The Humanities Center annually brings together scholars and aspiring scholars from diverse disciplines to engage and inspire each other’s research, to collectively explore a common topic, and to promote and advance the humanities through their participation in Center events. This community of Fellows includes: (1) four Post-Doctoral Fellows, who are appointed for two year residencies; (2) four Faculty Fellows drawn from the FSU faculty; (3) six Dissertation Fellows from FSU humanities departments; and (4) fifteen Undergraduate Fellows who are writing Honors Theses or are involved in other major undergraduate projects in the humanities.
The goals of this scholarly community include catalyzing interdisciplinary conversation and collaboration, enabling a group of researchers who share similar interests to deepen their expertise within their specific fields, and demonstrating the value of the humanities in informing and animating citizenship, inculcating skill, and fashioning a life well-lived.
At the conclusion of their tenures at the Humanities Center, Faculty Fellows and Post-Doctoral fellows each make a scholarly contribution to a book organized around the theme of the Center for that year. Dissertation Fellows in most cases are expected to defend their dissertations before their residencies conclude. Undergraduate Fellows will complete their major projects. Throughout the year, fellows will present their research in informal workshops, attend lectures and participate in the annual conference, and contribute in other ways to the FSU Humanities Center community, including potential outreach to local or regional organizations and societies.
The Center awards up to four Faculty Fellowships each year. The fellowship includes a course reduction and research funding. Fellows collaboratively explore the designated Humanities Center topic for the fellowship year while advancing their own specific projects. They attend lectures and the annual conference as well as other HC gatherings. Fellows present their research to the HC community in informal settings such as lunches or workshops. Each fellow contributes to a publication on the topic. Fellows must be in residence for the duration of their appointment to the HC.
Applications open October 1, 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year. Instructions will be posted on this site.
The Center awards up to five Postdoctoral Fellowships every two years. Fellows are appointed for two years at $60,000 per year. Each fellow teaches one course during each academic year. They attend lectures and the annual conference as well as other HC gatherings. Fellows present their research to the HC community in informal settings such as lunches or workshops. Each fellow contributes to a publication on the annual/biennial Center topic. Fellows must be in residence for the duration of their appointment to the HC. Postdoctoral Fellows are located in the humanities departments representing their disciplines.
Applications open October 1, 2026 for the 2027-2028 academic year. Instructions will be posted on this site in September 2026.
Applications due June 1, 2026
The FSU Humanities Center will award eight Dissertation Fellowships for the academic year 2026–2027. Fellows will be in residence Aug. 25, 2026 to July 31, 2027. Each fellow will receive $4,000 in supplemental funding.
The center recognizes that structured interaction with a community of writers advantages a junior scholar writing a dissertation, enhancing the likelihood of timely completion. The center aims to foster interdisciplinary collegiality among dissertation writers in workshop and retreat settings, and other social events.
Applicants must be all but dissertation, or ABD, in one of the following fields: art history, classics, English, history, modern languages, musicology, philosophy or religion.
Annual Theme
“The Human and the Humanities” will be the theme of the FSU Humanities Center for 2026–2028. Projects undertaken at the center will comprehend that theme in some form as scholars build from their research specializations and disciplinary grounding to larger views of the meaning and place of the humanities in intellectual and social life, and in relationship to citizenship and human flourishing.
Eligibility
To be eligible for a FSU Humanities Center Doctoral Fellowship, applicants must:
- Be admitted to candidacy for the Doctor of Philosophy (i.e., ABD, having passed the dissertation prospectus review) before June 1 of the fellowship year
- Be enrolled full-time in a humanities or humanities-adjacent doctoral program in the Colleges of Fine Arts, Music, or Arts and Sciences at Florida State University
- Be in residence in Tallahassee for the duration of the fellowship term
- Commit to active participation in the intellectual life of the HC throughout that academic year, including attendance at meetings, lectures and other center events
- Not previously have held a graduate student fellowship at the FSU Humanities Center
- May hold a TA-ship concurrently with the FSU Humanities Center Doctoral Fellowship but not exceed a teaching assignment of two courses per semester
Fellows are expected to participate actively in HC events throughout the fellowship year. This includes attendance at periodic HC gatherings (lunches, lectures, receptions and other events), contribution to the center’s annual collaborative scholarly project, and a workshop presentation of research to the cohort. Fellows are integral members of the HC community and are expected to engage fully in its collective work.
