Humanities and Social Science Postdocs 2009-2010edit

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This page is for postdocs that begin in 2010.

Contents 1 Formatting 2 Fellowship Listings 2.1 AAUW American Fellowships 2.2 American Academy in Rome 2.3 American Academy of Arts & Sciences Visiting Scholars 2.4 American Council of Learned Societies 2.5 American University in Cairo Teaching Postdoc Fellowships 2.6 ASA Postdoc on the Current Economic Crisis 2.7 Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowship 2.8 Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship 2.9 Arnhold Faculty Fellowship in Cognitive Approaches to Literary Studies 2.10 Brandeis - Crown Center for Middle East Studies Junior Scholar Fellowship 2.11 British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.12 2.13 Brown Pembroke Center Postdoc ("The Power and Mystery of Expertise") 2.14 Brown Political Theory Project Research Associates Program 2.15 Brown Watson Institute for International Studies visiting fellowships 2.16 California Institute of Technology - Postdoctoral Instructorship  2.17 Canadian Commonwealth Scholarships Program - Post Doctoral Research Fellowships (PDRF) 2.18 Carleton College - Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Studies 2.19 Carnegie Mellon University AW Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.20 Carnegie Mellon University Humanities Center Fellowship - "Identities in Conflict" 2.21 Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity 2.22 Center for Cultural Analysis at Rutgers University 2.23 The College at Brockport, State University of New York Presidential Fellows 2.24 Columbia Society of Fellows 2.25 Columbia University Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Music 2.26 Committee on Global Thought Fellowship 2.27 Consortium for Faculty Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges – Dissertation and Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.28 Dartmouth College - Dickey Center Visiting Fellowships 2.29 Dartmouth College - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.30 Duke University-Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.31 Duke University-Feminist/Human Animal Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.32 Duke University - Writing Program 2.33 Durham University (UK) Postdoc Research Associate 2.34 ECLA Berlin Postdoc Fellowships 2.35 Emory University Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry postdoc fellowships 2.36 Frankfurt University postdoc in social anthropology (value and equivalence) 2.37 George Washington University - Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Contemporary History 2.38 Getty Research Institute Display of Art Pre and Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.39 Gothenburg - Fellowship in Globalization and Development 2.40 Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships 2.41 Harvard Academy Scholars Program 2.42 Harvard JFK School of Government - Belfer Center Fellowships 2.43 Harvard Center for the Environment Post-Doctoral Fellowship 2.44 Harvard College Writing Program 2.45 Harvard Humanities Center Fellowship 2.46 Harvard Society of Fellows 2.47 Haverford College John B. Hurford Humanities Center Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.48 Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Fellowships 2.49 IAS Visiting Scholars 2.50 ISAW Visiting Scholars Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU 2.51 Jackman Humanities Institute University of Toronto 2.52 Jean Monnet Fellowship 2.53 Johns Hopkins University Mellon Postdocs: "Concepts of Diaspora" 2.54 Johns Hopkins University - Writing Program 2.55 Lawrence Universtiy Fellowships in Liberal Arts 2.56 Lilly Fellows Program 2.57 Luther College Postdoctoral Fellowship English and Enviromental Studies 2.58 Macalester College - Wallin Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Studies, Islamic World Studies 2.59 Madison Wisconsin - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human Rights 2.60 Magdalen College, Oxford Fellowship by Examination 2.61 Manchester U - Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute postdoc fellowship 2.62 Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.63 MIT, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities 2.64 Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Fellowship 2.65 Max Weber Fellowship 2.66 McGill University - Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities and Related Social Sciences 2.67 National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships 2.68 NEH Summer Stipends 2.69 National Humanities Center Fellowships 2.70 Northwestern-African American Studies 2.71 Northwestern-Linguistics Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.72 Notre Dame Center for the Philosophy of Religion Fellowships 2.73 Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Residential Fellowships 2.74 Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute for International Studies Visiting Fellowships 2.75 Notre Dame Moreau Academic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.76 Nottingham Advance Research Fellowship 2.77 NHC Wellesley Fellowships 2.78 NYU - Liberal Studies Program 2.79 NYU Academic Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity 2.80 Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 2 Year NEH 2.81 Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 1 Year Mellon 2.82 Oxford - St. John's, Christ Church & Merton Colleges Joint JRFs 2.83 Pennsylvania State University Africana Research Center Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.84 Presidential Management Fellows 2.85 2.86 Princeton Center for African American Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.87 Princeton Center for the Study of Democratic Politics Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows 2.88 Princeton Davis Center Fellowships 2.89 Princeton Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance Fellowship 2.90 Princeton Writing Program 2.91 Princeton Society of Fellows 2.92 Rice University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.93 Rice University - Medical Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.94 Rice University - South Asia 2.95 Rice University - Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Postdoctoral Fellowships 2.96 Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt 2.97 SAR Resident Scholar Fellowships 2.98 Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Scholars-in-Residence Program 2.99 SFI - Omidyar Fellowships 2.100 SSHRC 2.101 Stanford University Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities 2.102 Stanford University Program on Global Justice Fellowships 2.103 Swarthmore Mellon Post-Doc Fellowship in Gender & Sexuality Studies 2.104 Temple University Center for the Humanities 2.105 Tufts University 2.106 Tulane University Mellon Post-doc 2.107 University of California Berkeley - Mellon Postdoc Humanities 2.108 University of California-President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program 2.109 UCLA Dean's Postdoc Fellowships in Social Science in Practice 2.110 University of Cambridge - Clare College JRF 2.111 University of Cambridge: Corpus Christi JRF 2.112 University of Cambridge - Emmanuel College Junior Research Fellowships 2.113 University of Cambridge - Five College Joint JRFs 2.114 University of Cambridge- Gonville & Caius College Junior Research Fellowships 2.115 University of Cambridge: Homerton JRF 2.116 University of Cambridge - King's College Junior Research Fellowships 2.117 University of Cambridge - Magdalene JRF 2.118 University of Cambridge - Newnham JRF 2.119 University of Cambridge - Peterhouse JRF 2.120 University of Cambridge - Peterhouse College Fellowship & College Lectureship in History 2.121 University of Cambridge - Randall Dillard Fellowship, Pembroke College 2.122 University of Cambridge - St Catharines College Junior Research Fellowships 2.123 University of Cambridge - Sidney Sussex College JRF 2.124 University of Cambridge - Trinity College JRF 2.125 University of Chicago Society of Fellows 2.126 University of Chicago Provost's Career Enhancement Postdoctoral Scholarships 2.127 University of Michigan Du Bois-Rodney-Mandela Fellowship 2.128 University of Michigan Society of Fellows 2.129 University of Michigan Mellon Sawyer Post-Doc - Ethnicity in Africa 2.130 University of Michigan NCID 2.131 University of Minnesota Quadrant Fellows 2.132 University of Oxford - Nuffield College Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships 2.133 University of Pennsylvania, Critical Writing Program 2.134 University of Pennsylvania, Penn Humanities Forum Postdoctoral Fellowship 2.135 University of Pennsylvania Mellon Teaching Postdoctoral Scholarships 2.136 University of Pittsburgh - Humanities Center Residential Fellow 2.137 University of South Carolina Institute for Southern Studies postdoc 2.138 University of South Florida 2.139 2.140 University of South Florida 2.141 University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies 2.142 University of Texas at Austin, English Department 2.143 University of Texas at Dallas, Arts & Humanities 2.144 University of Virginia, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, Post-doctoral Residential Research and Teaching Fellowship 2.145 University of Western Sydney - Research Lectureship in English Lit or Linguistics. 2.146 Van Leer Institute Jerusalem - Polonsky Postdoctoral Fellowships 3 Virginia Foundation for the Humanities 3.1 Walters Art Museum Mellon Curatorial Postdocs 3.2 Warburg Institute, University of London: Frances Yates Long-Term Fellowship in Cultural and Intellectual History 3.3    Washington University Mellon Postdoc 3.4 Wesleyan University - Center for the Americas Mellon Postdoc 3.5 Williams College - Bolin Fellowship 3.6 Yale University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities 3.7 Yale -  Post Doctoral Fellowships in South Asian Studies 3.8 Yale Linguistics Dept -  postdoctoral associate in syntax 4 General Discussion and Comments 4.1 Project Proposals 4.2 Outcome of your Postdoc Competition 4.3 Application Format 4.4 Specific Competitions 4.5 Application Strategies 4.6 Accepting / Negotiating Offers 4.7 Wiki Behavior 4.8 CV Content 4.9 State of the Academic Job Market 4.10 Miscellaneous 4.11 Interviews

[edit] Formatting

Note that the new wiki system has a rich text editor which should make editing these pages simple! However, please adhere to the following guidelines:

1. Please place new fellowship entries in alphabetical order. Note that "University of X" should be alphabetized by U as first sort, and X as second sort within the U listings.
2. Please mark the title of the fellowship using the H3 header.
3. Please include the deadline and a web link to the ad/website; PLEASE follow the format of other entries.
4. For logging comments or updates, please begin your entry with a bullet point. Each entry should have a separate line.
5. For substantive comments or updates about status, interaction, etc., please include the date at the beginning of your entry so that users can scan the info quickly for new entries.

For more information and answers to some questions about timing, materials requests, application numbers and fields, offers, etc. see last year's postdoc wiki at: http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_%26_Soc_Sci_Postdocs_2008-2009

 

[edit] Fellowship Listings

[edit] AAUW American Fellowships

Info Deadline: November 15, 2009

• Status goes here

[edit] American Academy in Rome

[http://www.aarome.org/; November 01, 2009

[edit] American Academy of Arts & Sciences Visiting Scholars

Info Deadline: October 16, 2009

• Status goes here
• Q: Anyone know when decisions will be made?
• Just checked the site, said in March
• Anyone know if they do interviews?
• Not according to last year's wiki

