Open to CU Boulder Graduate Students

The Program in Jewish Studies and the Department of History annually award the History – Jewish Studies Archive Summer Fellowship, which provides a $4,000 fellowship to a CU Boulder graduate student for the summer. The fellowship requires 130 hours of work over the summer (or approximately 13 hours per week but to be allocated however works best around the student’s schedules) in the Innovations in Jewish Life Collections, housed in the University Libraries’ Rare and Distinctive Collections. The Fellow will conduct and complete projects such as performing original research, designing, and curating exhibits, creating digital humanities initiatives, and other programs based on archival materials. A portion of the required 130 hours must be spent performing original research in the IJL collections; this research must be  conducted in the Rare and Distinctive Collections Reading Room in Norlin Library during the room’s open hours, Monday - Thursday, 10:00am - 4:00pm. For more information about the collections, please visit the Innovations in Jewish Life Collections.

The Fellow is expected to produce an original research paper or project using one or more of the IJL collections. The Fellow is encouraged, though not required, to use this research to further their dissertation projects, and the paper may also serve as a chapter in their dissertation or be the first draft of an article to be submitted for publication. Consultations with Rare and Distinctive Collections archivists are available and encouraged to orient the Fellow to the IJL collections.  Upon completion, the paper will be made available on the Innovations in Jewish Life Collections website for public viewing. The student will also share a brief presentation (approximately 10 minutes) on the research at a research showcase in April.

Graduate students from relevant disciplines (History or Jewish Studies) are welcome to apply; however, preference will be given to candidates with experience and/or interest in Jewish Studies, American history and culture, and/or archival work. Competency in foreign languages would be useful and should be mentioned in an application, although this is not a prerequisite for application.

Submission Guidelines:

Applications should be submitted to CUJewishStudies@colorado.edu by the Dec. 6 deadline and include the following information:

  • CV
  • A letter of application describing your current research interests, proposed project, any relevant experience or academic studies, and the IJL collections you intend to use in your fellowship.  We suggest you familiarize yourself with the collections before submitting your application (500 word maximum)
  • The name and email address of your primary advisor, as a reference

Submission Deadline:

Please apply by December 6, 2024.