Application Requirements
A complete application must include all of the following components:
- Dissertation overview (no more than 400 words)
- Description of anticipated goals during tenure of the award (with a timeline) detailing how the project will advance towards completion as well as how it will contribute to the mission of the Humanities Center and its annual theme (no more than 500 words)
- Curriculum Vitae
- Letter of recommendation from the dissertation director
Selection Criteria
Applications will be reviewed by the FSU Humanities Center Board. In evaluating proposals, the board will apply the following criteria, while also attending to the goal of assembling a dynamic and representative cohort of fellows:
- The clarity and rigor with which the application articulates a research project with appropriate methods, sources and timeline
- The strength and specificity of the connection to the annual HC theme
- The likelihood that the fellow and the project will contribute collaboratively to the HC’s interdisciplinary project
- The potential of the applicant’s participation to broaden the perspectives represented in the fellowship cohort
- The applicant’s ambition to construct a vision for the humanities in the 21st century
Timeline
June 1, 2026: Applications due at 11:59 p.m. Send applications in one file to: humanities.center@fsu.edu
June 22, 2026: Announcement of the Inaugural Class, FSU Humanities Center Dissertation Fellows
Aug. 25, 2026: Doctoral Fellows convene
Contact
Questions about the fellowship may be directed to Jennifer Clark, administrative director, FSU Humanities Center: humanities.center@fsu.edu
The newly created FSU Humanities Center is accepting applications for up to 15 Undergraduate Fellows for the 2026-2027 academic year. Undergraduate Fellows at the Humanities Center will have the opportunity to: 1) workshop their humanities research projects with their fellows cohort and with faculty of the Humanities Center; 2) present the results of their projects at the annual Undergraduate Humanities Symposium; and 3) regularly participate in casual small group discussions with visiting lecturers and scholars in the humanities. In addition to their participation in workshops as presenters or peers, undergraduate fellows will also be expected to attend Humanities Center lectures and serve as ambassadors for the humanities across campus. Undergraduate fellows will receive a stipend of $1,000 to support their research.
Eligibility
Rising juniors and rising seniors who will be in residence at FSU in Tallahassee during 2026-2027 are eligible to apply. Applicants must be planning a humanities research project as part of their upcoming coursework (for example: an Honors in the Major project, an Honors Colloquium project, a senior capstone project, a Directed Individual Study project, or a project in either a Scholarship in Practice course or an Upper-Division Writing course). Applicants must have a GPA of at least 3.5.
Application
To be considered for this prestigious fellowship, email the following documents by Sept. 16, 2026:
- A written proposal (300-500 words) detailing the humanities-focused project you will undertake in the coming academic year. Your proposal must specify the nature of the project (e.g., a thesis), the department in which you are seeking a degree, and the faculty member with whom you will work.
- An unofficial university transcript.
- A short statement (100-150 words) indicating how you hope to benefit by inclusion in the 2026-2027 class of fellows.
- A résumé is not required but may be relevant in some cases.
Info Session for Applicants
There will be an info session for prospective applicants on Sept. 11, 2026. Attendance is not required as part of the application. Time and place TBA prior to the beginning of the Fall 2026 semester.
How to Apply
Send your application to the FSU Humanities Center with “Undergraduate Fellowship” in the subject box: humanities.center@fsu.edu.
Questions
Contact the FSU Humanities Center at humanities.center@fsu.edu.