[edit] American Council of Learned Societies

Info Deadline: 11/24

• 50 two-year postdocs for 2008-09 Ph.D.s, according to the story I linked from Inside Higher Education.  My question would be if these fellowships are applied for through the degree-granting institution or a new hiring institution.
  • through the degree-granting institution, which has to nominate you. Schools are given a fixed number of nominations
  • Is it then portable, or do you actually serve the fellowship at the degree-granting institution?
  • That part's not entirely clear to me - the fellowship cannot be served at the degree-granting institution, but I don't know if you're randomly assigned a school or if the school makes the final decision as to which candidates they want. More information will probably be available once the invites to apply go out (which at my school is the end of this month)
  • Here's the process: Each participating school does internal nominations to the nationwide competition.  Total nationwide nominees will then total around 1,000.  Out of this 1,000, they give out 50 or so 2-year fellowships.  If you're one of the 50, participating schools all get a chance to pick you from the entire pool.  If you get multiple offers, you get to choose which one you want to go to.
  • I have a question about the way this will operate/what the target group is and I'm wondering what people think/know/have heard. Assuming they'll choose the 50 best candidates from this pool of us (say 1000, though I like those cooking down the numbers below. noone seemed even to have heard about it at my large highly ranked research institution - I might have been the only one nominated for all I know), since this is a general competition (rather than meeting the qualifications of a job description), wouldn't we also assume that these are the 50 people likely to get TT offers? There aren't many jobs this year but there are a whole lot more than 50 for this pool. So if they're announcing in late January (after most major TT searches will be well into the on-campus stage) aren't those 50 selected most like to be about to receive a TT offer? And if so, aren't most of us like me, in that I'd take most TT offers over a decent but not amazing Post-doc. And if so doesn't that mean that many of the 50 will turn down the Post-doc? Will there be a waitlist? I guess what I'm saying is the timing of this seems off and I wonder to what extent this post-doc will add 50 real spots to the field or if it's just intensifying the scramble for the best of the best.
    • A waitlist would indeed seem appropriate in this situation, but I think I remember reading somewhere that there won't be one. Perhaps they're banking on not having to pay for all 50?
    • I agree. According to the materials distributed by ACLS, there will be no wait list. Since most candidates would probably prefer a t-t job to this or any other post-doc, and since those who win this competition will likely be stellar job candidates as well, it seems unlikely that ACLS will award all 50 fellowships. Given the depth and severity of the job crisis in academia (and all other job sectors!), it's really too bad. After all, they do keep a reserve list for other competitions (e.g. Early Career), and as I understand it, many of the alternates received an award. Does anybody else have insight to share? 
    • Yeah (it was my question above), I started to put all this together just as I was finishing the application. Really disheartening to think that the purported aim of this grant (to keep the humanities afloat during economic depression) is potentially completely undermined by its execution on the ground. Trying to assume that I haven't taken all of the particulars into account.
    • Maybe those accepting TT positions or more prestigious post-docs will withdraw from the competition in time to make room for the others.  Just a hopeful suggestion.
    • I'd like to think that as well but unless the notification is later than expected (late january) the earliest of searches will just be in campus visit stages, so noone will know yet.
• Informed by institution of nomination for fellowship.  Application materials from ACLS to follow shortly. 10/29
• ACLS request for materials by Nov 24 deadline (10/30)
  • Were you informed by email?
    • Yes.  Received email from ACLS on 10/30.
• Question about this postdoc: on the online application, they ask you to list up to 8 other places you have or are currently applying to, listing the most recent first.  Well, I'm sure applying to more than 8, and I wondered if anyone else had a sense of the subtext of this question: should I list the 8 fanciest places to which I'm applying, the 8 least fancy, a mix?  Should I list other postdocs, or only TTs?   
  • I understood that question to mean: what were your experiences on the job market in previous years. Do you think they are looking for info from this year's ongoing searches, e.g., "interviewing at conference" or "invited to campus"? Curious to know what others think and how you are approaching this.
  • The page on the site says: "[The information] is for administrative purposes only and will not be distributed as part of the selection process." So I would just answer by listing the most recent eight applications that you have filed and the results of those applications, as that is what they ask for. No need to be strategic, as it will not (if I am reading correctly) be passed on to the reviewers.
    • Ah, I see you are correct.  Many thanks!
• Does the 25 page limit include the bibliography?
  • Yeah, I think so. I tried to upload a file of 25 pages + footnotes; it wouldn't let me even upload the file. Dagnabbit.--Thank you!  Back to murdering that piece some more!
  • Do you think it is okay to put footnotes in 10 pt font rather than 11 pt? I've got four pages of figures (i.e. only 21 pages of text), so I can make some adjustments, but it just looks better with the notes slightly smaller than the main text. Thoughts?
  • What if you decrease the size of the figures? --Thanks - I'll try that.
  • Does it have to be 25 pages? mine is 17 and I am quite happy with it.
    • Mine is 15 pp. (published article) including notes.
• 1000/50=20. A 1 in 20 chance is probably the best odds of anything on this page. Princeton (and one supposes Harvard, Columbia and Chicago) are 1 in 280, Michigan 1 in 172. Thank You ACLS for this glimmer of hope!
  • You know, I saw where they said 1000 or so applications. But then I also saw where they said each institution can nominate up to 10, and there are 60 nominating institutions. So I'm confused. But I'm happy to let myself believe that the chances are closer to 1 in 12!
    • I can't remember where I read it, but I think I saw that each university was given a particular number of students to nominate, up to 20. - I read 30.
      • I read 15 somewhere.
        • (2nd poster) - I looked, and my nomination email said my home institution nominated 10, but perhaps that was just them. I suppose I should just take ACLS at their word, but I'm happier imagining that the odds are lower...
        • Only two nominations from my rather large, Western land-grant university.  I hope the odds are much better than 1: 20. 
        • I like this trend! Maybe there's even a few places that didn't get their s**t together in time to nominate anyone! (wishful thinking is the bread and butter of the humanities job seeker...)
        • maybe there are only 50 of us!
        • I'm not sure how many my home university (Harvard) made, but I'm assuming quite a few more than 10.
        • My little private university nominated 5 -- and just barely got it done in time. Still, one in twenty chances with an honest application beats 1 in 400 with an application spun towards "diaspora" or some other B.S. 
        • I don't want to burst anyone's bubble here, but my school nominated 35. 
          • <pop!>
        • My school was "invited to nominate up to 15."  Sounds like different schools were asked to nominate different numbers of applicants.  It looks like we might need to take them at their word that there will be close to 1,000 total. 
        • I think I'll start practicing the expression "It was an honor just to be nominated."
• Any idea what the time line is on this postdoc? When will they select the chosen 50?
  • I seem to remember them saying we'd be notified in late January...?
    • It said on the application that the 50 would be selected and notified in late January, and the host universities would make their offers in February.
  • I just went and double checked my application (to make sure my third reference had arrived). I saw that on the informational part of the application, my description of my project cuts off mid-word. I checked it when I uploaded it, and I swear this was not an issue at this time. I am hoping that because I describe my project throughout the rest of the app that this is okay. Did this happen to anyone else??? Is this an automatic reject pile kind of error, do you think? Grrr....
    • I have a better one: just looked at my application materials and realized I left a note to myself in the writing sample ("add footnote about X").  On the first page!  Who does this?  I feel like an idiot.
    • LOL. Thanks for sharing this :)
    • do yourselves a favor and leave your applications alone; send them off and don't look back. If you want to fret, do so over the applications that lay ahead.
    • My chair just informed me that there are officially 800 applicants--so the odds are even better than 1/20 (i.e. 1/16). Good luck to everyone!
    • Thanks for the info!
    • Received rejection email, 1/12 (French) (French/SLA) (English x5) (Classics) (Comp Lit x2) (English/Film studies X2)(Spanish)(Musicology) (Art History x4)(Ethnomusicology)(History x2)(Anthropology) (Linguistics)(German)
    • heartbroken (x7)...but also grateful to know now rather than April.
    • balls
    • Vowing never, never to apply to a postdoc again. Too much work and too much competition.
    • Unfortunately, we are unable to provide feedback on your application as there are no reviewer comments available for this program.  Furthermore, we do not know at this point whether this program will be offered again next year.  Everybody received this last painful stab, yes?
    • Anybody else out there NOT receive a rejection email? I didn't, but no acceptance either, so I'm wondering if I've made some sort of first cut ... or just that the rejection email hasn't arrived yet for some reason... (1/12) (x3)
    • What time did the rejection e-mails come? Trying to figure out if it was a mass mailing or coming in waves...
    • Email acceptance 1/12 (x11)
    • Congrats to those accepted! (x4)
    • To the person who didn't receive a rejection or acceptance email: You may want to inquire with Lauren Birnie <lbirnie@acls.org>. That's where my email came from.
• Does anyone else find the second stage in the process weird? You wait for schools to bid on you. Some will do interviews, some won't, and the bids will trickle in. So you may get a bid from one and they give you a deadline to accept before you know whether or not you're getting a second bid. It seems unorganized. (x2)
• I agree. And does ACLS really expect us (and our advisors) not to reach out to departments informally to try to influence where we end up? (1/14) (x2)
• remember: *if* is still a key factor-- one can still only end up with a one year stipend, and no job for the next.
• I know *if* is a possibility still, but with 50 candidates and 92 schools, statistically it seems like most candidates would get at least one bid.
• my question is: since this is across the humanities and the (chuckle) humanistic social sciences, how are the schools who get to select going to determine what department gets priority? a nerd olympics between anthropology and history? competitive karaoke between music and religion? the possibilities are endless... [a question we all must press @ the "webinar"]
• if you don't get a bid, then what? 35K (yes, that's great), but no institutional affiliation, no health insurance, and another year on the job market. it's a serious question, thoughts? you may be able to pick up a teaching gig on the side for institutional affiliation.
• to above: given that many of our peers are going to be adjuncting for much less and without health insurance as well, things could be far worse...I'm not saying that 35K and no institutional affiliation is ideal, but with the market the way it is, I would be hesitant to complain too much about this. (x3)
  • yes, 35K is much more than I'm making this year as an adjunct. And without real institutional affiliation (I'm still using my grad school affiliation and hope I can sneak by on that for another year) - I am thrilled about the 35K possibility (and will be estatic if i get an offer!)
• so sorry, wasn't complaining just asking. i am very grateful.
• I think it is early enough still that we can press ACLS to set some kind of deadline for schools to make their bids. Unless, they are going down their list too, and will want to approach their preferences one at a time. yes, very unnerving process..... but can't complain given the job market.
• As for affiliation, in my experience it's not that difficult to get a dept. at a research university to appoint you as a "visiting scholar" or some other meaningless (and yet so bizarrely important) title
• thank you, this is the type of advice i was looking for.
• Anyone who got this in French?
• Has everyone already gotten an assignment for the webinar? What happens if you can't do either time?
• I got my assignment. I don't know what happens if you can't do either time, but "webinar" is such a silly word. -- It sounds like a longer "webisode".
• I let them know that I couldn't do either time, but I haven't heard back yet.
• OK, this is interesting: Apparently my home institution is having a meeting this week for all dept and program chairs to inform them about this fellowship and to discuss procedures. Then, there will be an internal due date for dept/programs who want to hire someone to submit a proposal, and the Dean will choose among them. Then an offer or offers will go out to the ACLS fellow(s). I wonder if other schools are doing something similar. (1/18) - thanks for this update. Out of curiosity, are the dept. chairs or whoever is responsible for putting together the proposal grousing about having to do this? It would suck to be the victim of an indifferent dept. chair who does not care about the program and therefore does not follow through with it...
• One would hope they all do something similar, this will be my big concern during the "webinar".
• Met with my current institution's Dean yesterday and found out some pertinent info: Institutions can make as many offers as they like (not limited to one field, one fellow) and they will get the list of us on January 25th. When the first round has finished (we have said yes or no), there will be a round two where institutions will get a list of leftover candidates to whom they can make offers. In other words, the chances of any of us getting left with the one-year gig are minute. There are very few institutions out there that would not look at any of us as anything less than an amazing deal, worth the 15 or 20,000. Also, in terms of time-line: my dean thinks the first decisions will have to be made by Feb 15th. This may help some of you who, like me, will be waiting to hear about TT jobs.
• Ditto for my institution. They will distribute the list to departments as soon as it is available, and invite proposals. The dean's office will then set up a priority list, based on teaching needs and general intellectual "fit," and is planning on going down its list until it has made two successful hires, if possible. If none of the offers are accepted, it will go back to the list.
• any news from today's webinar?
• Could some one explain what this "webinar" business is all about? I am at a total loss ... Many Thanks
• It's an online seminar to explain the fellowship and let us ask questions. It mainly rehashed what the website says and the FAQ they sent with acceptances. They did give a timeline however: the dossier clearinghouse opens on Jan 25th, offers from schools should be made from Feb. 15-28, and the deadline for us to accept offers is March 8th.
• That seems like a very early deadline (March 8th). What if you are still waiting to hear from TT or postdocs that are longer than two years? And what if you get offered a TT after March 8th, which could happen if you're the second or third choice at a school -- will we be expected to turn down TT if we have signed for this postdoc?
• It was made abundantly clear (because we asked) that you can accept an offer by the 8th and then renege if you get a TT job. The point of the fellowship is for us to get jobs and to have time and support for research (hence the nice teaching load); if you get a better job that is TT, DO NOT FEEL BAD about reneging. She also said that she can only assume an institution would understand.
• did she anything about how many of us she thought would be placed?
• She said that because this is the first time the program has been run, this is an experiment for them, and they don't know how many of us will get bids, hopefully all.
• About the second round of offers -- how will this work? If you turned down an offer in the first round, does that make you ineligible to receive offers in the second round? I seem to remember something about how you forfeit the award if you refuse all offers, so just wondering how this applies to the first/second round business.
• She didn't mention anything about a second round. All offers will be made within a two week window from Feb 15-28th. Your decision isn't due until March 8th, so you have time to weigh your offers. But if you decline them all, you forfeit the postdoc.
• quick question--my webinar is scheduled for tomorrow morning, i do log-in online AND call the phone number too? A: yes - call the number via computer or phone
• Can someone suggest a format by which to report developments on the Wiki as we move into the next stage?
• That depends on what kind of information you (general "you") want to share.
• probably best not to mention specifics, but i will say that i was contacted today and invited for a campus visit. A: cool! they're moving fast. Can we get a sense of field (whether humanities or social science) and what kind of school (private or public, research or teaching)? I think this might be a good format for sharing info on this fellowship. Thanks! Sure, 1. social sciences 2. private 3. both 4. campus visit.
• Yes: if you're comfortable, please share: 1. humanities or social science 2. private or public 3. research or teaching 3. campus or phone interview or both.
• Email requests: 1) humanities; 2) public; 3) both teaching and research; 4) phone interview (1/28) 2nd and 3rd requests, same (2/5)
• Email request for conference call; humanities; private (1/28)
• Phone call: 1) humanities; 2) public; 3) research & teaching; 4) campus visit (local) (1/27)
• Email request for conference call (1st request); humanities; public; research & teaching (1/29)
• If people could also indicate the number of contacts they receive (e.g. 2nd request for interview) I think that would be helpful as well
• email 1. social science 2. public 3. both 4. phone interview (2nd request) 1/29
• has anyone from English heard? --I'm in English and haven't heard from any schools yet. Q: yes, me English.
• Call 1. humanities 2. public 3. both (1/30); followed by 2nd request same but private (1/31), then 3rd request same (1/31), and 4th request same, 5th same, 6th same but public (2/2), 7th same, 8th private teaching, 9th same, 10th same, 11th private research and teaching.
• Can people add the fields/departments in which offers were made? the list of school and possible departments is really too long to make this sticky (1/30)
• some schools were obviously prepared and knew exactly what they were looking for, others weren't, i think lots of people will get calls next week, so if you haven't heard yet, do not dispair.
• request for course proposals; humanities; private; teaching (I assume, given the nature of request) (2nd request) 1/31
• I have been getting emails of interest, but all have said they are confirming interest on my part so that they know they are not wasting their time by going ahead with requesting an ACLS fellowship from the Dean (this has been from both private and public institutions). However, as I suspected, many colleges and universities are going to need someone in my field (French) less than in other more wide-ranging humanistic disciplines. It would suck to get this far only to find that, once again, the marginalization of my field is keeping me from getting a job. I will stay positive, though, until Feb 11. I just really hope that all disciplines, even the most marginal, end up being represented in the final university and college selections.
• And one more thing: what a pity that the state of things has come to such a point where colleges and universities who can have 3/4 time assistant professors for the price of graduate students have to nevertheless fight and scramble for the money. I thought this was supposed to make it easy, but the fact that schools have to apply for us and fight with other departments is unfortunate.
• I think it's pretty silly that some schools are doing campus visits for a short term appointment, but the fact that schools are competing for us may work to our advantage. I'm hoping to have some degree of choice in where I end up, which wouldn't happen if they just made appointments.
• Has anyone heard nothing...? ---Yes, I haven't heard anything at all. Trying not to panic though! It seems like there are a dozen or so requests mentioned on here, so even if another dozen people got requests and don't use wiki that is still many universities and colleges of the 90 participating ones that haven't contacted anyone yet.... Or at least, that's what I'm telling myself!:) (x2)
• Just to say from the university side, my department (research 1) hasn't contacted anyone yet while we try to sort through the candidates, fit with department needs and desires etc. But it will do. The process seems insane, but we are definitely hoping to have one or more of you join us and appreciate the opportunity to have your talents made available to us. Hang in there.
• I wonder if anyone can explain this... This program is supposed to alleviate the job crunch. But then why do they want ppl with TT offers to drop out? If that person would take an ACLS over a TT, then wouldn't that clear the TT for someone else (potentially someone without an ACLS)? If, for example, that person turns down the TT but then is also ineligible for the ACLS, universities who would have taken the person on ACLS lose and there is an additional person still on the market w/out placement. Maybe I'm not understanding something about how this is supposed to work.
• Re previous post, the idea is to provide some sort of functional system to tide over top recent grads who have no TT options, and to help institutions stuck in hiring freezes or who have had recent losses in their faculty ranks and need someone to fill in a missing piece for a couple years until things allegedly return to normalcy. I think the program is right on the mark, based on the 7 letters I've gotten from institutions (5 which have told met to expect an offer letter on the morning of the 15th). I have 4 flyouts (!) already lined up. FYI, some institutions have given departments carte blanche to make as many offers as they want (no quota). Others, the dean or provost has limited the campus to 5 offers total (quota). So there's a wide range of different things going on. [7 invitations: 5 R1, 1 ivy, 1 SLAC]. Anyone worrying about not hearing - I got one letter on the late afternoon of Feb 2, so offers still coming thru.
• I have to wonder about the relevance of the above post - other than to engage in a somewhat shameless act of self-promotion. [in Conan O'Brien voice] Aren't you special! My qualm with the ACLS all along was that it furthered this elitist attitude. I asked during the webinar, for example, if fellows did not get offers from the schools that they tapped, why not expand the pool to include less "prestigious" institutions. My question was brushed aside with the answer: "The ACLS put a lot of time into selecting the schools it did." Surely many other schools outside this group are hard up financially as well, and would welcome the opportunity to participate in the program. Teaching to the less-privileged, not the less intelligent, is important as well. Or, to propose something really far out, why not stick all of us in an office building in New York (I know the Mellon Foundation has space) and allow us to run are own school for two years, admitting students from all walks off life. I know, I know...logistical details would be crazy. But come on, the whole tenure track and postdoc process is lacking in creative solutions and that is why it is falling apart, but full of elitism. Revolution! (x2)
  • I agree...troll? + 3 above yr post?
  • This is my problem with the wiki in general. Rather than creating spaces for encouraging dialogue on reform and change, it reproduces the competition that ultimately undermines us all, as we submit to the market logic that has come to define our profession like so many others.
• Heard from a faculty member that they chose no one in Philosophy for this program.
• Dear 7 letters and 4 flyouts: May I ask what field you are in? Thank you.
• the use of the word "letter" seems odd. (2x)
  • Plus "dispair" and "threw"...anyone else think the 'comforting' posts all look a little bogus?
    • Ok, so I'm being called elitist, troll, bogus, and "special." Let's see what other asinine drivel will surface on this cantankerous board. Whatever. I have no relation to ACLS other than having become a finalist for this particular postdoc (having not had success with ACLS-related things, nor any other postdoc, in the past), and decided to post only in the interest of providing info I thought might be useful for others in the group of 50+, or for scholars who might get one of these in the future. In 4 of the institutions I talked with, I learned that my program of specialty is literally one stroke away from disappearing altogether (faculty departures, frozen searches), and this ACLS fellowship, from their perspective, gives that department their only chance to actually survive long enough to stall and hopefully pursue a search down the road. From the postdoc-recipient's standpoint, for those of us with no TT options for next year, this postdoc (hopefully) keeps us in the running for the promised Future Times when money grows on trees again and TT appointments are flowing. In light of this, independent of whether I got it or not, it's a particularly timely initiative. By "letters," I mean emails ranging from "we're making an offer" to "we have no idea what is going on but want to make and offer and think it might be possible." That some of us are getting 8 or more offers is not self-promotional (how can I self-promote anonymously?) but rather a commentary on the extent to which some colleges and university programs are in deep doo-doo.
• I have heard that some schools will not even begin making calls until next week, and interviews will be on phone. some state school take longer to get through (haha -- not bogus, just exhausted) red tape. and some depts are hearing about this now, from the grapevine, ad calling their deans. so things can only get better!
• 2/3: I just spoke with the chair of my department (R1-English.) She informed me that there were 16 English candidates chosen (not bad odds for 92 schools), and that our department is still perusing the applications and has not contacted anyone yet. She also mentioned that most schools will make their decisions over the next two weeks. So, it's still way too early to stress out about this stuff! P.S. LOVE the idea of starting our own school because we're that good and the system is that flawed--you rock, wiki-pal.
• 2/3. On campus interview request (my first request) came by phone: research, private, humanities.
• 2/4: So far I have been contacted by mostly public institutions who need more teachers. But, no one has confirmed they will offer me the fellowship. Is there a rule that they are not allow to offer us the actual offer letter/email until the 15th? --I think that's the case
• So the 7 letter person: you're the Babylonian dude?
• My first contact with a school (by phone): research, private, humanities. Said they were making a proposal to the dean to make me a bid. (2/4)
• i'm overwhelmed by the pace of this process and am thinking of sending a short note to acls suggesting that they extend the deadlines?
• That would only create confusion and doubt, and decrease the possibility that this program be sponsored next year, assuming they even listen. If you remember, the job market search moves at a crazy pace as well. Trust the process. Nicole Stahlmann knows what she's doing.
  • LOL
• Those overwhelmed are lucky indeed - congrats! It's worth remembering too that the accelerated timeline is very much in our favor, and not something the institutions would be otherwise inclined to do (x1)
• okay, thank you!
• Q: What are the two deadlines (offer letter, accepting offer) and are they set in stone or can universities do as they please? I am confused and some universities have been trying to tell me I have it wrong and that we can proceed at the pace we mutually desire, putting the pressure on me to decide. Help! If no one answers, I will write to Stahlmann.
  • A1: Nicole had assured us that "the only date we need to worry about is March 8" - the deadlines for candidates to accept/reject offers. Universities may have internal deadlines in addition to the ACLS-imposed deadline that offers need to be made in the 15th-22nd time window (which may be 15th-26th, or 25th-28th; I've heard all 3 mentioned).
  • I'm curious if universities are allowed to impose internal deadlines on us or if this is just sneakiness on their part. I was under the impression that we didn't have to decide until March so that we had all our offers on the table first.
  • during the webinar i wrote down that offers would be extended between February 15 and 26, so that by february 26th we would know if we had an offer or not. then we have until march 8th to decide and let them know. she did say that if we aren't going to accept an offer to please let the school know asap so that they can extend another offer to their second choice presumably.
• An interesting blog discussion about the absence of philosophy candidates in the final ACLS mix, as well as a low-down on what disciplines are represented by the final pool of candidates: http://leiterreports.typepad.com/blog/2010/01/acls-to-philosophy-drop-dead.html
• The blog discussion IS interesting (I'm not in philosophy and I wouldn't have realized this was an issue, though I get it now). Where did he get the break-down though, as far as award depts? And does anyone know whether/which SLACs are eligible to make offers? Is there a list?

