Humanities and Social Sciences Library > Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers

Fellowships

Click here to download an application for the Cullman Center's
2009-2010 Fellowship Competition

SCOPE

The Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center for Scholars and Writers is an international fellowship program open to people whose work will benefit directly from access to the collections at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library at Fifth Avenue and 42nd Street – including academics, independent scholars, journalists, novelists, poets, playwrights, and scientists and lawyers engaged with the humanities. The Center opened its doors to the first class of scholars and writers in September of 1999.
Renowned for the extraordinary comprehensiveness of its collections, the Humanities and Social Sciences Library is one of the world's pre-eminent resources for study in anthropology, art, geography, history, languages and literature, philosophy, politics, popular culture, psychology, religion, sociology, and sports.

CRITERIA AND TERMS

The Cullman Center’s Selection Committee awards 15 fellowships a year to outstanding scholars and writers whose projects require access to the collections at the Humanities and Social Sciences Library. Candidates who need to work primarily in The New York Public Library's the other research libraries, such as the Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, or the Science Industry and Business Library, are not eligible for this fellowship, nor are people seeking funding for research leading directly to a degree. Foreign nationals conversant in English are welcome to apply.

“ You walk the corridors of the Library with the acute sensation that what has been bestowed upon you, amongst all these books, is a sense of what matters. You enter a silence that requires humility, grace, and the deepest thanks.”
Colum McCann, novelist. Fellow 2004-2005

A Cullman Center Fellow receives a stipend of $65,000, an office, a computer, and full access to the Library’s physical and electronic resources. Fellows work at the Center for the duration of the fellowship term, which runs from September through May.

Each fellow gives a talk over lunch on current work-in-progress to the other fellows and a wide range of invited guests, and may be asked to take part in other programs at The New York Public Library.

“ Though my expectations of the Fellowship were extremely high, they have been immeasurably out-done by the pleasure and privilege of being here… The Center provides a blessed and matchless haven for intellectual and creative work.”
Hermione Lee, professor of literature, biographer, and essayist. Mel and Lois Tukman Fellow 2004-2005

THE NEW YORK PUBLIC LIBRARY/AMERICAN COUNCIL OF LEARNED SOCIETIES FELLOWSHIPS

The Center may give up to five fellowships a year in conjunction with the American Council of Learned Societies. Candidates for joint fellowships must submit applications to The New York Public Library and to The American Council of Learned Societies. For information regarding ACLS eligibility requirements and an ACLS application, write to: The ACLS, 633 Third Avenue, 8th Floor, New York, New York 10017-6795, or e-mail grants@acls.org.

“ Not only did I find the Center to be an exceptionally congenial community; it proved to be a remarkable place to work… In nine months I have been able to research and produce a first draft of four long chapters of a six-chapter book. It absolutely could not have been done without the workspace provided and especially the location of that workspace in this extraordinary library.”
- Prof. Thomas Bender, New York University. Fellow 2002-2003

COMPETITION DEADLINE

Completed applications and letters of recommendation must be received by Friday, September 26, 2008. Candidates will learn the results of the competition in early March.

“ My year at the Center has brought me closer to knowing what it means to be a writer, and, as well, it has given me a larger perspective on the world into which I am writing.”
- Donald Antrim, novelist and writer of memoirs. Fellow, 2002-2003

“The Center being idyllic, I cannot conceive of any way the program might be enhanced, aside from offering rehab for alumni. Thank you for the most productive year of my writing life.”
- Stacy Schiff, biographer. Fellow 2002-2003

“ In a long career, I have never had the opportunity to think about and work on a subject of any proportions or continuity in an uninterrupted and concentrated time frame, and with such superb facilities – this is the rarest of luxuries and the greatest of gifts.”
- Ada Louise Huxtable, architectural historian. Fellow 1999-2000

“ This year’s fellows counted ourselves fortunate indeed, because an almost magical spirit of camaraderie and generosity animated our life together.”
George Chauncey, historian. Fellow 2004-2005

FUNDING

The Cullman Center is made possible by a generous endowment from Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman in honor of Brooke Russell Astor, with major support provided by Mrs. John L. Weinberg, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Estate of Charles J. Liebman, Mel and Lois Tukman, John and Constance Birkelund, The Samuel I. Newhouse Foundation, and additional gifts from The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History, Helen and Roger Alcaly, The Mrs. Giles Whiting Foundation, William W. Karatz, The Rona Jaffe Foundation, Lybess Sweezy and Ken Miller, and The Achelis and Bodman Foundations.