Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Postdoctoral Research Fellowship

Funder: Science History Institute, Beckman Center for the History of Chemistry

Focus: History of chemistry, chemical engineering, and modern life sciences

Eligibility

• Open to scholars who are on track to have defended their dissertation by the end of July 2026
• Candidates may apply for both curatorial and postdoctoral research fellowships
• Applicants may opt to be considered for short-term fellowships
• May not hold multiple fellowships in the same academic year
• Prior year fellowships do not affect eligibility for future awards

Collections Focus

The Institute's primary collections focus on:
• History of chemistry, chemical engineering, and modern life sciences
• Materials ranging from 15th century to present
• 7,000+ rare books, archival holdings, images, memorabilia, oral histories, scientific instruments, artifacts, and fine art
• 100,000+ modern primary-source volumes and journals
• Special strengths: Corporate records (Dow Chemical, Rohm & Haas, Aldrich Chemical, Beckman Coulter), scientific organizations, immigration and exile, food science, information science, materials science, modern bioscience and medicine, women in science, alchemy, fine art, color, and science education

Selection Criteria

• Scholarly Achievement and Potential: Clarity, insightfulness, and originality of scholarly project as shown in cover letter, research proposal, reference letters, and publication record
• Collections Usage: Extent to which project draws upon the Institute's collections (rare books, archives, modern materials, museum artifacts)
• Feasibility: Ability to realize stated goals by end of fellowship

Geographic Scope

International applications welcome

Contact

fellowships@sciencehistory.org