[edit] American University in Cairo Teaching Postdoc Fellowships

http://www.apply-for-job.net/c/jobclick.cfm?site=2701&job=6407630

-any idea of the due date for this?

[edit] ASA Postdoc on the Current Economic Crisis

www.asanet.org/funding/Postdoctoral_Fellowship.cfm Deadline: Feb 12th

[edit] Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowship

Deadline: December 9, 2009

Anyone else doing this one? Anyone have an idea of the size of the pool last year? 

• Last year's wiki conversation suggested that a lot of folks considered this a back-up plan and were then disappointed by unexpected rejections. I suppose it kind of depends on how many of those "comparable fellowships" there are--w/o those, it looks a lot like 60/40 odds or so, which on this job market sounds damn good to me! Others have thoughts/info...?
• I can't fathom considering this to be a safety net or a given since the competition is likely fierce regardless of the pool size. Do the awards skew in favor of actual ACLS diss completion recipients? (asking as a person with a non-ACLS but eligible appointment) x2  [-I am also a non-ACLS eligible appt who would like to know]
• This is TOTALLY non-scientific, but I know four people who applied for this fellowship last year (all the same discipline) and the two who got it both had non-ACLS eligible appts and the other two, who were both rejected (not even waitlisted), had ACLS diss completion fellowships. So I do not think it is skewed. And it should not be treated as a back-up plan. Like all postdocs, it is unpredictable.
• Thank you for the info. Even if that sample is small, it is useful to me. I don't think I know anyone who has applied for this in years previous.
• last year there were 900 applicants. so this grant is quite competitive. <--- wow! I didn't even know there were 900 dissertation fellowship spots of national stature out there. (NINE hundred? that seems unlikely, given that ACLS only gives out something like 65 completion fellowships. what could account for such a high number?)
• Perhaps the above poster was referring to the Dissertation Completion Fellowship? I definitely do not think the RDR Fellowship could have 900 applicants. Probably more like 100-150...but that is just a guess.
• I think 150 is a pretty solid guess: 65 Diss completion fellowships + alternates + whiting fellowship + newcombe + aauw
• +35 or so Ford Dissertation Completion people
• Anyone heard anything yet? (2/5)
• According to the website: "Notifications will be sent in late March 2010." I believe there is only one round of notification, but I'm not sure.

[edit] Mellon/ACLS Dissertation Completion Fellowship

• Any news?
• I applied for this fellowship last year (and have friends who applied in the two previous years it was offered). All applicants were notified of their status (yes, no, alternate) in mid-March last year and in early April in the previous years (x2).

[edit] Arnhold Faculty Fellowship in Cognitive Approaches to Literary Studies

UC Santa Barbara Deadline: November 11, 2009

Anyone heard anything?

Acknowledged complete application 12/2 (one of my letters was delayed). An earlier email said everything had to be in by end of November, so they'll need some time to go through everything.

