The Consortium started awarding research fellowships in 2007. Dissertation fellowships were added in 2008, and postdoctoral fellowships in 2012. We have kept applicant statistics beginning in 2011. Those stats are summarized on this page. Applicants' demographics have no influence in the application review process. See How Fellows are Selected for a detailed description of the process.
Since 2011, the Consortium has processed more than 500 applications, including 167 applications for short-term research fellowships, 233 applications for dissertation fellowships, and 103 applications for postdoctoral fellowships. During that period, the Consortium has awarded 56 research fellowships to about 1/3 of the applicants for travel to about 1/4 of the collections for which they applied. We have also awarded 12 dissertation fellowships (5%), and 3 postdoctoral fellowships (3%).
Over 95% of Consortium fellowship applications come from scholars whose primary affiliation is with a college or university, but the Consortium has also received and awarded fellowships to independent scholars and to scholars affiliated with independent research institutes.
The Consortium’s applications and awards reflect the highly interdisciplinary character of History of Science, Technology and Medicine as a research field. Roughly 40% of applications for research and dissertation fellowships come from individuals in departments of History. This category also makes up roughly 40% of awarded fellowships. About 15% come from programs specifically devoted to History of Science, Technology, and/or Medicine; scholars from this category make up roughly 20% of awardees. Another 15% come from cross-discliplinary departments such as “History and Sociology of Science” or “History and Anthropology of Science.” About 7.5% of awarded fellowships have gone to this category. Scholars from departments of History and Philosophy of Science make up roughly 4% of applicants, and this set constitutes roughly 7.5% of award recipients.
While scholars in Area Studies, a grouping that includes American Studies, African American Studies, and Asian Studies, submit about 5% of fellowship applications, they receive about 10% of the research and dissertation fellowships as well as 2 of the 3 postdoctoral awards thus far. Significant numbers of applications have also been received from departments of English (5%), Art History (3.5%), and Fine Arts (2%), as well as Anthropology, Philosophy, Sociology, and Architecture. Awards have been made to scholars with primary affiliations in Art History (4.5%), Fine Arts (3%), and Culture, Media, and Film (3%), as well as Architecture, English, and Anthropology (less than 2% each).
The Consortium’s birthplace and central offices are in the mid-Atlantic city of Philadelphia, PA, but fellowship applications are increasingly submitted from, and awarded to, scholars from all over North America and the world. For the 2011-2012 fellowship cycle, about 38% of applications were from scholars in the mid-Atlantic region. For 2015-2016, by contrast, only 28% of applications for research and dissertation fellowships were from this region, and only 15% of postdoctoral applications. Nor has residence in the mid-Atlantic been an advantage in competing for Consortium fellowships. From 2011 to 2015 inclusive, roughly 41% of all short-term research and dissertation fellowship applications were from scholars in the mid-Atlantic region, but these represented only 19% of awards. Scholars from the South Atlantic constituted the next largest applicant group at 23%, making up 25% of awards. New England sent 20% of the applications and won 23.5% of the awards. Eastern North Central sent 15% and won 7.5%, the Pacific sent 9.5% and won 7.5%, Western South Central sent 6% and won 4.5%, and Western North Central sent only about 3% of applications but won 4.5% of all awards. International applications have constituted 8% of Consortium fellowship applications during this period, and 6% of all fellowship awards. For the first time, in 2015-2016 more than 10% of applications received for short-term research fellowships were from scholars with primary affiliations at non-US institutions, and roughly 12.5% of awards made were to scholars from such institutions.
As the Consortium continues to grow in number and geographic distribution of member institutions, and breadth of collections, we look forward to continued growth of the fellowship program as well.