Fellowships for Visiting Scholars

DEADLINE: January 17, 2025

The Masterson Fellowship, endowed by Conrad and Ellen Masterson of Cee Vee, Texas, provides opportunities for visiting scholars, external to the University of Oklahoma, who want to conduct research in the Western History Collections for one or two months (four or eight weeks) during the summer. The fellowship is open to advanced graduate students, faculty, or independent scholars engaged in an original research project of significant scholarly merit that will benefit directly from the utilization of materials in the Western History Collections. An award, or awards, of one or two months (four or eight weeks) will be made, and priority consideration for at least one fellowship line will be given to research on range management history, the impact of cattle ranching in the American West, or related topics.

The stipend for the Masterson Fellowship is $2,500 per month, per the fellow’s residency length.

Deadline for applications: January 17, 2025

Fellowships for University of Oklahoma Graduate Students

DEADLINE: February 14, 2025

Graduate fellowships support summer appointments in the Western History Collections for students in masters or doctoral programs at OU. Graduate fellows will evenly divide their time between using WHC materials to advance their dissertation or thesis research, and working on assigned WHC projects that will provide practical experience in archival science, librarianship, or information science (archival processing, collection digitization, etc.). The stipend for the graduate student fellowships is $1,500 per month. The fellowships are eight weeks long and involve 20 hours of work per week.

Deadline for applications: February 14, 2025

• The Jack Haley Fellowship, endowed by Fred and Patricia Schonwald of Oklahoma City, provides fellowships for graduate students in the Department of History at the University of Oklahoma. Fellowships will be awarded for an eight-week period for 2025.
• The Dale Society Fellowship, supported by the Association of Western History Collections Endowment, supports a graduate student (or students) in other University of Oklahoma graduate programs outside the Department of History. The fellowship residency period will be eight weeks.

The Application Process

Apply for the Masterson Fellowship, Jack Haley Fellowship, and Dale Society Fellowship.

• Candidates for the Masterson Fellowship must submit the following:
  • Indicate the fellowship for which you wish to be considered
  • Research proposal (1,500 words) outlining the research project and plan of work, citing specific WHC collections and their centrality to the research project
  • Curriculum vitae
  • Two letters of support for their specific project from individuals familiar with their work
• Candidates for the Haley and Dale Society Fellowships must submit the following:
  • Indicate the fellowship for which you wish to be considered
  • A research proposal (1,500 words) outlining the research project and plan of work, citing specific WHC collections and their centrality to the research project
  • A curriculum vitae
  • Candidates for the Haley and Dale Society Fellowships must submit transcripts (unofficial transcripts accepted) demonstrating a GPA of no less than 3.5 and
  • One letter of support from an OU faculty member familiar with their work

Successful applications will describe the importance and impact of the research inquiry and will identify defined resources in the Western History Collections that are essential to their work. Applicants are encouraged to contact us to help identify resources.

Fellows will be required to present their work to the OU community as part of their award.

Incomplete applications will not be considered.