Big Ten Academic Alliance Smithsonian Fellowship
Big Ten Academic Alliance Smithsonian Fellowship supports doctoral candidates from Alliance universities in residence-based research using Smithsonian expertise and resources to advance their dissertations.
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Funder: Smithsonian Institution
Due Dates: October 15, 2026 (Application deadline, 11:59 PM ET) | June 1, 2027–May 30, 2028 (Appointment start window)
Funding Amounts: $45,000 annual stipend, prorated for shorter appointments, plus up to $5,000 annual research allowance; 3–12 months
Summary: Supports doctoral candidates from Big Ten Academic Alliance universities conducting dissertation research in residence at the Smithsonian.
Key Information: Applicants must be currently enrolled at a participating university and satisfy all doctoral requirements except the dissertation before appointment.
Description
The Big Ten Academic Alliance and the Smithsonian Institution offer this fellowship to advance doctoral dissertations through research in residence at Smithsonian facilities. Candidates identify appropriate Smithsonian advisers whose expertise and resources support their proposed research and scholarly goals. The program builds on the Alliance’s collaborative mission of sharing expertise, leveraging campus resources, and creating opportunities for students and faculty.
Supported research includes animal behavior, ecology, and environmental science, especially in the tropics; anthropology, including archaeology, cultural anthropology, linguistics, and physical anthropology; earth sciences and paleobiology; evolutionary and systematic biology; folklife; materials research; and molecular biology. It also supports history of science and technology, U.S. social and cultural history, and art history, especially American, contemporary, African, and Asian art, twentieth-century American crafts, and decorative arts.
