Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) Fellowship: Postdoctoral Associates Grant

The Institute of Sacred Music (ISM) Fellowship at Yale University offers postdoctoral associates a unique opportunity to engage in interdisciplinary research and artistic projects. Selected fellows will contribute to the vibrant community of the ISM, collaborating with faculty and students across various disciplines. The fellowship includes financial support ranging from $65,000 to $76,000, with a focus on teaching and scholarly engagement. This program encourages diversity and welcomes applicants from all backgrounds.

Yale Institute of Sacred Music
The Yale Institute of Sacred Music was founded in 1973 by a grant from the Irwin-Sweeney-Miller Foundation of Columbus, Indiana. As the successor to the School of Sacred Music at Union Theological Seminary in New York City  resituated in one of the world’s great research universities, the ISM has grown from a faculty of three and student body of ten to a vibrant community of well over 100 students, faculty, fellows, and staff.
In partnership with the Yale School of Music, Yale Divinity School, and other academic units at Yale, the Institute and its renowned faculty offer students unparalleled opportunities for in-depth study and interdisciplinary engagement. Students pursuing music degrees receive rigorous conservatory training in choral conducting, organ, or voice. Students in divinity programs study worship, music, literature, and the visual arts in the context of a broad-based, robust theological education. All students create connections between their chosen fields and explore the role of the arts in human flourishing.
ISM fellowships are granted to scholars and artists whose work relates to the mission of the Institute. Relocating to New Haven for one or two academic terms, they are integrated into Institute and university life through teaching and sharing their work.
The quality, significance, and focus of the work fellows propose to do during the residency are of paramount importance in the selection process. This could be original scholarship, an art exhibition, a musical composition, or work of creative writing, etc.
ISM Fellows may work in a variety of academic and artistic disciplines, including but not limited to:
anthropology, architecture, art history, composition, creative writing, ethnomusicology, film studies, languages and literatures, liturgical studies, musicology, religion and literature, religious studies, ritual studies, sociology, theatre studies, and theology.
The work applicants propose to pursue must support the mission of the Institute, and fellows are expected to work primarily on this project during their year in residence.
Fellows commit themselves to meet weekly in the ISM Colloquium, with their cohort at weekly Fellows lunches, and are asked to share their work in at least one public presentation per semester. One presentation during the year will be a public lecture, while the other may be work-in-progress shared in the smaller, less formal gathering of fellows.
The fellowship period for Postdoctoral Associates normally lasts twelve months and begins on July 1. All fellows are expected to be free of commitments that would prevent them from devoting themselves full time to the work outlined in their proposal and to live in residence within ten miles of the Yale campus.
Financial Support
Stipends for post-doctoral associates range between $65,000 and $76,000 (depending on teaching duties) plus health benefits (if needed). Fellows may apply for research funds, and the Institute will reimburse reasonable moving expenses.
Teaching
Post-doctoral associates are expected to teach. Courses are proposed as part of the application process and are reviewed by the relevant department. Post-doctoral associates may teach no more than one course per term.
Courses taught need not be newly created for Yale, but may be one previously taught by the applicant at other academic institutions. Courses are proposed as part of the application and are reviewed by the appropriate department or school. Fellows may also be invited to lecture in classes taught by Yale faculty throughout the year.

Eligibility

Candidates are eligible to apply as post-doctoral associates if they have fewer than six years of related experience following the terminal degree and are not yet employed as full-time regular faculty. These fellowships are typically one-year long, though in rare circumstances, fellowships may be granted for two or even three years. Teaching one course is required for post-doctoral associates.Fellows are expected to live within a 5-mile radius of campus.