Suzanne and Caleb Loring Research Fellowship

About

The Massachusetts Historical Society and the Boston Athenaeum will award one Suzanne and Caleb Loring Fellowship on the Civil War, Its Origins, and Consequences annually. The recipient will conduct research for at least four weeks at each institution between 1 July 2025 and 30 June 2026. The Athenaeum’s Civil War collections are anchored by its holdings of Confederate states imprints, the largest in the nation, consisting of books, maps, broadsides, sheet music, government documental publications, and other materials organized according to the Parrish & Willingham bibliography. The Society’s manuscript holdings on the Civil War are particularly strong. They include, for instance, diaries, photographs, correspondence from the battlefield and the home front, papers of political leaders, materials on black regiments raised in Massachusetts, and extensive holdings on the U.S. Sanitary Commission. The Athenaeum and the Society are especially interested in projects for which both repositories’ resources are vital. The fellowship carries a stipend of $6,000. Each institution will automatically refer unsuccessful proposals to its short-term fellowship competition.

Applicants must be U.S. citizens or already hold the J-1 or F-1 visa (or equivalent documents) AND a U.S. taxpayer identification number. The MHS cannot sponsor visas for researchers. Foreign nationals must consult with MHS staff about their eligibility to receive a stipend before submitting an application.

Applicants are encouraged to contact the Assistant Director of Research, Cassie Cloutier (ccloutier@masshist.org), with any additional questions or concerns.

Past Recipients

How to Apply for a Loring Fellowship

Application Requirements

Apply here with the below materials.

A cover letter.
A current curriculum vitae.
A project proposal approximately 1,000 words in length.
The proposal should include:
a) a description of the project;
b) a statement explaining the historiographical significance of
the project;
c) an indication of the specific Massachusetts Historical Society and Boston Athenaeum collections the applicant wishes to consult.
A short project description approximately 100 words in length.
Applicants who do NOT hold a Ph.D.: One letter of recommendation from a faculty member familiar with your work and with the project being proposed. Please note the letter is due at the application deadline. You may initiate your recommendation request through our application portal at any time - you do not need to wait until your application is complete.

Deadline

Applications must be submitted by 11:59 PM EST on 15 February 2025.

Questions?