The Institute for Research in the Humanities at the University of Wisconsin–Madison is pleased to offer two Robert M. Kingdon Fellowships for the academic year 2025-2026, to be awarded to scholars from outside the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Through a generous bequest from Robert M. Kingdon, the Kingdon Fellowship sponsors scholars working in the humanities in the historical, literary, artistic, and/or philosophical studies of Christian and/or Jewish religious traditions and their role in society. Projects may focus on any period from antiquity to the present, on any part of the world, and in any field(s) in the humanities. They may explore various forms of the Jewish and/or Christian traditions; the interaction of one or both of these with other religious traditions; and/or the relationship of one or both of these religions to other aspects of society within or outside of Europe. The Kingdon Fellowship does not typically support editions or translations.
The award provides a stipend of $60,000, office space, limited support services, and access to university facilities (libraries). All IRH fellowships are residential. Kingdon Fellows are required to live in Madison, Wisconsin throughout the academic year to ensure their active participation in the intellectual and social life at IRH (alternatively, fellows must demonstrate to the Institute’s satisfaction the ability to be on campus daily and at short notice). Fellows may extend their residency through the summer on a non-stipendiary basis. However, the fellowship may not be deferred for any reason.
The application cycle for 2025-2026 fellowships will begin in August. Applications will be due on Thursday, October 24, 2024. The final notification of the awards will be sent in late February/early March.
• The Institute encourages applications from senior scholars as well as junior scholars with research projects that are well advanced. • Faculty members of the University of Wisconsin-Madison are not eligible for the fellowship. • Independent scholars are eligible to apply. • Applicants must be in possession of the doctorate at the time of application; we will not accept applications from graduate students expecting to have the doctorate by the beginning of the academic year. Projects to revise doctoral dissertations should involve substantial expansion, new research, and/or new conceptual frameworks; the proposal should clearly explain how the project relates to the dissertation. • Former Kingdon Fellows are eligible to apply after ten years from the end date of their prior Kingdon Fellowship. • Applicants for the Kingdon Fellowship whose research focuses on religious studies in Europe before 1700 are also eligible to apply for the Institute's Solmsen Fellowship program. However, separate applications for the Kingdon and Solmsen Fellowships are required.