Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic we are temporarily extending the eligibility for this fellowship from up to 12 years after earning your PhD rather than 10 years. The Foundation will make allowances for periods of caregiving. Qualified scholars of any nationality or institutional affiliation may apply. The Foundation gives preference to applicants who are untenured or do not yet have a permanent academic position.

The research that forms the basis of the writing project should be completed by the time of application. In special circumstances and with prior approval of the Foundation, recipients may use part of their stipend to complete a minor component of the research.

Applicants must be ready to devote a continuous block of time to the fellowship. They may request support for a project requiring less than the full 9 months available, in which case the Foundation will prorate the fellowship so the monthly stipend remains the same.

If you would like to propose an alternative timeline involving less than full-time work on your project, please contact us at applications@wennergren.org.

Most grantees must complete all requirements of their existing award, including submission of the final report, before applying for a new award. But if you have a Conference and Workshop Grant, a Global Initiatives Grant, or a Historical Archives Program grant, you are welcome to apply; if so, please contact us for more information. Prior recipients of a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship are not eligible to apply.

Our reviewers carefully assess the quality of the proposed project, its potential contribution to anthropological knowledge, and its adherence to the principles articulated in our mission, including a commitment to fostering an inclusive vision of anthropology. We expect applicants to draw inspiration from a broad range of scholarship, including relevant work in English and other languages. Please refer to “Motion of the 32nd RBA: Diversify Information and Education about the Global Anthropologies of Foreign Researchers and Anthropology Students.”

Successful proposals have the following features:

• A well-defined focus
• A convincing explanation of how the research forming the basis of the project effectively supports the findings
• A compelling description of how the writing project will advance anthropological knowledge and transform debates in the field
• Realistic goals when it comes to the amount of writing to be completed.

The Foundation prioritizes applicants who have already made considerable progress on their project. Successful applicants are able to demonstrate, by providing detailed outlines and synopses, that they have a clear vision of the work ahead and know what they need to do to succeed.

Applicants whose research is oriented toward primatology or primate conversation must demonstrate the broader anthropological relevance of their work. The Foundation supports work on endangered languages and language structure, but only when it is grounded in anthropological concerns.

To present your project in the best possible light, please follow all instructions for completing your application. Use all the available space to describe your project. If you have questions, contact us at applications@wennergren.org or (+1) 212.683.5000.

The application asks for the following:

• General information about you and your writing project
• An abstract of your writing project
• Answers to four questions about your project.
• A resubmission statement if we declined a Hunt Postdoctoral Fellowship application you submitted previously.
• A bibliography relevant to your proposed project.

The application also asks you to list the permits and permissions required for the proposed project, with the estimated dates by which you expect to secure them. However, please do not submit these documents with your application. If your application is successful, we will request copies of all relevant materials when we notify you of your award.

Applications must be in English. Applicants must submit all forms and other required materials online. If you don’t have adequate internet access to use our system, please contact us at least 1 week before the deadline and we’ll help arrange an alternative method. The online portal opens for applications 2 months before the application deadline.

Before submitting your application, please refer to the U.S. tax information on our website. Non-U.S. applicants should read the information on visa requirements for non-U.S. citizens present or coming to the U.S. as part of their project.

The Foundation requires successful applicants to comply with all U.S. laws. These include but are not limited to regulations governed by the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which administers U.S. government sanctions programs and regulations relating to the Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons List (SDN List). Please see the OFAC Guidelines page on our website and consult the U.S. Department of the Treasury for more information.

In compliance with OFAC regulations, the Foundation requires special documentation for projects located in Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, Venezuela, Crimea (including Sevastopol), the Donetsk People’s Republic and Luhansk People’s Republic regions of Ukraine, and Russia. The Foundation does not require this documentation at the application stage, but we must receive it before we can release funds.

Please do not send any other materials beyond what the application requests. Do not send transcripts, letters of reference, manuscripts, publications, photographs, or recordings. We will not use this material in the review process, and we cannot return it to you.