. The two-year position begins July 1, 2027. To be eligible for consideration, applicants must have received their Ph.D. after June 30, 2020. International applicants are welcome. The fellow will be responsible for obtaining a visa, if required, as well as accommodation, travel, and all living expenses.

For a complete description, requirements, and to apply, please visit the listing on UC Recruit: https://recruit.apo.ucla.edu/JPF11430

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.

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

Browse list of Clark Short-Term 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

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

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

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
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, and provide on the application form the names and email addresses of two thesis committee members who will be contacted for letters of recommendation.
      • 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

Browse list of Clark Dissertation Fellows

Ahmanson Predoctoral Fellowship

The Ahmanson Predoctoral fellowship program is designed to promote the participation of pre-doctoral scholars in the Center’s yearlong Core Program. Two or three fellowships are awarded each year to UCLA doctoral candidates whose dissertation benefits from sustained research with the Clark Library’s collections. The award is for nine months during the academic year.

Fellows are expected are expected to participate in Center activities, including attending the Core program conferences and other Center-sponsored events. They will also co-organize a workshop or symposium in which they, together with other graduate and postgraduate researchers present and discuss their research.

2027-28 Core Program: Federations in Historical Perspective
Organized by Professors Stella Ghervas (History, UCLA), Anthony Pagden (Political Science, UCLA), and Tejas Parasher (Political Science, UCLA)

Far from being a mere stepping-stone to the modern nation-state, the concept of federation emerged as a sophisticated, global framework of shared collective governance. While ancient and medieval republics pioneered these ideas, the early modern period saw expanding empires—from the British and Dutch to the Ottoman and Russian—actively deploy federative structures to manage heterogenous populations and distribute authority across distant frontiers. During the Age of Revolutions and subsequent eras of decolonization, thinkers and activists across Europe, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia, and Africa flipped this imperial tool on its head, adopting federal models to stabilize post-imperial spaces, restrain hegemonic power, and protect regional liberties. By tracing these alternative trajectories of layered authority and political experimentation, “Federations in Historical Perspective” will seek to rethink the complex relationship between political modernity, nationalism, and statehood.

  • 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, and provide on the application form the names and email addresses of two thesis committee members who will be contacted for letters of recommendation.
  • 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
Instruction & Engagement Fellowship

This nine-month fellowship comes with a great deal of responsibility, ideal for someone who is eager to learn about incorporating primary sources into curriculum and outreach in libraries, contribute to our strategy and mission, and develop professional skills. The Instruction & Engagement Fellow will learn from the Instruction and Engagement Librarian to help with classes and leading tours; assist with the logistics of collection displays and Library-initiated events; and add content to the Clark Library’s social media program.

Applicants may be asked to meet with Clark Library staff by Zoom as part of the application process.

      • Application Requirements: Applications should include a statement of purpose, no more than one page single-spaced, highlighting relevant experience, training, and reasons for the applicant’s interest in the fellowship, and a CV.
      • Award Amount: $36,500 fellowship plus standard tuition and fees (excluding nonresident supplemental tuition and professional degree supplemental tuition)
      • Eligibility: Open to currently registered PhD or Master’s students at UCLA during 2026-27 academic year. The fellowship begins in September 2026 and lasts until June 2027. Awardees are expected to commit to 20 hours/week on-site at the Clark Library for the duration of the fellowship.
      • Requirements:  Experience with teaching and/or public presentations. Working knowledge of library services in an academic or research library environment. Strong organizational and multitasking abilities. Demonstrated experience with using library catalogs, such as UC Library Search, WorldCat, and other national and international OPACs. Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills. Ability to work collegially and collaboratively within and across organizations. Commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and anti-racism in the workplace and to serving the needs of a diverse population.
      • APPLICATION PROCESS:  Please submit the following materials, via email to clark@humnet.ucla.edu by March 1, 2027.
            • CV
            • STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (no more than one page, single-spaced), highlighting relevant experience, training, and reasons for the applicant’s interest in the fellowship.
            • TWO REFERENCES List names, affiliations, and email addresses. Please include at least one academic reference.
Technical Services Fellowship

Technical Services is a vital part of every library. Whether large or small, a technical services department describes, organizes, and preserves a library’s collection. This nine-month fellowship seeks to serve as a springboard for graduate students interested in learning the practicalities and intricacies of special collections cataloging and description. Depending on the successful candidate’s strengths and subject expertise, the Technical Services Fellow will work with the Rare Books Librarian and/or Manuscripts and Archives Librarian on cataloging and description projects, learn the standards and professional tools required in technical services, and become familiar with special collections management and collections care in a hands-on environment, all while helping make more of the Clark Library’s physical collection materials available to researchers.

Applicants will be asked to meet with Clark Library staff by Zoom as part of the application process.

      • Application Requirements: Applications should include a statement of purpose, no more than one page single-spaced, highlighting relevant experience, training, and reasons for the applicant’s interest in the fellowship, and a CV.
      • Award Amount: $36,500 fellowship plus standard tuition and fees (excluding nonresident supplemental tuition and professional degree supplemental tuition)
      • Eligibility: Open to currently registered PhD or Master’s students at UCLA during 2026-27 academic year. The fellowship begins in September 2026 and lasts until June 2027. Awardees are expected to commit to 20 hours/week on-site at the Clark Library for the duration of the fellowship.
      • Requirements: Familiarity with library services in an academic or research library environment. Strong attention to detail, organizational and multitasking abilities. Demonstrated experience using library catalogs, such as UC Library Search, WorldCat, and other national and international OPACs. Excellent interpersonal and oral communication skills. Ability to work collegially and collaboratively within and across organizations. Commitment to fostering diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, and anti-racism in the workplace and to serving the needs of a diverse population.
      • APPLICATION PROCESS:  Please submit the following materials, via email to clark@humnet.ucla.edu by March 1, 2027.
            • CV
            • STATEMENT OF PURPOSE (no more than one page, single-spaced), highlighting relevant experience, training, and reasons for the applicant’s interest in the fellowship.
            • TWO REFERENCES List names, affiliations, and email addresses. Please include at least one academic reference.

 

Fellowships Not Offered for 2027-2028
ASECS-Clark Fellowship

Fellowships jointly sponsored by the American Society for Eighteenth-Century Studies and the Center/Clark are available to postdoctoral scholars and to ABD graduate students with projects in the Restoration or the eighteenth century. Fellowship holders must be members in good standing of ASECS. Awards are offered biennially for one month of 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 fellowship per month, for one month
      • Eligibility: Open to U.S. applicants, as well as international applicants who are eligible for a visa. Fellowship holders must be members in good standing of ASECS.
      • Academic Level Requirements: Available to all scholars, including predoctoral candidates

Browse list of ASECS 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

Browse list of Kanner Fellows