• They were meeting to discuss applications yesterday, 12/7.
  • Correction (from original poster): they are meeting a couple of times next week as well--Monday and Wednesday (14th and 16th) I think.
  • Are they still interviewing at MLA for this then? 
  • I believe they are.
  • Got a call yesterday (12/14) and set up a MLA interview.
  • I heard that they are uninterested in candidates who don't have neuroscience backgrounds.  poster who got interview, what is your background?
  • (Poster): PhD in English; diss.makes extensive use of cog linguistics and cog psych. --Well you sound like what they are looking for, good luck at the MLA!
  • Offer has been made and accepted. (01/29)

[edit] Brandeis - Crown Center for Middle East Studies Junior Scholar Fellowship

Info Deadline: December 15

[edit] British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship

Deadline: November 26, 2009 (outline stage)

• Just out of curiosity - how many of you in the UK are going (or have gone) through an internal selection process this year before applying?
• A: I had to send them a CV and research proposal but I wouldn't exactly call it a selection process.
• There doesn't appear to be any word limits on any of the proposal stuff -am I crazy? How much are people writing?
• Yeah, I noticed that too - but I think how much you write will depend on your field and proposal. If it takes you 2000 characters to say something that could be said in 700, it could annoy the committee (esp. if they have 800 applications to look over). On the other hand, if you use 700 characters to say something that needs to be said with 2000 - and those in your field will know - then you're selling yourself short.
• When you start typing in the proposal boxes, a message appears telling you how many characters you have left. Proposal abstract: 1100 characters; previous research: 3000 characters; programme: 8000 characters; research outputs: 1100 characters; plan of action: 3000 characters; plans for publication: 3000 characters. It would have been nice to have known this when I started working on the proposal rather than when i was pasting it onto the form! Garrr!!
• Interesting. Obviously the high character limits were created to ensure that nobody complains about the lack of space this time around. Now everyone's getting hung up on the extra space they have. Alas, 'tis human nature!
• Thats not what I am hung up about...Call me old fashioned, but I think it would have been nice for the character limits to be mentioned somewhere on the form or in the notes of guidance! Alas, 'tis bureaucracy's nature!
• I've submitted and my application has been approved. Now waiting for one of my referees. Just in case this helps anyone, your referees (not you!) have until the 30th to submit their forms.(x2)
• Does anyone know who long it takes to hear back from them? I thought the funding began on Feb. 1, 2010, am am wondering how late candidates will be notified. (12/18)
• No, the funding begins in Sept/Oct 2010. The shortlist is announced in Jan/Feb, and the elections are made in Apr/May. Hope that helps.
• (15 Jan) Decision date for first round put back to 8 Feb because of an almost 30% increase in applications (2008/9: 700+, 2009/10: 900+).
• That much of a jump!? Bad sign. I shudder to think what the numbers will be in 5 years time.
• Oh dear, on tenterhooks.(8thFeb) -I just reread the email sent by the BA last week and they said results won't be out till the end of this week (12th Feb). Tenterhooks retracted.

[edit]

[edit] Brown Pembroke Center Postdoc ("The Power and Mystery of Expertise")

Deadline:  December 10, 2009

Snail mail rejection letter 1/8 (x1)

Did the letter say how many applicants there were? (i'm also interested- how many applicants?) - No, the letter was dated 1/6, wish they did not have to waste paper.

Received request for more materials in mid-December, due Jan. 5. Since then, no word. Anyone heard anything more recent? 1/28

Their website says they'll announce decisions for the postdocs sometime this month. 2/1

Thanks!

[edit] Brown Political Theory Project Research Associates Program

[[1]] Deadline: November 1, 2009 

• Does anyone know what the standard operating procedure is for identifying candidates?  Are there interviews?  What is the expected time frame in which they're likely to make decisions?  Thanks.
• Email received 12/4: "The search committee will convene soon to review applications." Doesn't make it sound like they'll have interviews.
• Any word?
• Nothing here. Anyone else? (1/19)
• Nope, haven't heard anything. (1/26)
• Nothing here either. (1/28)

[edit] Brown Watson Institute for International Studies visiting fellowships

http://www.watsoninstitute.org deadline: Feb 15

[edit] California Institute of Technology - Postdoctoral Instructorship 

Deadline: November 30, 2009 

• Got rejection email today; interviews have been set up (12/16) 
• Interesting.  Haven't heard from them today, one way or the other. 
• Has anyone else not heard anything?
• Has anyone received a call or an email for an interview with them?
• I interviewed for this position at MLA. They expect to make an offer within the next week or so, I think.

[edit] Canadian Commonwealth Scholarships Program - Post Doctoral Research Fellowships (PDRF)

info To obtain an application form and deadline information, please contact the designated agency of your country.

• For citizens of New Zealand and the United Kingdom.
• No news as of yet.
• Last year I heard in January I think of being through first round, and final result was early May.
• Pro forma rejection email saying "we are unable to tale [sic] your application [...] any further" (1/21). Hardcopy letter to follow.

[edit] Carleton College - Postdoctoral Fellowship, American Studies

Deadline: October 9, 2009

• I heard from them late last night at 11:30 pm (10/23) I'm setting up an interview at ASA. (x3)
• Anyone heard anything? (10/19).  Not a peep--I usually leave at least 3 weeks or a month without an ack before I allow myself to indulge any freak out, tempting as they are. 
• emailed to make sure they got my app.  they responded same day saying they did and due to the amount of apps. they got were unable to send ack. (10/19)
• i'm wandering how people are handling this...  it is likely they won't have results this week and the ASA, where the ad said they would hold interviews is about to be less than 2 weeks away.  are people buying tickets to DC just in case?  Or waiting until last minute and possibly paying out the nose to go to an interview?
• I had an ASA interview but haven't heard a peep since.  Anyone else waiting to hear from them? (12/15)
• Also had an ASA interview, and I asked about the timeline at the end. Because they're on the trimester system, they won't be contacting ASA interviewees about campus visits until January. (12/15) x2
• I asked this question too, but thought they *hoped* to determine finalists before the end of their trimester (before thanksgiving) and have interviews in Jan.  So... maybe I misunderstood this? (12/23)
• Campus visits for a one year postdoc position?! crazy! x2x3!!
• why is that crazy? 
• Let's outline the full craziness of this position.  First, it is not really a postdoc.  No matter what they say, a 2-2 one-year position is a VAP.  So, for a one-year VAP, you first had to fork over a bunch of money to travel to D.C. to interview at ASA.  This alone is crazy, especially in this economic environment.  As if this weren't enough, after the ASA interview they make the interviewees wait 2 to 3 months to hear whether they get a final campus visit.  Then, if you're "lucky" and get the campus visit, you have to travel to BFE, Minnesota to perform for faculty and elite undergrads.  After all of this, your "reward" is a one-year VAP -- if you're the chosen one.  Can we all concede that this is crazy?  What other industry except academia would have such an absurd process of employment for a temp hire?
• Amen (x2)
• Northfield is hardly "BFE" Minnesota. An easy commute from Minneapolis, and half of faculty from both Carleton and St. Olaf commute from the Cities. It is a chance to have a post-doc (or a VAP, if you insist) and a top-10 Liberal Arts college, with a 2/2 course load (2 courses a year less than most course loads at SLACs), class sizes under 20 students (I can only imagine, from my experience there). Why apply for a job you find so distasteful? (x2)
• You're right, I was too hard on Northfield, but everything else I said stands. A six-month, several-stage, fork-over-your-money hiring process for a temp hire is insane.
• Has anyone heard anything? anyone get invited for a campus visit? (2/8/10)
  • Nope. I interviewed at ASA, got an email early January asking if I was still interested, and haven't heard anything yet. (2/9)

[edit] Carnegie Mellon University AW Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

Info Deadline: February 26, 2010 2 Positions

FYI: The above link provides info about what the Modern Languages Dept. is looking for. The version of the ad found on h-net at the following link lists what the English Dept. is looking for: h-net

No idea about History or Philosophy.

Has anyone seen an ad or know anything about history? I emailed the contact person in the Dean's office and haven't heard back.

Please do let us know what you find out about whether History has a slot and what they might be looking for. (2/3) --> I actually sent the email on Friday when the ad showed up on the MLA list and have yet to hear back. Perhaps someone else wants to try emailing to see if he/she gets a response?

There's something on h-net about history wanting a scholar of the Atlantic or Pacific, I think. Don't remember the specifics.

From H-Atlantic (with thanks to the previous person).
The Department of History seeks a historian of the Atlantic/Pacific and/or
Empire. Time period, thematic emphasis, and region open.

[edit] Carnegie Mellon University Humanities Center Fellowship - "Identities in Conflict"

Deadline: December 1, 2009

• anyone get an application acknowledgment?

[edit] Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity

[http://research.unc.edu/red/postdoc.php

e-mail ack. (12/23)

Website down <24 hours before due date. Awesome!

I was just about to post the same comment, but I guess I'm not the only trying to get the application in right now.  I was wondering whether the site was automatically shut down on 1/7 due to some programming error?  In any case, I emailed the Program Manager about the technical problem, who was very attentive and helpful with another question I had regarding the postdoc.

Website up and running again, as of the morning of 1/7/2010 

email ack. (1/8)

has everyone receive an email ack?

I haven't yet. Uh-oh! (x2)

There was a problem with their receipt of my Interfolio dossier, so they emailed me this morning (1/11). They may be trying to track down loose ends like that before sending out the rest of the confirmations.

Email ack 1/12. (2 pm, West Coast). Email ack. 1/12 (5 PM, southeast)

Anyone know how soon they'll move on to the next stage? Or what the next stage is?

I hope it's not too *too* soon, since I haven't received acknowledgement of receipt. I assume there's really no reason to be paranoid about online applications, but now I'm wondering if I missed a "submit application" button or something!

I still haven't received an email acknowledgement either. A little concerned since this seems to be taking such a long time...

Email ack. 1/28. Email said apps. sent to departments which will send back with recommendations... final decisions made by end of feb.

email rejection 3:23pm (2/4) x3

email rejection 3:30 p.m. (2/4) x4

The email rejection noted there were 181 applicants this year.

[edit] Center for Cultural Analysis at Rutgers University

Postmark deadline: January 8, 2010.

Topic for postdoctoral fellowships in 2010-2011 is The Everyday and the Ordinary.    Applications can be downloaded at http://cca.rutgers.edu/documents/ExternalPacket.pdf.

• Acknowledgement email 1/15. States that they've received "an extraordinary number of applications" and that they'll have a decision by March 1.
• Ditto on acknowledgement above. Sounds like they don't do interviews. Anyone know?
• According to last year's wiki, no.

[edit] The College at Brockport, State University of New York Presidential Fellows

Deadline: December 1, 2009

• Anyone receive acknowledgment of application? (12/21)
• Nope (x3)

[edit] Columbia Society of Fellows

Info Deadline: October 5, 2009

• Anyone know if letters can be submitted by recommenders after Oct. 5?  Guess that's really a general question about these applications.
• There's no reason to wait - once you open the online account, they will send emails and your recommenders can submit their letters via email.
• Wonder if anyone can help me with this:  they're asking us to design a two-page syllabus for an undergraduate course.  Guess I'll just follow the instructions, but is it possible they'd actually prefer a *narrative* of what we'd assign and how we'd teach the material?  The latter feels more natural to me than the boilerplate that a syllabus would involve (two- or three-paragraph overview, week-by-week list of readings), though obviously I'll leave out stuff like "Please silence your cell phones when in class."  Thanks in advance, sorry for the newbie question.   - Since unlike the other postdocs, they don't ask for "course description" but specifically for a syllabus, I would do that. Based on the course descriptions' on their website, I would in fact not do more than one paragraph of description, and give a detailed week to week sessions. That's at least what I did in my app.
• I did a brief course description followed by a weekly outline, including course readings.  I thought this was best given only two pages.  Can we all bitch a little bit about the $30 "application fee."  What a joke.  They don't even attempt to explain what it is for and to top it off you have to make your own copies!  Is Columbia really this hard up for money? (x2)
• 30$ on credit card charged today (10/20) -- x2 (10/7)
• received postcard acknowledgment that my application was received; date stamp was 10/15. (10/21) (x2)
• I heard through the grapevine that they were swamped with applications...not surprising given the job market this year.
• No credit card charge! Does that mean wasn't processed? Urgh..
• the website says all those shortlisted for interview will be contacted "by mid-December". anyone here contacted? (12/10)
• someone I know involved with the program has said that they've been asked to look at small batches of applications and give feedback by the end of this week. So I'd expect to hear about interviews starting next week at the earliest. (12/10)  - Thanks! I wish I knew too someone who is asked to review the applications... Can I also ask if "small batches of applications" implies that many have already been filtered out at this stage? Yes, according to this person, they had already narrowed it down to approx. 100 applications, which were then distributed for feedback. However, there's no way to know whose applications are in that batch. (original poster, 12/11).
• anyone know how many applications they received? (12/13)
• anyone invited to the interview? don't keep your happiness to yourselves
• Does the poster from last week (12/10) have any more insider information? What ever happened to the review of small batches of applications over the last weekend? Anu insights? Let us know if you can!
• Last week's poster here: Sorry folks, the update was more of a one-time thing than a steady source of info. As a fellow applicant, I too am waiting for any wiki news...
• this week (13-19 Dec) was supposed to be the one when interviewees are announced. oh well. when you don't even make it to the interview you realize I guess how far fetched the idea to apply was to begin with.
• Have the interviewees been announced? Or just supposed to have been announced? Has anyone heard?  Not a thing
• Haven't heard a thing, but the website says "if you are not contacted by January 1," you can assume you're out of the running, so I prefer to think there's still hope ... (12/19) x1
• the same website says somewhere else that interviewees are contacted by mid-December. i guess some 30 people will be in this situation, and I was hoping one of them will make a note here so that we can fall sooner in the sweet arms of despondency. come on boys and girls, show off!
• C'mon -- it's Columbia, and it's the end of the semester.  Of course there is a chance that all 30 people who got interviews are not posting; but I would not be shocked to learn that they're running late and will not contact people until next week or even after xmas. 
• I second the previous poster. It sounds like a lot of fellowship competitions are running late this year because of the particularly huge number of applicants.
• Interviews have been scheduled for January 21-22 (as of Dec. 26). (x2)
• Any interviewees able to say how they were contacted? (12/26)   And, perhaps, when they were contacted? (for future ref.)
• Contacted by email on 12/26
• Why have there not been rejection letters?
• I applied for this two years ago and never received a rejection letter. (They did cash my check, so I know they got the application.) From the looks of previous wikis, they do not send them.
• You'd think that for $30, they could do that. Or maybe they could make us fill out our own self-addressed-stamped rejection letter, and they could send that instead. :-P
• I didn't make the interview round, but I'm curious. Anyone want to share their experiences?
• I second the previous poster, could anyone who interviewed for this share any info about what it was like?

