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Mellon Travel Fellowships

OU Dodge Family College of Arts and Sciences, Department of History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, The University of Oklahoma wordmark
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Mellon Travel Fellowships

Through a generous endowment provided by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to the Department of History of Science, Technology, and Medicine, and the History of Science Collections, the University of Oklahoma offers a travel fellowship program for visitors to make use of its resources for research in the History of Science. The Andrew W. Mellon Travel Fellowship Program is intended to assist scholars at both pre-doctoral and post-doctoral levels.

The program is designed to provide travel expenses and a reasonable per diem to researchers who reside outside the central Oklahoma area, and who have well-defined research projects that can be served by the holdings of the History of Science Collections. Support is available for qualifying projects for periods ranging from two to eight weeks. Although there is no limitation on the subject field of investigation, applicants must demonstrate the utility of materials in the History of Science Collections.

Applicants are encouraged to consider the fellowship program as a means of supplementing the partial funding which they may be able to obtain from their own institutions or other sources so that program funds may be extended to as many interested scholars as possible.

Fellowship projects may be scheduled for any time of the year when the Collections are open. This typically precludes fellowships at the close of the calendar year, roughly December 20 through January 5.

Applicants preparing proposals are encouraged to contact the History of Science Collections Research Coordinator JoAnn Palmeri (palmerij@ou.edu).

 

Deadlines and Announcements

We have three annual deadlines; note that fellowships begin, at the earliest, three months after the award announcement.  

Fall deadline: 

Application deadline: September 15  

Awards announced: September 30

Fellowship begins no earlier than January 2

 

Winter deadline: 

Application deadline: February 15  

Awards announced: Feb 28

Fellowship begins no earlier than June 1

 

Spring deadline:

Application deadline: April 15 

Awards announced: April 30

Fellowship begins no earlier than September 1

Evaluation of Proposals

In general, fellowship applications are evaluated under the following three criteria:

  • the significance of the proposed project
  • the applicant’s ability to complete the proposed project
  • the appropriateness of the proposed project to the resources of the History of Science Collections

The selection process is competitive and all three criteria are considered very carefully. Because the Travel Fellowship Program is specifically designed to encourage use of Collections materials, the third criterion is especially important.

 

Planning Your Fellowship

Fellowships provide funding for 2-8 weeks in residence, generally based on a weekly flat rate. Specific awards may vary, but for the purpose of preparing your budget, refer to the table below for guidance of what to expect. The weekly flat rate allocates $400 per week for living expenses ($57/day), plus a travel allowance of $600 (domestic) or $1600 (international) split over eight weeks ($75/week domestic and $200/week international). The totals for 8 weeks are $3,800 (domestic) and $4,800 (international).

WEEK

DOMESTIC

DOMESTIC TOTAL

INTERNATIONAL

INTN’L TOTAL

Week 1

$475

$600

Week 2

$475

$950

$600

– *

Week 3

$475

$1,425

$600

– *

Week 4

$475

$1,900

$600

$2,400

Week 5

$475

$2,375

$600

$3,000

Week 6

$475

$2,850

$600

$3,600

Week 7

$475

$3,325

$600

$4,200

Week 8**

$475

$3,800

$600

$4,800

*International fellows must meet minimum award of $2,000 per month according to visa requirements.

**With supplemental funding from other sources, we welcome awardees to arrange for stays exceeding 8 weeks.

Generally, expenses must be covered by the fellow in advance; a check in the amount of the award is presented after the fellowship is completed. On-campus accommodations at Kraettli Apartments are often available, typically at a rate of $29 per night for stays of at least 30 nights. (For shorter stays, the rate is $93 per night. These apartments include a kitchen.) If awardees wish to stay in Kraettli, then, to reduce expenses that need to be payed in advance, the Department can arrange for the stay to be paid by the Department, with that amount deducted from the overall award. Fellows are responsible for booking lodging. A limited number of apartments are available, so fellows who wish to stay in Kraettli Apartments should contact Sooner Suites well in advance in order to book dates when space is available. It is wise to confirm available on-campus accommodations before finalizing other visit arrangements. For more information regarding on-campus accommodations, see the Sooner Suites web page: 

https://www.ou.edu/housingandfood/housing/conference-and-guest-services

 

International Applicants

We advise applicants from abroad to review the University of Oklahoma’s procedures and policies relating to international travel during the application process. General information may be found on the OU Human Resources main J-1 page.

 

Key guides and documents to review include:

 

Fellowship Proposal

Proposals should include four sections:

Section One. The application form.

Complete the application form (pdf). This is the first section of your proposal.

Section Two. A curriculum vitae.

Include a curriculum vitae with a list of your scholarly publications and activities as the second section of the proposal.

Section Three. Description of the research proposal.

This section should include:

  • A narrative of your proposed project, not to exceed 1000 words, that discusses its relationship to previous and current scholarship in the field.
  • A statement of the amount of award being requested based on the number of weeks in residence, as explained in the section “Planning Your Fellowship” above.
  • A bibliography of relevant materials that require consultation at the History of Science Collections. Applicants should consult reference materials, including the University Libraries’ online catalog, and may confer with the Curator or Librarian for assistance. Search our online catalog, “Discover Local” at https://libraries.ou.edu

Section Four.  Reference.

Ordinarily, a reference letter is required. Typically, this may be a letter from your Department Chair (if faculty); from your dissertation supervisor (if a pre-doctoral student); or from someone qualified to judge your research skills in the proposed area and the scholarly significance of your research project. The letter of reference should be requested well in advance.

 

Submission

Submit your proposal by email as a single, combined PDF, to History of Science Collections Research Coordinator JoAnn Palmeri (palmerij@ou.edu).