Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study
The Smithsonian Institution offers a variety of Fellowship programs, contingent on available funds.
The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program
At present, the fields fellowship are available for:
- Animal behavior, ecology, and environmental
science, including an emphasis on the tropics - Anthropology, including archaeology,
- Astrophysics and astronomy
- Earth sciences and paleobiology
- Evolutionary and systematic biology
- History of science and technology
- History of art, especially American, contemporary,
African, and Asian art, twentieth-century
American crafts, and decorative arts - Social and cultural history of the United States
- Folklife
- Materials Research
Deadline: January 15 annually (applications are available in September)
Postdoctoral Fellowships are offered to scholars who have held the degree or equivalent for less than seven years. Senior Fellowships are offered to scholars who have held the degree or equivalent for seven years or more. The term is 3 to 12 months**. Both fellowships offer a stipend of $42,000* per year plus allowances.
* Earth and Planetary Sciences Senior and Postdoctoral stipends are $47,000 per year.
** Postdoctoral fellowship applicants in science may apply for up to 24 months.
Predoctoral Fellowships are offered to doctoral candidates who have completed preliminary course work and examinations. Candidates must have the approval of their universities to conduct doctoral research at the Smithsonian Institution. The term is 3 to 12 months. The stipend is $27,000 per year plus allowances.
Graduate Student Fellowships are offered to stu-dents formally enrolled in a graduate program of study, who have completed at least one semester, and not yet been advanced to candidacy if in a Ph.D. Program. Applicants must submit a proposal for research in a discipline, which is pursued at the Smithsonian. The term is 10 weeks; the stipend is $6,000.
Smithsonian Postdoctoral Fellowship in Stable Isotope Biogeochemistry
The Office of the Undersecretary of Science at the Smithsonian Institution is offering an Interdisciplinary Postdoctoral Fellowship in the area of stable isotope biogeochemistry. Research proposals must integrate the use of stable isotopes (2H/1H, 13C/12C, 15N/14N, and 18O/16O) into their specific research questions. Isotope analyses will be conducted at one of the two Pan-Institutional isotope facilities (OUSS/MCI Stable Isotope Mass Spectrometry Facility in Suitland, MD or at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Panama City, Panama). Applicants interested in this fellowship are strongly encouraged to contact potential advisors/hosts at any of the Smithsonian’s various Museums and Research Units prior to proposal preparation and submission. Please consult the research staff listed for the Museum, Research Units, and Offices at the links to Smithsonian Opportunities for Research and Study’ see below.