UCLA Research Grants

The UCLA Library Special Collections Research Fellowships Program supports the use of special collections materials by visiting scholars and UCLA graduate students. Collections that are administered by UCLA Library Special Collections and available for fellowship-supported research include rare books, journals, manuscripts, archives, printed ephemera, photographs and other audiovisual materials, oral history interviews, and other items in the humanities and social sciences; medical, life and physical sciences; visual and performing arts; and UCLA history.

The Fellowships

James and Sylvia Thayer Short-term Research Fellowships

Thayer fellowships provide support for research in any collections administered by UCLA Library Special Collections. Stipends range from $500 to $2,500 and vary yearly; grants in 2016 averaged $1,770 and in 2017 averaged $1,500. Awards are funded by an endowment established by longtime UCLA benefactors James and Sylvia Thayer.

Barbara Rootenberg Short-term Research Fellowship in the History of Medicine and the Life Sciences

The Rootenberg fellowship promotes the use of materials in History & Special Collections for the Sciences in UCLA Library Special Collections. One annual fellowship is awarded in the amount of $1,000. The award is named for Barbara Rootenberg, an alumna of the UCLA School of Library Service and an internationally-renowned antiquarian bookseller.

Kenneth Karmiole Endowed Research Fellowship in UCLA Library Special Collections

The Karmiole fellowship supports the use of UCLA Library Special Collections materials by visiting scholars and graduate students. One annual fellowship will be awarded in the amount of $5,000 to allow scholars to pursue research lasting from one to three months. The award is funded by an endowment established by Kenneth Karmiole, an internationally-renowned antiquarian bookseller who earned his master’s degree in library science from UCLA in 1971. Information and application details are available at http://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections/karmiole-fellowships .

R.B. Kitaj Fellowship

The Kitaj fellowship will allow scholars to pursue research lasting up to two months in UCLA Library Special Collections. One fellowship will be awarded in the amount of $2,500. The R.B. Kitaj Research Fellowship award is funded by the R.B. Kitaj Studio Project, a non-profit dedicated to promoting the legacy of American painter R.B. Kitaj (1932-2007). The fellowship was initiated to encourage research into and creative work inspired by Kitaj, an internationally renowned painter and intellectual. Born in Ohio, Kitaj spent much of his career in London, where he was a key participant in what is known as the “School of London.” He spent the last decade of his life in Los Angeles. In addition to a rich body of artwork, Kitaj left behind a large collection of papers and musings, now housed at UCLA Library Special Collections in the Charles E. Young Research Library. Kitaj Research Fellow awardees are expected to be in residence at UCLA Library Special Collections and to make use of the R.B. Kitaj Papers (Collection 1741). Information and application details are available at http://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections/kitaj-fellowships

Ahmanson Research Fellowships for the Study of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Books

Ahmanson Fellowships support the use of medieval and Renaissance monographic and manuscript holdings in UCLA Library Special Collections: the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection of the Aldine Press; the Ahmanson-Murphy Collection of Early Italian Printing; the Elmer Belt Library of Vinciana; the Orsini Family Papers; the Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts Collection; the Richard and Mary Rouse Collection of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and Early Printed Books; and the Medieval and Renaissance Arabic and Persian Medical Manuscripts. The fellowships provide $2,500 per month for up to three months. Administered by the UCLA Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, this program requires an application separate from that for Thayer, Rootenberg, Karmiole, and Kitaj fellowships, and delivered to a different address; information is available on the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies Center’s website at http://www.cmrs.ucla.edu/awards-fellowships/ahmanson/ .

Eligibility

Thayer and Rootenberg Fellowships:  United States citizens and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S. who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, academic, or independent research are invited to apply. Research residencies may last up to three months between January 3 and December 15, 2018.

Karmiole Fellowships:  United States citizens and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S. who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, academic, or independent research are invited to apply. Research residencies may last from one to three months between January 3 and December 15, 2018.  Information and application details are available at:  http://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections/karmiole-fellowships

Kitaj Fellowships:  United States citizens and permanent residents with the legal right to work in the U.S. who are engaged in graduate-level, post-doctoral, academic, or independent research are invited to apply. Research residencies may last from one to three months between January 3 and August 31, 2018.  Information and application details are available at:  http://www.library.ucla.edu/special-collections/kitaj-fellowships

Application Contents and Instructions for Thayer and Rootenberg Fellowships

Researchers can submit a single application for “Short-term Research Fellowships” in order to be considered for either the Thayer or Rootenberg fellowships. Applications must be received on or before November 1, 2017.

Applications must include:

• Cover letter

• Curriculum vitae

• Outline of research topic and special collections to be used (two pages maximum)

• Brief budget for travel, living, and research expenses

• Dates to be spent in residence

• Two letters of recommendation from faculty or other scholars familiar with the research project. Please note that the committee cannot consider letters of recommendation from librarians or staff of the UCLA Library.

Application materials for the Thayer and Rootenberg Fellowships, including letters of recommendation, may be submitted in PDF format by email to lib_lscfellowships@library.ucla.edu .  Letters of recommendation in PDF format can also be sent by email, either by the person writing them or by the applicant.

Review Process and Notification

A committee will evaluate the research proposals, and applicants will be notified of the committee’s decision by email on or before December 1, 2017.

Contact Info:

Russell A. Johnson (Chair; and Curator for History of Medicine and the Sciences)

Short-term Research Fellowships Program

UCLA Library Special Collections

A1713 Charles E. Young Research Library

Box 951575

Los Angeles, CA 90095-1575

Phone:     310.825.6940