Hench Post-Dissertation Fellowship

The Hench Post-Dissertation Fellowship offers splendid opportunities for collegiality with and mentoring from the staff, other visiting fellows, and the academic community in and near Worcester, Massachusetts. Recipients of other AAS fellowships--academic scholars as well as creative and performing artists and writers--will be in residence for varying periods of time throughout the Hench Fellow's year long tenure.

The Hench Post-Dissertation Fellowship includes a manuscript review of the fellow’s work in progress. On behalf of the Hench fellow, the Society convenes a group of leading scholars to read the manuscript and provide feedback on areas where additional research is needed, as well as advice on how to reshape the dissertation for publication. This colloquium takes place during the fellow’s tenure at AAS.

Eligibility

Scholars who are no more than three years beyond receipt of the doctorate are eligible to apply for a special year-long residential fellowship at the American Antiquarian Society to revise their dissertation for publication. 

Any topic relevant to the Society's library collections and programmatic scope--that is, American history and culture through 1900--is eligible. Applicants may come from such fields as history, literature, American studies, political science, art history, music history, and others relating to America in the period of the Society's coverage. 

The Society welcomes applications from those who have advance book contracts, as well as those who have not yet made contact with a publisher. 

Length of Term

Twelve months 

Stipend

The twelve-month stipend for this fellowship is $40,000. The Society also offers up to $4,000 in health insurance reimbursement.

Criteria

The Hench Post-Dissertation Fellow will be selected on the basis of the applicant's scholarly qualifications, the appropriateness of the project to the Society's collections and interests, and, above all, the likelihood that the revised dissertation will make a highly significant book.

Accommodations

For fellows who reside on campus in the Society’s scholars’ housing, located next to the main library building, the stipend will have the room fee deducted from the stipend. (Room fees range from $1,000 to $600 per month.) Although fellows have priority, renting from the Society is not a requirement of those holding fellowships. When requested, the staff will do their best to suggest alternative accommodations in Worcester or environs.

About the Fellowship

Established as the Mellon Post-Dissertation Fellowship in 1998, the fellowship has been renamed in honor of John B. Hench, who retired in August 2007 as vice president for collections and programs after thirty-three years on the staff of the American Antiquarian Society. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, generous sponsor of this fellowship, has made a challenge grant to the Society, which is currently raising money to endow this fellowship.