[edit] Columbia University Post-Doctoral Fellowships in Music

[http://music.columbia.edu/node/1013; November 9, 2009

Has anyone received a confirmation notice yet for receipt of materials? No word yet; it's not just you.

12/26-Q: Still nothing?  Anyone? 12/29-A: They usually don't contact candidates until the beginning of the Spring semester, sometimes even later.

I applied last year and received an e-mail ack. in late Nov. It is strange there has been no news yet this year.

01/27 Received cordial rejection email (6:31pm UK time). (x2)

01/27 Perhaps this is not the right place to ask, but is anyone else unable to access the musicology job wiki? I keep getting a server fail error message.

[edit] Committee on Global Thought Fellowship

Info Deadline Nov 1, 2009 (priority), or Nov 15, 2009

Has anyone figured out what the deal is with the "fee" here. I just applied through their online system and as far as I can tell there's no information about a fee or how to pay. Then, when you've finished applying, the message you get (I've since navigated away from it--should have kept it around) makes mention of fee payment. What gives? Anyone figure this out?

Well, I looked over the website again and answered my own question. The form with which you can pay the 30 bucks is located here: http://cgt.columbia.edu/files/applications/CreditCardAuthorizationForm2.pdf WTF is up with a rich school like Columbia charging these fees for applications? That's $60 I've dropped on playing the Columbia lottery this year.

email acknowledgment that application was received; next word by second week of December (10/7)

did anyone else who applied get a friend request from the Committee on Global Thought on facebook? does anyone else think this is EXTREMELY strange???

of course it is strange... they are not your friends, as yet... hide your profile, check your facebook settings.

FACEBOOK!? wtf --  That's creepy. That's why I left facebook.

Yeah, I guess I'll accept--because I want a shot at the fellowship. But that's seriously messed up and creepy.

Kind of ironic for a "Committee on Global Thought." Ah Orwell ...

I think it is just the administrator that is setting up facebook stuff. It won't bear on your application in any way and (i'd hope) won't be seen by the Committee members themselves. They basically want people to know about what they are doing: events, updates, how great they are, etc.

• Received email saying that I have been selected to go on to the next round.  Said they will announce in mid-January if invited for interview. (12/4)

• Is that what your email said? My email just said "Thank you for applying..." and added that those selected for interviews would be contacted "individually" in mid-January. Sounds awfully similar to a standard acknowledgment of receipt. (12/4)
• Yes, that's what it said. I've posted a copy of the letter on the Soc. rumor mill here: http://bit.ly/7NG1fg . The poster prior to me copied their letter and it sounded like yours. Not sure what the story is behind the different letters. (12/4)
• Received email about setting up a phone interview. (1/4)
• Is the previous update about phone interviews legitimate? This is the only update I've seen anywhere about this postdoc. (1/26)
• I had a phone interview on the 13th with two professors. They said that all the profs conducting interviews would meet the following week and then results would probably be announced in early February. (1/27)
• Did anyone receive a rejection email/letter?
• Nope. Guess the application fee doesn't cover the cost of rejection letters. (2/3)
• Rejection Email 2/8, 1:15PM (high quality/large amount of apps - also says they haven't finalized the search) (x4)

[edit] Consortium for Faculty Diversity at Liberal Arts Colleges – Dissertation and Postdoctoral Fellowships

[http://www.depauw.edu/admin/acadaffairs/cfd/

• I know that these fellowships all move at different paces, depending on school, but has anyone heard from any school? The rumor mill tells me that applications are filtering to departments, but I don't have any concrete stories. (12/21)
• Does anyone know how this process works?  When do schools start contacting candidates?
• I spoke to the central administrator and she said most schools haven't started the process due to budget restraints. She anticipates that the process will pick up in February. (1/14)
• I just got an interview request for Vassar, so I believe they're starting to make decisions quickly. (1/19)
• What area/field are you in? Curious what departments are hiring at Vassar? (1/26)
• Anybody else been contacted? I've heard through the grapevine that at a couple of schools, applications have already come back from departments. Wondering whether I should be mentally crossing this one off my list of possibilities. (2/3)
• Two years ago I received an offer from a CFD institution that came around mid-March, another followed about a week later. I believe the time line for offers depends on the institution and may vary widely.

[edit] Dartmouth College - Dickey Center Visiting Fellowships

Info Deadline: Jan 12, 2010

[edit] Dartmouth College - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

Deadline: Oct 15, 2009

received rejection letter by snail mail on East Coast: 11/2

Here too.  Wow, what a speedy rejection.  A bit unnerving. 

I'm sure mine's in the mail, but just wondering what the letter said, specifically in terms of # of applicants. 

No mention of application numbers.

Has anyone been contacted "in the positive", or is this just a first round of rejections? I'm trying to wrap my head around this happening so quickly!

Judging from the language on their website, they might just be eliminating those whose teaching areas don't match their needs well. I can't imagine they've seriously read any apps yet.

Well, it would have been nice to know what areas they were excluding.  --No kidding!

But it does say on their website: "This year, we shall not be accepting applications in, at least, the following areas/disciplines: Anthropology, Art History, Film & Media Studies, and Music." Were those who received early notice in one of those areas? Or perhaps there's simply more, now, to that vague "at least" as the process has evolved. In which case, it would have been nice to know indeed!

• Not here.  History is my discipline. 
• have not heard anything... not even confirmation of receipt (x7)

Rejection by mail on West Coast: 11/12  - stated large number of applicants but nothing exact

Rejection by mail on East Coast; English: 11/12

Alphabetic order? My last name starts with Z... that's probably why my rejection mail hasn't arrived yet? - With a name starting with Z, it takes guts to even apply.

• My last name is early-mid alphabet and I haven't received my rejection letter...yet. East Coast 11/16 (Rejected 11/18)

Judging from the Dartmouth postdoc thread during the last two years, it seems that they would have several rounds of elimination. Some people received their rejection letters in mid December.

Rejection by mail on East Coast; English: 11/16

Rejection by mail, History 11/16

Rejection by post on East Coast; History; 11/16 (ditto 11/18: curious as to how they made decisions so quickly; did they just eliminate all ABDs perhaps? (my case))

• I'm ABD (East Coast) and still have yet to get my rejection. (Got the rejection 11/18)-- Ditto (West Coast), though I expect to file next month.
• I'm ABD too and I haven't received any letter yet. (x4) (Me neither, and I'm in History)
• I think one of the previous posts is correct: there are several rounds of elimination from not being in disciplines that they were looking for (the "at least" is important here), to a first look through and eliminating based on general strength of application (ABD-ness could be a factor, but certainly not the only one), to sending the "stronger" apps to departments, to the departments determining which apps they like, also coinciding with their teaching needs (judging by their website this is where they are now - the current rejections are most likely those that made it to this stage), and next departments will bid on candidates which the entire committee will judge, then these rejections and request for interviews will come along. The website explains this fairly well.
• ABD, East Coast, rejection came today (11/19). Letter dated 11/16.
• ABD, Midwest, rejection (11/20)
• ABD, Midwest (History), rejection (11/23)
• ABD East coast religious studies rejection (11/21)
• Rejection. Letter dated 11/17. PhD dissertation completed. (11/24)
• so far it seems the areas excluded are History and English...
• or perhaps those areas are just the most over-subscribed for a fellowship that seems more humanistic and less rigorously interdisciplinary than many others... the very unscientific sample of daily rejections on this wiki are difficult to sparse in any case...
• Yes, of course.  The wiki sample is only representative of those that use the wiki (which may only be those from History and English).  I suspect, though, that History and English will not get postdocs at Dartmouth this cycle. If that is the case, it would have been nice to know that there were additional departmental restrictions beyond those stated on the web.
  • I'm in Comp.Lit./Spanish and was rejected two weeks ago.
• it may just be that those departments moved faster.  
• I'm in English and haven't heard a word...
• ABD, Southeast (history), rejection (10/29) C: C: when was the letter dated? That seems like a crucial piece of information...
• ABD, East Coast, Romance Studies-Latin American Lit, rejection letter dated 16 Nov
• There seems to have been a lull in the rejections, so how many are still in the running, and what is your dept.? English (X2) History (x3) Geography (X1) Italian (x1) Latin American Literature (x1) Middle East/Comp Lit (x2), Native American Studies (x1)
• Does anybody know if they are going to interview at the MLA?
• I assume not, just because they say on their website that they want to schedule interviews with finalists in January, and that finalists are selected in "early December." There could, of course, be an intermediate round of interviews, but I doubt it. I'm more curious what their definition of "early December" is for notification of finalists!
• Its "early December" now! Does that mean we're finalists? :)  Might as well try and be optimistic, right?  --Your optimism made my morning! I think one should always consider oneself a finalist until proven otherwise.   --Ditto on the optimism!  I figured I was going to be receiving a rejection letter since it's past "early" December, but it looks like there's some hope yet (12/12).
• received email saying my app was in the group of files from which the finalists will be selected in early January. ABD Latin American Literature (14/12) (X1), History (X1), English (x1), Geography, Latin American, Latino/a, and Caribbean Studies (12/14), Comp. Lit. (X1), Italian (x1), Middle East/Comp. Lit. (x1)
• should those who received this email this morning (Dec 14) assume that Darmouth is behind schedule? It seems like the initial schedule announced on the Humanities Center website had mid-December as the deadline for the selection of finalists and for scheduling campus interviews to happen in early January. Any insights?
• Guess this means that the rest who were still waiting fora response will get our rejections in the mail.
• So much for optimism. Sigh.
• Rejection letter dated Dec 14 (ABD, East Coast). Good luck to the finalists!
• Rejection letter arrived today (Ph.D., Classics, East Coast). Good luck to everyone in the running still!
• Ditto, Government.
• Rejection, dated Dec 14 (ABD, Slavic, Midwest).
• Rejection arrived yesterday, 12/18 (ABD, English, west coast)
• Rejection arrived 12/17 (ABD, American Studies, Latino Studies, Midwest)
• Rejection via email, 12/21 (ABD, History) Everyone else's seem to be coming by mail. Huh.
• Rejection by mail, dated 12/21 (received 12/23). The rejection comes after the email received on 12/14 which stated that my application was in the group of files from which the finalists will be selected in early January (see post above). What does this mean? Did they make further cuts before their deadline of early January?
• It seems like 12/21 was the day they decided the finalists. That's why people received rejection letter this day via both email and snailmail. I guess the finalists will be notified in early Jan.

[edit] Duke University-Provost's Postdoctoral Fellowship

[http://www.postdoc.duke.edu/provost.html; Deadline Jan. 15, 2010

• Does anyone know if there's any point in applying to this fellowship if you don't meet "diversity" criteria?  I am a woman in an English department...not exactly underrepresented
• Actually I was told that there WAS NO such a requirement! (1/15)
• And I was told by a fac member that "we can always argue for intellectual diversity..." but she said it in a way that made me think that tack wasn't very likely to succeed.
• I know that the job/postdoc market is rough but I'm a little disturbed by the notion of faculty members advising candidates on how to get around the diversity mandate. (1/21)
• Actually, I think this happens regardless of the state of the market - sadly enough. (1/21)
• Have you all looked at the topics of half these postdocs? The diversity mandate is doing just fine.
• Not when people are trying to undermine it. (2/2)
• received confirmation that application is complete 1/29 (was not complete til recently; also received notification of that earlier this week)

[edit] Duke University-Feminist/Human Animal Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship

Deadline Nov. 17, 2009

has anyone heard anything? (12/10)

Shark versus giant octopus: who wins?

