Fellows work in the Museum's library. US Holocaust Memorial Museum
Accepting Applications October 1, 2018-January 25, 2019
The Museum’s Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies is pleased to invite applications for the Summer Graduate Research Fellowship Program, designed for students accepted to or currently enrolled in a master’s degree program or in their first year of a PhD program. Students who have completed more than one year of doctoral work will not be considered.
The Mandel Center welcomes applications from students in all academic disciplines, including history, political science, literature, Jewish studies, psychology, sociology, geography, and others. Students outside the field of History are encouraged to apply.
PROGRAM OBJECTIVE
The Graduate Student Research Fellowships are awarded to support significant research and writing about the Holocaust and to encourage MA-level and first year PhD students to test ideas, share research findings, debate methodological or interruptive processes, and develop frameworks for their projects.
In addition, Graduate Student Research Fellowships acquaint promising students with Holocaust studies by encouraging participation in the broad range of scholarly and publicly available educational programs offered by the Museum during the summer months. Graduate Student Research Fellows will work with assigned staff mentors who will advise students on their research goals. Awards are granted on a competitive basis.
Students are expected to participate in a weekly training seminar led by Museum staff, which introduces them to key subjects, essential tools, useful methods, and approaches as well as career opportunities in Holocaust research. Each assistant will meet with a staff mentor who will advise them on their projects and help guide their research in the Museum collections. Graduate Student Research Fellows are expected to familiarize themselves with relevant topics through assigned readings and to actively engage with Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies staff. The Mandel Center’s activities span both the fifth floor of the Washington Museum and the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center in suburban Maryland.
RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS
Graduate Student Research Fellows for the 2019 year are required to be in residence at the Museum for 12 consecutive weeks, arriving on June 3 and departing on August 23, 2019. The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies will provide a stipend of $3,000/month as well as an allowance to offset the cost of direct, economy-class travel to and from Washington, DC. Local awardees will not receive a travel allowance. The funds provided through this award may be subject to US federal and/or state tax. Please be advised the Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies cannot provide individual tax advice.
ELIGIBILITY
Open to those students accepted to or enrolled in an MA program or in their first year in a PhD program at a North American college or university. The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies is unable to provide visa assistance for non-US citizens.
In addition to English, applicants are encouraged, but not required, to have fluency in one or more of the following languages: German, Russian, Polish, Romanian, Hebrew, Yiddish, French, Dutch, Hungarian, Slovakian, Italian, and/or Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian.
APPLICATION MATERIALS AND GUIDELINES
Decisions for the 2019 competition will be announced in April 2019. All applications must be submitted in English and include:
- An online application form
- A resume
- A personal statement of no more than two single-spaced pages in length. The statement should explain the applicant’s interest in the Holocaust and World War II and how the Junior Fellowship might further encourage his or her studies in this area.
- A project proposal of no more than three single-spaced pages in length. Each proposal should address a research topic developed with a faculty member at the student’s home institution.
- The project proposal should include:
1. The student’s thesis statement.
2. An outline of their proposed project goals.
3. A list of resources available at the Museum that the student will need to access in order to support their research. To search the Museum’s holdings, visit collections.ushmm.org.
- One letter of recommendation from a faculty member or dean at the applicant’s institution that speaks to the applicant’s qualifications. The letter must be signed and on institutional letterhead. Letters of recommendation should be sent from the recommender, not the applicant, as attachments to SGRA@ushmm.org.
QUESTIONS/CONTACT
Samantha Hinckley
Program Manager, International Academic Programs
Jack, Joseph, and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies
United States Holocaust Memorial Museum
100 Raoul Wallenberg Place, SW
Washington, DC 20024-2126
SGRA@ushmm.org
SELECTION RESULTS
The Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Center for Advanced Holocaust Studies will notify all applicants of the selection results in early April 2019.
This program is supported by the Albert Abramson Family Foundation.