Linda Hall Library Fellowships
The Linda Hall Library invites researchers to apply for its 2025-26 fellowships in the history of science and related humanities fields. These fellowships provide scholars of exceptional promise with financial support to explore the Library’s collections and join a dynamic intellectual community of in-house experts, fellows, and scholars from other Kansas City cultural and educational institutions. In addition, current and former fellows may request free scans of Library materials in accordance with our in-house digitization policies.
The Linda Hall Library is committed to fostering a diverse and inclusive research environment and encourages members of any groups that have traditionally been underrepresented in academia to apply for fellowship support. The Library also welcomes applications from scholars in the Kansas City metropolitan area whose projects would benefit from our holdings.
To apply, please click the button below and complete the online form. All application materials, including recommendation letters, must be received by January 17, 2025. Click here for a summary of the fellowship application process. For additional information about the Library’s fellowships, please visit our Frequently Asked Questions page, consult our Fellowship Handbook, or email fellowships@lindahall.org.
The Linda Hall Library’s collections are a wonderful source of inspiration, and the staff does an excellent job of preserving and caring for them.
General Research Fellowships
The Linda Hall Library offers general fellowship support to doctoral students, postdoctoral scholars, and independent researchers whose projects examine the relationship between science, technology, and society. General fellowship funding is offered at a rate of $3,000 per month for doctoral students and $4,200 per month for postdoctoral researchers and scholars with other terminal degrees (e.g., MFA, MLIS).
Residential fellowships last between one and four months and support scholars who travel to Kansas City to access the Linda Hall Library’s collections. Residential fellows may be asked to complete their fellowships remotely depending upon public health conditions in the Kansas City metropolitan area.
Virtual fellowships last between one and four months and support scholars working off-site using resources from the Library’s digital collections. Virtual fellows receive personalized research assistance from reference staff and may request complimentary scans of Library resources in accordance with our in-house digitization policies. Priority will be given to projects that rely on items that are not readily accessible on other platforms such as Google Books, HathiTrust, or Internet Archive.
Specialized Research Fellowships
In addition to the general research fellowships listed above, the Linda Hall Library is offering several fellowships aimed at specific groups of researchers.
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Fellowship provides nine months of residential funding at a rate of $5,000 per month to a postdoctoral scholar whose research explores the intersection of science and the humanities. The NEH Fellow will spend the academic year conducting research at the Linda Hall Library and actively participating in the Library’s scholarly community.
The NEH Fellow must be a United States citizen or a foreign national who has lived in the United States for the three years immediately preceding the application deadline. Applicants must have a PhD or have completed all degree requirements for a PhD, except for the actual conferral of the degree, by the fellowship application deadline (January 17, 2025).
The History of Science and Medicine (HSM) Fellowship is jointly sponsored by the Clendening History of Medicine Library at the University of Kansas Medical Center, approximately 3 miles (5 km) away from the Linda Hall Library.
This residential fellowship provides one month of residential funding ($3,000 per month) to a doctoral student whose research examines the intersecting histories of science and medicine. The HSM fellow will spend one month in Kansas City conducting research in both libraries’ collections.
The Pearson Fellowship in Aerospace History honors the life and legacy of aerospace engineer Jerome Pearson. This fellowship provides up to two months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar studying any aspect of aerospace history, including, but not limited to: engineering, physics, astronomy, astrophysics, and other disciplines related to space travel and exploration.
The Presidential Fellowship in Bibliography provides up to four months of residential funding ($4,200 per month) to a postdoctoral scholar whose research focuses on the study of books and manuscripts as physical artifacts, including projects that examine the history of printing techniques, publication practices, textual transmission, and reading strategies.
Friends of the Fellowship Program
The Linda Hall Library is grateful to the individual donors and institutional partners who have supported our research fellows, including:
- Atterbury Family Foundation
- Clendening History of Medicine Library at the University of Kansas Medical Center
- Flynn Family Foundation
- National Endowment for the Humanities
- UK-Ukraine Twinning Initiative