Tough question! I might need to see a youtube video to make this decision. Does the absence of any comment on this fellowship mean I am the only one who applied? Or do other feminist/human/animal scholars not use the wiki? (12/22)

Animals are marginalized from use of the Wiki and from this competition.

No, you're not the only one who applied, but with any luck, perhaps we are the only two who applied. They do have 2 postdocs. But no, I haven't heard anything. (12/28)

Here's hoping! (12/29) (x3 - not one of above posters :) )

Any news? (2/2)

Nope. But according to last year's wiki, they announced their postdoc in visual culture around March 7.

Two offers have been made (2/4)

[edit] Duke University - Writing Program

Info Deadline Oct 30

I submitted my application online about a week before the deadline, but never got any confirmation email or otherwise, nor was my own email inquiry answered. I'm concerned the online submission didn't work. Does anyone know what's going on here?

I didn't any any confirmation either. (x2) I had a look at the wiki from last year and they got over 300 applications and it's very possibly more this year. That may explain the lack of response. --Thanks!

I didn't get a confirmation at first, so I emailed them. Received email confirmation 11/5. I think they are not sending confirmations or it's slow. I wouldn't worry. I thought the online application didn't work too, but my application did go through.

Email asking to re-send cover letter, as there was a problem with the online submission. (11/10).  Though I'm troubled about this undefined "problem" I am happy to receive at least some kind of confirmation that they have me in the system, since I had not yet received any confirmation.  They are working on it!

I submitted mid October and emailed last night to ask if they ever received it. Got email confirmation of receipt today (11/17)

Q:  Any requests for additional materials and/or interviews yet? (12/9)

I spoke with a current writing program fellow the other day and he said that the program received around 700 apps. Ouch. They are probably sifting through them now...

R: Holy guacamole. A colleague of mine is friends with the director. She told me that they consider the apps from science folks first.

Yes - this is true about the sciences. I worked with an phd student in the scienecs, and she has a job there now. She told me that they tend to hire at least 3 English/Comp people per year and then they look for sciences for the most part.

A: This just isn't true. First, the number of people brought in for interviews and offered jobs depends on a number of factors--including how many positions are available, which applicants accept the position, and what is needed in any given year.  Second, while they do look for people from the natural sciences, since it is an interdisciplinary program, they are looking for people who want to teach writing above all else. Finally, they don't look for any particular discipline first. They try to find people from a variety of disciplines to support the mission of the program.

They had 750+ applicants. Committee just met to narrow pool to 100. Will meet again to narrow to 25 or so to bring for on-campus interviews. Have not sent out any rejection notifications yet.

Q: When was this decision made? (12/14)

Q: This is really helpful info. Any sense of timeline attached to the upcoming cuts? When they'll narrow to 25?

12/16 - Got an email and phone call to schedule on-campus interview in Jan. (x4) [The admin asst said they had ~750 applicants and are interviewing somewhere around 15.] C: congrats! what's your area?

-STEM field.  Heavy on the "T".  Don't feel comfortable saying much more.

-I'm from an English department

Are all of those who got phone calls for interviews in sciences and mathematics? (No.) (x4)

12/17- received very nice rejection email, says I was a finalist and will remain on the 'active' list in case interviewees decline. (x5)

12/17- has anyone else heard nothing--neither rejection nor invitation to interview? (x9)

         -- Let's be honest, no news is surely bad news in this case.--  Hope they received our applications! (x4) "And if you don't know, now you know."

12/22- Rejection received by e-mail (x9)

-- Thank the gods they had the foresight not to bother our faculty for recommendations; reams and reams of paper...! (x5) Amen. no nonsense bothering our recs until they are interested--and then the decency to send an email, without a $30 app fee. Good Blue Devils.

--Wow, over 750 applicants. Tells you how bad the market is. My rejection letters from the DWP in the past specified around 400 applicants

--Anyone else rejected by Duke but made it past the first cut for Harvard Expos? (x2)

--For those interviewed, any word yet re: offers (or how many positions are, in fact, open)?

15 or so interviewed I heard. Positions will vary according to how many current fellows leave/stay. Since it is a bad market, I was told the positions offered might be significantly less than in other years. But, only time will tell...

I was told 20 interviewed, but otherwise, same as above. They had 2 positions definitely open, but all others were dependent on how many current fellows hit on the job market.

[edit] Durham University (UK) Postdoc Research Associate

Info Deadline: Dec. 2, 2009

5 positions available on the history of the 'Tipping Point', two on climate change, two on financial crises (historical and recent), and one on the 'tipping point' as metaphor.

[edit] ECLA Berlin Postdoc Fellowships

Info Deadline: Dec 14, 2009

Has anyone received confirmation of submission on this one? -not me. (x2)

They do not send confirmations automatically. I had to email the person and ask, and got a nice and quick reply (12/31).

• rejection email (2/3) (x2)- they had 190 apps.
• (2/3) phone interview request via email <-- declined interview, due to accepting a post doc w/earlier deadline; so at least one wait-listed person should be getting an interview slot, i hope.
• Has anyone else received neither a rejection nor a request for an interview? (2/3)
• Neither a rejection nor a request for an interview here. (2/4) x5

[edit] Emory University Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry postdoc fellowships

deadline: Feb 18

- Does anybody know what is the exact list of documents that should go in the application? Thanks!

[edit] Frankfurt University postdoc in social anthropology (value and equivalence)

deadline: Jan 29

• email request for interview (2/4)

[edit] George Washington University - Mellon Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in Contemporary History

Info Deadline Jan 18, 2010

[edit] Getty Research Institute Display of Art Pre and Postdoctoral Fellowships

hear anything yet?

Website says decisions will be announced 5 months after deadline - I assume we won't hear much till March/April?

Offer made via email 2/5

Was that predoc or postdoc? congrats either way!

Postdoc. Thanks!

[edit] Gothenburg - Fellowship in Globalization and Development

[[2]] Deadline: December 1, 2009

ooh, any news on this one? I applied and have heard nothing...(1/15) A: according to website interviewees have been contacted Jan 13

[edit] Government of Canada Post-Doctoral Research Fellowships

Info Deadline "To obtain an application form and deadline information, please contact the Embassy of Canada or the designated agency of your country"

Applicants must:

• be citizens of one of the following countries: Brazil, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, South Korea, Norway, Russia, Switzerland. Applicants who have obtained Canadian citizenship or applied for permanent residency in Canada are not eligible for an award.
• Does anyone know whether research needs to focus on Canada (or whether such researchers will be at a distinct advantage)?
• It definitely doesn't have to be on Canada. I am not sure if it would be an advantage, but I was selected for a related scheme (Commonwealth scholarships) working on something totally unrelated to Canada, but justified by the research area of the members of faculty in the university I would be working at.
• Research on Canada is almost required since the government is involved.
• That is simply not true! Sorry, but I know it is not true [because I am a current PDRF]. Let me second what the person below says.
• Im a current PDRF under this scheme. You definitely do not have to research on Canadian issues (I am not), nor do you need to have been to Canada or know anything about Canada. This is a fantastic scheme and I would recommend it to anyone/ everyone. It is also open to Commonwealth (UK and NZ) researchers. There are 12 of us Commonwealth PDRFs this year. For UK applicants applying to research in 2009-2010 (current holders) there were about 12 applicants for each place. Selection is made on academic ability and your research proposal but as much on leadership potential/ references and your CV. Good luck

[edit] Harvard Academy Scholars Program

Info Deadline: Oct 1, 2009

• Received email confirmation of receipt of application saying that further info on the status of application would be sent in late November (10.16). (x2)
• "Not chosen to be interviewed... Pool of 351 applicants" email (10/30) (x3) - dito (11/2) -- same (11/2)
• Received email saying I was among 30 semi-finalists of 351 applicants. More news to follow after their next meeting on Nov. 10. (11/3) (x2)
• Received email saying I wasn't selected for an interview, so they were right on schedule. Why can't other postdocs/searches be this conscientious? (11/10) (x2)

[edit] Harvard JFK School of Government - Belfer Center Fellowships

Info Deadline: Jan 15, 2010

• Received email confirmation of receipt (1/4)

[edit] Harvard Center for the Environment Post-Doctoral Fellowship

Deadline Jan 15, 2010

[edit] Harvard College Writing Program

Info Deadline: Nov 5, 2009

• Received e-mail confirmation of receipt (10/28)
• Request for more documents (10-page sample; letters; course materials; commenting task); 11/19; e-mail   (x10)

C: a bit of advice for those sending more materials: harvard expos site has downloadable guides describing strategies for commenting on student writing and other such guides; this might help especially if you haven't taught in a similar writing program before. (Thank you for this note - very helpful!)

• Has anyone received a rejection notice? Or received a request for more documents after 11/19?  In other words, can I wipe this one off the list and focus my fretting on other hopeless causes? (11/23)
• They asked that the additional materials be sent by December 1st, so if you haven't received a request by that time it may not be good news.  Best of luck, though!  :-)
• I just got a request for materials (11/25) to be received by Dec. 4th, so they may still be sifting through what must be a massive pile o' apps.

Q:  Any requests for additional materials and/or interviews yet? (12/9)

     Not yet. (I was asked for more materials 11/19). Assuming they received over 300 applications (according to the wiki, Duke's Writing Program received 700), I wonder how 

     many folks they long-listed? With the amount of materials they required, I'm guessing 50 on the long list. If anyone is asked for an interview please let us know! (12/11)

R: I looked at last year's wiki and it seems that the Writing Program interviews non-local candidates at MLA... and then in Jan/Feb interviews local candidates. Making offers in Feb/March.

• This position is also listed over at the Comp/Rhet wiki, where I just read: "Just found out they won't be doing interviews at MLA: they're doing all non-local interviews via video conference." I don't know where the info comes from or anything more specific. But I will keep a look out for updates and post here.

R: The info has been updated on Harvard's website. It now reads: "Preceptors are selected in a national search, which normally elicits submissions from 300 or more candidates, about 25 of whom are interviewed–-some via regional interviews and video conference calls and some in Cambridge in January and February. Five to ten are hired each year."

• thanks for that. Doesn't that leave things open for MLA, however? Regional interviews that are not in Cambridge?
• (12/18) I'm surprised to have heard nothing before winter break, although it appears looking at the academic calendar that Harvard's fall term ends on Monday 21st. Anybody heard how many total applications they received and how many made it to the "additional materials" round?
• So, for those of us who received requests for additional materials (and sent them), but who haven't heard anything yet - does this mean we've been cut from the list of contenders?
• But wouldn't we have heard from those who did get interviews? It is a bit mystifying to not receive any word before xmas, given the relatively early deadline.
• I wrote, and received a polite reply that basically stated the timeline was up in the air. I don't believe anyone has been notified. We'll have to hold tight until Jan.
• Thanks for that info. Good to know they are still in the process of making decisions-- but it's also crappy that they are STILL in the process! Grrr. I wish I knew if I had options-- especially with MLA coming up. Grumble.
• I have received an email requesting interview in late January. (12/23) Email said that non-local candidates will be interviewed on Skype-to-skype video. (x3)
• any seconds on this? does this mean the game is up?
• Seems as if the game is, indeed, up. As someone who sent additional materials, and has heard nothing, I'm taking it that way. Merry (expletive) Christmas to me. (x5)
• Those of you have gotten interview requests, are you local or non-local?
• I am more or less local -- will be interviewing on campus.
• I am non-local (x2)
• There goes my hopes and dreams. Was hoping everyone so far was one or the other, so at least one group of us could keep the hope alive.
• Ditto
• My hope and dreams, as well. And to think I spent so much time on that damned student draft mark-up exercise!
• Indeed, insult to injury.  Eh, fvk 'em. (x3)
  • What insult? Do you think you're entitled to an interview just because you worked hard on that student paper? We all worked hard on it. You sound like someone who has never applied for a job before in their life.
  • Oh, dear.  And you sound like...no, I simply can't say it.  I just can't. <---Hey! If you're going to delete my post, which said that anyone who is up for this job still has other options and has not lost all hope, at least replace it with the colorful language you promise! (<---Hey! I didn't delete anything. And I already added a "fvk" to the page; isn't that colorful enough?) (For me, it's pretty darn close to puce.) (<---Sorry! Someone must have deleted it in error and your comment was the first thing to appear in its place. The person below does make a good point...it's not insulting, just part of the process. My point was that there are a lot of jobs still in play right now, so there's no reason to give up on the market if you are a competitive candidate for this kind of job.)

