The Frederick Douglass Institute Fellowship Program

The Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies has a broad mandate in undergraduate and graduate education, advance research, and exchange within the University community. There are two types of residential fellowship programs that are designed to fit this broad mandate:

1. The Postdoctoral Fellowship is awarded to scholars who hold a Ph.D. degree in a field related to the African and African-American experience. It carries an annual stipend of $35,000 and supports the completion of a research project for one academic year. The Fellow will teach two courses (one per semester) in his or her area of specialization.

   Applicants for the 2008-2009 academic year must have their Ph.D. in hand before the fellowship begins in September 2008.

   Application checklist: A completed FDI fellowship application form; a curriculum vitae; 3-5 page description of the project (plus a short bibliography); a sample of published or unpublished writing on a topic related to the proposal; three letters of recommendation that comment upon the value and feasibility of the work proposed, to be sent by the referees.

2. The Predoctoral Fellowship is awarded annually to a graduate student of any university who studies aspects of the African and African-American experience. This fellowship, which carries an annual stipend of $23,000, does not come with any teaching obligation, but will require the Fellow to work with the Institute’s Director in organizing colloquium, lectures, and other events. The principal aim of this award is to expedite the completion of the Fellow’s dissertation.

   To qualify for this one-year residential fellowship in 2008-2009 academic year, an applicant will need to have completed and passed the following before the end of this (2007-08) academic year: (1) all required courses; (2) qualifying oral and/or written exams; (3) written at least one chapter of the dissertation (the chapter becomes part of the application package).

   Application checklist: A completed FDI fellowship application form; a curriculum vitae; an official transcript showing completion of all preliminary coursework and qualifying examinations; the dissertation prospectus; a sample chapter from the dissertation; three letters of recommendation to be sent out by the referees, including one from the dissertation supervisor assessing the candidate’s prospects for completing the project within a year.

All Fellows receive office space in the Institute, full access to the University's facilities, and opportunities to interact and collaborate with scholars of their respective disciplines within the University. Fellows must be in full time residence during the tenure of their awards and are expected to be engaged in scholarly activity on a full-time basis. They must, for example, be available for consultation with students and professional colleagues; make at least two formal presentations based upon their research; and contribute generally to the intellectual discourse on African and African-American Studies.

Deadlines:

Applications to the two programs are accepted from September 2007 to January 31, 2008.

• The Postdoctoral award will be announced on or about March 1, 2008; and
• Predoctoral award, on or about March 15, 2008.

For details, contact:

Director for Research Fellowships,
The Frederick Douglass Institute for African and African-American Studies,
University of Rochester,
RC Box 270440, 302 Morey Hall,
Rochester, NY 14627-0440
U.S.A.

Tel: (585) 275-7235 - Fax: (585) 256-2594
Email: fdi@mail.rochester.edu.