2020 Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowship Competition

The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum is closely monitoring the rapidly changing situation with COVID-19 (the coronavirus). The health and well-being of our visitors, staff, and event attendees are our priority. As the situation evolves, we will update the Museum's operating status—including opening hours and program schedule—should it change.

2020 SUMMER GRADUATE STUDENT RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP COMPETITION

Accepting Applications until January 15, 2020

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.

PROGRAM OBJECTIVE

Summer Graduate Student Research Fellowships support significant research and writing about the Holocaust and encourage MA-level and first-year PhD students to test ideas, share research findings, debate methodological or interpretive processes, and develop frameworks for their projects. In addition, Graduate Student Research Fellowships encourage participation in educational programs offered by the Museum during the summer months.

Summer Graduate Student Research Fellows work with assigned staff mentors, who will advise scholars on their project goals and help guide their research in the Museum collections. Occasional seminars are also planned in order to introduce fellows to key subjects, essential tools, and useful methods and approaches, as well as career opportunities in Holocaust research.

The Mandel Center’s activities span both the fifth floor of the Museum in Washington, DC, and the David and Fela Shapell Family Collections, Conservation and Research Center in Maryland.

RESIDENCY REQUIREMENTS

Graduate Student Research Fellows for the 2020 year are required to be in residence at the Museum for 12 consecutive weeks, arriving on June 1 and departing on August 21, 2020. The Mandel Center 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 students accepted to or enrolled in an MA program or in their first year of 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

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 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:

• The student’s thesis statement.
• An outline of the proposed project goals.
• A list of resources available at the Museum that the student will need to access in order to support the 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 as attachments from the recommender, not the applicant, to vscholars@ushmm.org. Please include as the subject line, "Letter of Recommendation for SGSRF."

SELECTION RESULTS

The Mandel Center will notify all applicants of the selection results in April 2020.

For more information, please contact Samantha Hinckley at vscholars@ushmm.org.

This program is supported by the Albert Abramson Family Foundation.