• • Thanks for the uplifting thought, but I'm afraid I'm with the OP on this one... when the remaining postdocs are receiving 1,000+ applications [see the new Rice entry, for ex.], there is reason to give up hope...

• • I agree with regard to the postdoc market, but I was thinking about the Rhet/Comp market, where things are not spectacular, but at least tolerable.
    • Again, what insult?
    • People, please take off your anal-retentive/hyper-literal caps, and read "insult" as a general dynamic; "insult to injury" meaning a further sting to a rejection (having spent a lot of time on an "assignment," only to be rejected). Seriously, some of y'all need to lighten up a bit.
• Talked to someone in the department, and they were able to find out that the hiring committee will likely be doing several rounds of interviews. If they don't hire from the first batch of interviews, they'll go back to the pool of second-round applicants to select new interview candidates. Apparently they did this when they hired my friend: he had given up hope but was invited to an interview in April.
• Rejection letter received on 1/19. Letter mentioned that there were nearly 400 applicants.
• Q: had you received a request for more info back in Nov/Dec.? A: No.
• They probably won't send out the "we don't want you" letters to the second fiddles until they're absolutely sure they've got commitments from the first fiddles.
• I interviewed with them last week and just accepted another job. Just FYI: They said that they were interviewing through February and that they expected to make offers late February/early March once they knew how many current Preceptors were staying on through this year. It sounds like a good gig, though, especially if you're serious about teaching.
• Just my opinion, but I would imagine that at least some of the applicants are not terribly interested in/serious about teaching; rather, they're simply looking for a position within a university to hold them over until they (in the best of all possible worlds) find a TT gig in their discipline.
• Thanks for adding this information, Interviewee (above). It was very kind of you to post even though you're no longer interested in the position.
• I got the request for more info (samples, etc.) though I got one piece of information in a day late because I accidentally left it out of the mailing. However, I have heard nothing since then. I have no idea what that means. No rejections is good, I guess. (x2 except everything was in on time...)

[edit] Harvard Humanities Center Fellowship

[[3]] Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

• Just a brief note of complaint that their $35 fee is only payable by check and cannot be sent separately, meaning there's no way to use a dossier service for the application. Thanks, Harvard, for making an application fee even more obnoxious than it needs to be!
• Surely they will accept a separately mailed check? I am in Europe, using Interfolio for applications in US and Canada . . . or am I being too idealistic in assuming they will understand?
• I have emailed them to ask this very question, and so far, no reply. EDIT: No, I take that back--they just emailed me and said it would be OK to mail a separate check, though they were surprised one might need to.
• (sarcasm) G*d bless their little hearts . . . certainly, why would anyone ever need to do such an outlandish thing? (/sarcasm) some of these places really still live in the 50s
• ack. email 12/8 (x3) did you both send out on Dec 1? just curious given that's when I did and I have not gotten the ack. email (paranoia setting in--sigh...looking forward to a break during the holidays from this application madness).  I sent it Nov 30. I mailed mine on December 1--late afternoon. +  the ack. email states that final decisions are made mid-February
• FWIW, I also mailed December 1st and have also not yet gotten the email.
• ack. email 12/9
• No acknolwedgment email for me, but they cashed my check on 12/4 so I'm taking that as an acknowledgment.
• ack. email 12/11, mailed late Dec. 1. They appear to be taking some time.
• 35 bucks check cashed. A: Me too and I'm at the very end of the alphabet. I don't know if this means that they are almost finishing reviewing the dossiers...(12/22)
• perhaps not - I assume the review and the money are independent procedures; got my confirmation almost two weeks after they cashed the check.
• my acknowledgement email said "Our fellowships selection committee will make its final decision in mid-February." i presume it is time for them to announce the interviews, if any are conducted.

[edit] Harvard Society of Fellows

Info Deadline (nomination letter): September 4, 2009

• Anyone receive request for materials yet? (9/14)
• yup, check your snail mail (9/14) -- There it was! (9/15)
• Anyone care to share how many writing samples you sent? (I sent one).
• I sent three: short published paper, short unpublished paper, finished diss chapter (about 50 pages altogether). - I sent two: two published articles based on the dissertation (55 pages together).  -- I sent 3: a pub'd article, a finished diss chapter, and the intro to my diss (close to 100 pgs; I'm sure it's WAY too much). 
• Does anyone know when they start arranging interviews?
• 10/5 postcard acknowledgment that materials have been rec'd. -- Mine too (October 6).
• 10/14 received phone call to set up interview for early November (sent in application right at 9/25 deadline) (x3, though my deadline was later)
• Congrats, but what do you mean--your deadline was later?  -- Thanks. I mean that they roll the deadline depending on when they receive your nomination letter. One of my colleagues was given a deadline three weeks earlier than mine.
• Hmm...my phone is eerily silent... (x3) 
• Come onnn phone!  I want to hear Nobel laureate Walter Gilbert's cheery voice on the other end!  Ringringring!
• Give it a rest. We're too good for Harvard.
• Does anyone know what the interviews are like?
•   A: I did one two years ago.  All 12 or so of them in a semi circle around you peppering you with questions.  Then dinner, which is the real interview. --Thanks for the info!
• on average how many applicants are there? (x2) and how many interviews would be scheduled?
• In the past, interview invites have been rolling, and they did a few interviews a week through the end of November.
• That's interesting.  After I saw that some people had been called, I just wrote this off, and have been checking from time to time purely as spectator sport. But maybe the fact that we haven't been contacted yet doesn't necessarily mean anything? (x2) -- Possibly, though when I was called, there were only two dates available (with four candidates to be interviewed on each date), with the last date towards the end of November. That doesn't mean they aren't still calling, but it sounds like the availability is narrowing.  -- Thanks much for sharing your info.
• Has anyone who's interviewing gotten a letter confirming the interview date after flights were booked?
• 10/27 call to schedule interview.-- Congrats. Any updates on their scheduling (ie, how many dates were still available)? -- Thanks. Seems like there were still spaces in early November.
• also 10/27 call for an interview, although my deadline was Sept. 24. does anyone know if these later call dates mean that we were some kind of back-up or is this random?
• Why the need to delete my comment twice ("I can tell when I'm not wanted...") and insert an editing comment, ("really, this is just unhelpful negativity. take it to the venting page.")? It's self-deprecating humor. I'm making fun of myself and light of the wait to know something, anything. I would gladly share any information--if I had any. How is that "unhelpful negativity?"
• Seriously, if you do not like what someone wrote, then do not read it. Delete only your own comments.   
• I agree with the self deprecator on this one.  No, I didn't find the post useful or entertaining or interesting, but I respect the fact that this is an open forum, and that it's not my or anyone else's place to delete someone else's posts. --Thank you both for your comments.--the self-deprecator
• Has anyone received a notification of rejection yet? I have not heard anything and it's 11/07.
• I haven't.  Doesn't surprise me, though.  I think they tend to keep people on the hook until all offers are made and accepted.  (11/8).
• Curious about application strategies. How many here consulted past short-listed candidates (x2) or past/current junior fellows (x3) on how to put together a competitive application? Or no one at all? (x2).
• Has anyone received a call to set up an interview this week?  Based on these comments, it seems like they're contacting a new batch of people every two weeks...  or maybe this is it and we have only rejection to anticipate?
• I wonder how the Senior Fellows make their decisions. The interviews go by so quickly, and the week I was there, very few of them even attended dinner. Guess there's no way to tell until they call-- or don't.
• Does anyone have an interview 11/30 or after? Wondering if 11/23 is the last day because of the holidays. I need to know when to start staring fixedly at the phone and willing it to ring.
• I have an interview on 11/30. Not sure if that's the last day or not. Does anyone know how many people they fly out for interviews each year?
• I'd like to know that too. I think between 40-50 based on how many people were there my week and some guesswork and multiplication. A lot of people come from Harvard, though, so I don't know how many of those are actually flown out.
• Well, the term ends today there, so hopefully we will hear something within the next week or so.
• I have heard that it is about 50-60 people who are interviewed, for the ten or so positions, though there are a only a few positions in each sub-field (they won't take all humanities or all sciences people, there has to be a distribution). Better odds than most searches, for those who have gotten this far. I have also heard that they plan to get back to people by mid-December, but I don't know how binding that is. Good luck to all...
• Thanks for the additional info, poster above!
• (12/13) It looks like today is probably the day the decisions are being made (according to the last two years' worth of wiki discussions, it seems to be the second weekend in December when the decisions are made). If anyone hears anything today, Sunday, or tomorrow, Monday, please post. Thanks!
• I agree, calls should go out today or tomorrow.
• Is it usually via email or phone? A: Previous years' wikis indicate phone.
• You're killing me, Buster (aka HSOF) -- No kidding. My nerves are shot! Pass the forget-me-nows.
• Has anyone received notice yet?
• My guess is that if none of us interviewees have heard anything, it'll be tomorrow before we do, since the SOF seems unlikely to start notifying people at an hour that would be late for overseas people. So hopefully the silence means we've survived another day-- but if anyone DOES know anything, please put the rest of us out of our misery!!!
• Yes, anyone who gets the magic phone call, please post as soon as you hear anything (from another interviewee with bitten-to-the-quick nails)
• Heard through the grapevine: those selected were informed by phone on Sunday, 12/13.
• $@!%. x3
• Got a letter today (12/15) saying "not chosen". At least it is unambiguous! On to the next thing to worry about. Congrats to those who made it through (and to all of us who made it this far anyway).
• 'tis the season for rejection fa la la la la, la la, la, crap.
• Can I stroke my ego by saying that my rejection letter said they were "most impressed" with my credentials, or do they say that to everyone? If so, it's a little lame.... -- It's pretty standard "rejection"-fare, but that being said, if they did call you up for an interview, they must have been pretty impressed to begin with, just maybe not enough for their final cut. But there will be other victories, to be sure.
• All letters include that "most impressed" rhetorical flourish. Pretty lame indeed, feel like they are insulting my intelligence. Is it true that every year 99 % of the selected fellows are people who have been somehow affiliated with Harvard? Everybody with a real chance seems to have been an undergraduate there and nominated by a Harvard professor.
• Does anyone know if there are alternates for this? R--Don't know, I too am yet to receive my rejection letter as of 12/17, but I'm assuming it's just taking the letter longer to reach me on the West Coast. R2-- Same here, in the Midwest. I would love to believe it's a sign that there's a B-list, but I think that's probably not right. Looking at the current list of fellows, a couple years have 12 or so, and another has 8, which suggests to me that they make a couple of extra offers straightaway, and that they aren't fussed if they don't get a full cohort of 10, either.
• No, I don't think you necessarily needed to be affiliated with Harvard to get this. Perhaps it is helpful, but a friend of mine got it last year and she had zero affiliation.
• You can see all of the affiliations on the Junior Fellows page of their website. It is not just Harvard, but it is all Ivy League and places similar.
• Are rejections coming to homes or offices?-- Just answered my own question: home. "Most impressed with your work and your interview..."-- but not impressed enough, obviously! Sigh.
• I'm wondering about the "B-list" possibility, too, since I didn't get a call last Sunday, but I also haven't gotten an official rejection yet (and I'm just down the road on the East Coast... and today's mail already arrived, 12/18...). Anyone have a "real insight" into this v. just speculation? Also, I talked to a former Fellow the other day whose experience said that they do not necessarily make all offers/calls at the same time, because toward the end there's a lot of in-fighting and "horse trading" among the Senior Fellows regarding selection (like any competitive admissions process, people go to bat for certain candidates, and then "duke it out" with their colleagues).  I'm trying not to get my hopes up (again), but it's hard when you feel like you're being kept holding the line...
• On the Harvard affiliation point, of course it is not "necessarily needed"--however, the conventional wisdom about this fellowship has long been that a Harvard link is a significant helping hand, "zero affiliation" exceptions notwithstanding.  Someone with a lot of time on their hands could do a "scientific" analysis of this, because the names of all Fellows since the 1930s are listed (both by year and by discipline), and their backgrounds can be researched easily.  I did a little analysis for just my own discipline and found that over 70% of Fellows in that category got their PhD at Harvard.  That's some pretty damning evidence in support of the "conventional wisdom".
• A former Fellow told me they usually have a list of (on average) 10, drawn up all at once, with 2 alternates, and if you're one of the alternates you'll hear--and then it's anyone's guess how long it will take to get a final word on whether another candidate turned down the offer and they can invite an alternate.
• Re: Harvard affiliation. Yes, evidence is pretty strong about the need of some kind of affiliation with Harvard. I was told by Senior Faculty at other Ivy League universities and also by a former fellow that the letter of nomination makes all the difference. To have a real chance you need a nomination from Harvard faculty or former fellows. I wish I knew this before applying, I would've saved myself very precious time and energy.
• When I applied for this, one of the Fellows during the dinner "confided" in me that the decision process was a blind vote. Obviously, not true.

