More Information
About the Program
The UCLA Library Special Collections (LSC) Research Fellowships Program provides financial support for travel and other expenses to facilitate research with our unique holdings.
- Fellowships are intended to support projects that would significantly benefit from on-site research.
- We prioritize applications from those working toward a discrete project or publication and research using collections representing marginalized and stigmatized groups.
- Fellowships are not limited to scholarly research: we welcome applications from artists, activists and individuals engaged in inquiry using primary source materials.
- Fellowships must be completed within the 2025 calendar year, and fellows will be asked to create or participate in an outreach deliverable around their research and project.
- Disbursements are generally provided as reimbursements and payment can often take 2-4 months. Current UCLA-affiliates or anyone previously affiliated with UCLA in the past 2 years should expect additional wait times.
Application Information
Eligibility
Eligibility is limited to United States citizens and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S. and are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral or independent research.
Applicants may apply to multiple fellowships using one application packet; please specify which fellowships you are applying for in your project proposal.
Fellowships may support research using all processed collections and materials administered by UCLA Library Special Collections, though some fellowships support subject-specific research.
Applicants may apply to multiple fellowships using one application packet; please specify which fellowships you are applying for in your project proposal.
Key Dates
- October 14, 2024: Application period opens
- December 1, 2024: Complete application packets due
- December 15, 2024: Successful applicants notified
Application
Please email complete application packets in PDF format to lib_lscfellowships@library.ucla.edu(opens in a new tab). Your application package should include the following:
- a project proposal of no more than three pages (see below for more information)
- an abbreviated CV of no more than two pages
- contact information for one reference who can speak on the applicant’s research or research project
Please note that the committee cannot consider letters of recommendation from librarians or staff of the UCLA Library.
Project Proposal
The project proposal should include the following:
- the fellowship(s) for which the applicant is applying
- a general description or abstract of the research project
- title and format of the project
- the applicant's contact details
- detailed explanation of how materials stewarded by UCLA Library Special Collections are essential to the progress and completion of the research project
Available Fellowships
James and Sylvia Thayer Short-Term Research Fellowships
Thayer fellowships provide support for research in any collections administered by UCLA Library Special Collections with preference to students enrolled in a graduate program at UCLA. Multiple annual fellowships will be awarded in the amount of $3000 to facilitate research lasting 1-3 months. Awards are funded by an endowment established by longtime UCLA benefactors James and Sylvia Thayer.
Thayer fellows are required to create a public-facing outreach deliverable discussing their project and research conducted in Special Collections. Past deliverables have included creating a series of social media posts or stories, creating didactic text and images for a pop-up digital exhibit, or providing a short lecture and/or workshop.
Kenneth Karmiole Endowed Research Fellowship in UCLA Library Special Collections
The Karmiole fellowship supports the use of UCLA Library Special Collections materials by visiting scholars and graduate students. One annual fellowships will be awarded in the amount of $5000 to allow a scholar to pursue research lasting from one to three months. The award is funded by an endowment established by Kenneth Karmiole, an internationally-renowned antiquarian bookseller who earned his master’s degree in library science from UCLA in 1971. The benefactor made previous gifts to the UCLA Library for the Kenneth Karmiole Endowment for Rare Books and Manuscripts, the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library and the UCLA Graduate School of Education and Information Studies. He has owned and operated Kenneth Karmiole, Bookseller Inc.(opens in a new tab) since 1976.
Karmiole fellows are required to meet with the donor during their visit as well as participate in a public-facing program to discuss their project and the research conducted in Special Collections.
Barbara Rootenberg Short-term Research Fellowship in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences
The Rootenberg fellowship promotes the use of materials in History & Special Collections for the Sciences in UCLA Library Special Collections. One annual fellowship is awarded in the amount of $1000 to allow a scholar to pursue research lasting from two to six weeks. The award is named for Barbara Rootenberg, an alumna of the UCLA School of Library Science and an internationally-renowned antiquarian bookseller.
Rootenberg fellows are required to create a public-facing outreach deliverable discussing their project and research conducted in Special Collections. Past deliverables have included creating a series of social media posts or stories, creating didactic text and images for a pop-up digital exhibit, or providing a short lecture and/or workshop.
Past Research Fellows
Please view our PDF list of Past Research Fellows at UCLA Library Special Collections(opens in a new tab) (2004-present) for past fellows, their fellowship project titles and the products in which their fellowship research was used.
