Applications for our annual Curran Fellowships are now open! We’re currently accepting applications for projects beginning in 2020 through December 1, 2019 at 11:59 p.m. (US Pacific Time, or UTC/GMT -7). The Curran Fellowships are research and travel awards intended to support the use of primary sources to explore any aspect of the British periodical press of the “long nineteenth century” (ca. 1780-1914) in any of its manifold forms: magazines, newspapers, and serial publications from across the British Empire.
Up to $5,000 of Research Funding Available
We anticipate making at least six Curran Fellowships available for research starting in 2020. Applicants may request any amount of support up to $5,000. Funds must be used for expenses directly related to your research, such as:
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- Transportation costs
- Lodging
- Photocopies and/or scanning of documents
- Database subscriptions
Indirect expenses will not be covered by Fellowship funds. Award winners will be selected by February 1, 2020.
How Do I Apply?
All interested scholars should submit application materials through our online applications portal. Only complete applications submitted by the deadline of December 1, 2019, will be considered. Applications should include:
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- An application form, which includes personal and project details such as a proposed title, period of study, amount requested (not to exceed $5000), and a brief description
- Your c.v. (no longer than two pages)
- A narrative proposal not to exceed three single-spaced pages
- A one-page description of the printed and manuscript materials you wish to explore and why
- The name and email address of one external recommender familiar with your project
Applications will be evaluated according to the importance of the project, the quality of the application, the applicant’s preparation to pursue the project, and the feasibility of the plan of work. Our evaluators will use these criteria to select best applications. Final decisions and award amounts will be based on the overall budget of the program, specific amounts requested, and the justification of that amount as put forward in the proposed plan of work.
You can download the full details here or visit our Curran Fellowships page for more information.
The Fine Print
All research projects must directly engage primary texts of the Victorian periodical press, such as magazines, newspapers, or serial publications published during the long nineteenth century. What form those sources take – print, manuscript, or digital facsimile – is up to you, as long as they are primary sources.
Curran Fellowships are intended to expand and enrich our collective understanding of the nineteenth century periodical press. Therefore, all else being equal, preference will be given to projects that use or bring to light new or little-known materials. For a list of recent winners and their projects, visit our Curran Fellowships page (scroll to the bottom of the page).
Fellowships are open to scholars of all kinds, including those holding academic appointments, graduate students, and independent or retired scholars. Applicants are strongly encouraged, but not required, to become RSVP members. Please note that Officers and Directors of RSVP are not eligible to apply.
If you have any questions about the award or application requirements, you may contact us at curranfellowships@rs4vp.org.