Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowship Grant

Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowship Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Historical Society of Pennsylvania
Amount: US $2,500
Last Updated: December 02, 2025

Summary

The Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowship, offered by the Historical Society of Pennsylvania, supports advanced research in early American history. Each year, four fellowships are awarded, providing a stipend of $2,500 for one month of residency in Philadelphia during the summer. This fellowship encourages scholars to utilize the extensive collections at the Historical Society, which encompass diverse fields and significant historical documents, enriching the understanding of America's past.

Overview

NOTE: Candidates are strongly encouraged to inquire about the appropriateness of the proposed topic. Historical Society of Pennsylvania The Historical Society of Pennsylvania awards a number of four-week fellowships for research in its collections during each academic year. Fellowship Details Historically, the Library Company of Philadelphia and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania have offered many opportunities for support in the form of one-month fellowships for advanced research in residence in either or both institutions. For this year, the two programs will be administered separately. As part of its continued commitment to supporting researchers, the Historical Society of Pennsylvania will award a number of fellowships for research in its collections during the academic year. The Collection ​ The Historical Society of Pennsylvania has collections capable of supporting research in a variety of fields and disciplines relating to the history of America and the Atlantic world, as well as mid-Atlantic regional history, from the 17th through the 20th centuries. HSP collections are strong in local newspapers and printed ephemera, prints and photographs of the Philadelphia region, and graphics by local artists. They possess extraordinary strength in the history of women and African Americans, popular literature, business and banking, popular medicine, philanthropy and reform, education, natural sciences, technology, art, architecture, German Americana, American Judaica, and a host of other subjects. Now enriched by the holdings of the Balch Institute for Ethnic Studies, HSP holds more than 19 million personal, organizational, and business manuscripts, as well 560,000 printed items and 312,000 graphic images concerning national and regional political, social, and family history. The Balch Institute collections bring the HSP added strength in documenting ethnic and immigrant history, with significant holdings of ethnic newspapers, records of benevolent societies and other local and national ethnic organizations, and personal papers of prominent leaders in ethnic and immigrant communities across the nation. Explore HSP’s library catalog. Fellows are also encouraged to use the collections of the Library Company of Philadelphia, located next-door to HSP in Philadelphia’s Center City. The two independent research libraries have complementary collections capable of supporting research in a variety of fields and disciplines relating to the history of the United States in its Atlantic world context from the 17th through the 19th centuries, as well as Mid-Atlantic regional history to the present. ​​Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowship ​​Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowships will support research in early American history. Each year the Historical Society of Pennsylvania awards four Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowships for research in early American history. These fellowships support one month of residency in Philadelphia during the summer of the fellowship year for advanced, postdoctoral, or dissertation research. Funding The stipend is $2,500. The Robert L. McNeil Jr. Fellowships began in the 2012–2013 academic year and are generously endowed by a bequest from Robert L. McNeil Jr.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. Fellowships support research for advanced, postdoctoral, dissertation, independent, and creative projects.