[edit] Haverford College John B. Hurford Humanities Center Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

Info Deadline: January 30, 2010

• this year's theme: intersecting histories of sex, state, and society in the early modern era
• yawn (x6)
  • whatever, don't apply then! (x1)
  • Yawner here, I didn't apply, and x1 means what, you're agreeing with yourself?
    • Of course, I always agree with myself. I was just being obnoxious in response to a snarky post. I don't really care if the topic interests you, but I happen to think it's pretty silly to pass judgment about something that obviously doesn't pertain to you and so I responded with equal absurdity. Yawner: the word snarky is also starting to make me yawn. How come snarky is the only word ever used on here to describe job search sarcasm?
• snort
• ack recieved, 1/23

[edit] Helsinki Collegium for Advanced Studies Fellowships

Info Deadline: Sept 8, 2009

email rejection (2/1)

[edit] IAS Visiting Scholars

Info Deadline: Nov 1, 2009 snail mail rejection (1/31)

Received letter around the same time confirming that I'm an alternate (1/31)

[edit] ISAW Visiting Scholars Institute for the Study of the Ancient World at NYU

Application deadline 14 December

anyone here been contacted? the decisions were supposed to come in January

nope (x2)

letter of acknowledgement said further info "likely" in January, but who knows what sort of schedule they're on.

if they had more apps this year, just like all major institutions, they're probably running late too.

rejection letter received today (1/20); apparently they had ~180 applications this year

has anyone heard anything positive? and, if so, how were they contacted?

rejection letter (1/23). i don't quite like this sort of letters. even worse than invitations to donate.

[edit] Jackman Humanities Institute University of Toronto

Anyone else having problems submitting the application? I keep getting error messages

- A: I submitted on 11/25 and it was fine. -A2: I also received error messages until I reduced the size of my files. They say there is an 8MB upper limit. I had to reduce mine to 6.25MB before the system accepted the documents. -I emailed them and they said it was a 4MB limit - I wish I had known about the 8MB, I could have kept at least some quality of my images

-Q: Does anyone know if this postdoc gives preference to Canadian applicants? Just curious as I'm weighing the odds.

- I wondered the same thing. Most job applications seem to have a Canadian "disclaimer," and I did not see that on this one. Anyone have an idea how many people applied?

It seems they just extended the submission deadline to Dec 2 (was Dec 1) . . . any sense why? Because of the tech snafus above? -Could be tech snafus. I also wonder if its about recommendation submissions. I submitted by dossier service (i.e. Interfolio) and it took them a couple days to get my letters uploaded. So perhaps extending the deadline is to give lead time for that sort of thing. Re: amount of applications, I had hoped that the theme of Image and Spectacle might have narrowed the applicant pool, but geez, maybe not! I suspect we'll hear numbers after everything gets submitted and tallied.

• 400 total applicants

- Guess that's better odds than 1400...

According to Jackman, the Dec. 2nd date was NOT an extension, but an error. So, those of us who did have tech problems uploading our docs on Dec. 1st could be out of the running. I find it a tad cold-hearted that they might not own up to their website's poor design and accept the Dec. 2nd applications. Also, is it not a little lame that their theme is "Image and Spectacle," yet they didn't anticipate large image files with the writing samples?

• How can the Dec 2 deadline be an accident when it used to explicitly say Dec 1 in the very same spot? Are they claiming a mistake in data entry? What's your source, "according to Jackman" - did you email them?
• Agreed.  I think it was quite clear that the deadline was Dec. 1 all along.   
• I submitted my app. well before 12/1. I noticed the change to 12/2 when I logged-in to check that everything was in order. If I were having problems submitting docs on 12/1, I would have called them and not assumed that the unexplained change to 12/2 was correct. I understand the OP's frustration, though.
• OP here. By "according to Jackman" I mean that I called them on 12/2 and explained that I couldn't upload the evening before (it was after 5 on 12/1 when I had problems--so no way to reach them) and the person I spoke with said the Dec. 2 date on the website was incorrect. My original post was only an expression of frustration and commiseration with anyone else on the wiki who ran into similar tech problems and confusion. Be nice--This isn't about shaming other applicants; shaming large institutions I'm all for ;)
• that's absurd. i didn't apply for this one and now i'm doubly glad. what a bunch of jokers. if it said for an instant the deadline was dec. 2, then that is the deadline. you can't expect 400 people to pick up the phone and ask if the info on the website is correct or not.
• good luck everybody. 
• Well, now I'm getting paranoid. If the status of my application says "submitted," does that mean everything went in and was accepted? If so, then they did extend the deadline, at least for recommendations - my letters were uploaded by Interfolio on 12/2. Any thoughts?
• I was wondering the same thing - I have no idea when my recommendations were submitted, and when I tried to check the website a few days ago it wouldn't even let me log in because the application deadline had passed.
• That is very weird. Maybe you should call them to find out what's going on. I am still able to log-in. My status says "Submitted" and when I click the printer icon under "Actions", an application summary/user profile info page comes up; I then click "cancel" to the print prompt and scroll to the bottom of the document. It confirms that each of my referees has submitted his/her letter.
• Received an acknowledgment email today (12/18) stating that my application was now complete. Prior to that, it was indicated on their website as being "submitted."
  • Were they still waiting on references? I have not heard anything since submitting (my status, too, has been "submitted") and Interfolio uploaded my letters on 12/1.
  • Has anyone heard anything?
  • campus visit scheduled 01/18
  • Has anyone received a rejection yet?
  • No word at all beyond initial confirmation here
  • Shortlisting completed in mid-January and shortlisted candidates already informed (01/27)
  • I never even received an initial confirmation!
• I just happened to see the posts here and I'm glad I didn't apply for this!
• I asked (01/21) for an update and they refused to even confirm that shortlisting was completed. They would only tell me that the review process is ongoing and decisions would be made within six weeks.

[edit] Jean Monnet Fellowship

Info Deadline: Oct 25, 2009

• In my Max Weber Fellowship rejection letter they said that Jean Monnet applicants will be notified in mid-January. (18 Dec)
• Is it mid-January yet?
• I'd say so, but I still haven't heard anything. (1/16)
• Rejection email received. (1/20)

[edit] Johns Hopkins University Mellon Postdocs: "Concepts of Diaspora"

[http://krieger.jhu.edu/research/mellon/index.html#deadline; Deadline: Nov 12, 2009

E-mail confirming receipt of application (11/11)

Heard 400+ applications. (11/19) make that 450+ applications! (11/23)

Anyone know the process for this one--will they request writing samples? will there be interviews?

They will make the first round of cuts in December, then select 10 people, offer the positions to three of those, and then move down the list (of 10) if the first three already have jobs. The first round of offers should go out around February 1st. (11/23)

Q/observation:  There are 450+ people who work on "concepts of diaspora"!?  Wow! - LOL, bless you for this comment! Sums up the state of the Humanities, don't it?

Well... for $48K plus health insurance plus research and moving stipends, diaspora might suddenly become a lot more central to one's research! That said, it is a very hot topic these days.

Just got my email ack. today for an application sent in late October.  So they may be behind on that first round of cuts. (12/9)

• wow.
• Mine came today (12/11). x2  
• Mine came today (12/13) Are they working on a Sunday afternoon?
• Ditto (12/14)
• Hopefully this means that they are pushing to make the first round of cuts before the break and stay on schedule. (12/13)
• Rejection by e-mail (12/22) (X3) Q: When did you receive confirmation of receipt of application?
• A: Oct 30
• still waiting for my rejection. Did anyone else receive theirs yet?
• Q: So they clearly haven't finish making the initial cuts. Is there any indicaiton that anthropology has made its cuts.
• Yes, I have also received mine today (12/22). The email states that the competition will open also in the next three years.
• still waiting for my rejection, too....
• I wonder if the rejection letter mentions anything about the timeline for this process or the number of applicants still under consideration. Many thanks!

Anyone yet to get an acknowledgement of app? A: I haven't received an acknowledgement of app as of 12/22

A: I never did either so I emailed Claude Poux. He just got back to me today saying that my application was complete. (1/20)

• Q For those of you who have received rejections, would you mind revealing your fields? I've heard first-round cuts often depend on departmental needs, and I'm wondering which departments are not taking people this year... A: From talking to the director several months ago, this postdoc isn't very department-focused. If they are interested in your work they will find a department home for you - he gave the example of people getting their PhD in history departments and then being place in anthropology departments.
• Thanks!
• Rejection via email on Christmas Eve.  Super classy. (12/24)
• has anyone heard anything positive? still waiting on my rejection here (update: rejection received! 12/28)
• I think that this is one of those postdocs where no news is good news.
• Email rejection (12/29)x2
• Received rejection 12/29
• To those who received rejections, could you share the information in the email (for example, if it listed how many applications, etc.)? Thank you very much!
• This is all the rejection said :"On behalf of the Mellon Diaspora Fellowship committee, I write to say that while the faculty has decided not to advance your application to the final rounds- we would like you to know that there will be three more such competitions in each of the next three years. As such, you are encouraged to apply again."
• Thank you very much for this information!
• How many people out there have yet to receive rejections? 26 (2/4/10)
• Does anyone have information about how many applicants are still in the running until the Ten finalists are selected (including the Three top choices)?
• Looking at last year's wiki, it appears that with the first big cut, they narrowed it down to "a few dozen" candidates. Perhaps the process is the same this year? [4]
• Is there going to be another big cut or just fine slicing? Does anybody have any idea how many people are still in the race? Thanks.
• A major portion of this wiki is gone... someone deleted it?? vandals or slip of the finger?
• To the 26 people who have NOT received rejections: would you mind sharing your field? Music x4 (1/22) Philosophy (1/21) History x3 (1/21) American Studies/Media Studies (1/26) Modern Languages and/or History (1/21) Comparative Lit X 3 (1/21) Anthropology x4 (2/4) English (1/21) Art History (1/22) French (1/22) Anthro and/or Music (1/22) Sociology (1/28)
• Rejection received; same text as above about not being advanced to final rounds and general encouragement to apply in next three years (1/21) Q: This rejection was received today? By email? Dated when? Thanks! A: Yes, today, by email, dated 12:16 pm today.
• Would you mind sharing your discipline? Thank you! --Sure: History/Art History --Thank you and best wishes with your search.
• Anyone else?
• Q: Can someone please explain where the race is at this point? Does the last rejection mean that the last cut has been made and finalists should expect to hear soon?
• I think it is possible that not all of the initial rejection letters have gone out. (I'm trying not to get my hopes up as a rejeunction letter may be imminant).
• What I think is happening, according to the description of the entire process that someone - hopefully by mistake - deleted a few days ago, is that another department (History?) communicated their short list to the central SC. Therefore, those of us who have not yet received any news either are on departmental short lists - so still in the race - or are evaluated by lazy departments that procrastinate a decision.
• I called. They say finalists will be notified March 1st (1/22)
• I think this is a brutally long time to make a decisision. cruel.
• Thank you to the caller! It does appear from our very unscientific poll that there is not one department with an overabundance of candidates and the group represents a wide variety of departments... Too bad we won't know anything in early February as we thought. (1/22)
• I agree. There will probably be more cuts before the finalist list is complete.
• Q: Has anybody else received a rejection letter recently?
• Guess what I received after reading the wiki just now? A rejection, the same one above! My areas are English and Ethnic Studies. --> thank you for sharing. we shouldn't ask this question again... good luck!
• Q: Anybody get a positive reply this week? (1/28) nope (1/29)x5
• Q: Do any insiders have any information about the state of the race?
• I applied to this fellowship last year and received an offer in mid-March. I don't remember being notified of finalist status beforehand, so that must be something new they're doing this year...
• I did too. The question is whether they began earlier with the top of their list.
• I know it might be tedious, but could someone briefly expand on the "description of the entire process" that was (accidentally?) deleted some time back for those who never saw the original?

I think they are just weeding it down until they get the list of finalist. But its not clear whether this is being done through the African Studies Center or through the individual departments.

• I know that there is a central committee pulling professors from different departments (chaired by a professor in the History Department), so it is likely that they are considering the candidates that individual departments have nominated (and with the list above of people still in the running, it seems that there is a wide variety of departments without too many people from one department - so perhaps all depts have reported back to the committee). It is unclear whether they will pare down little by little or send out all rejections when they send out initial offers. Looking at last year's wiki, the first round of rejections didn't go out until late January, which is about one month later than this year, so hopefully we'll know something sooner than March.
• Just got my rejection today. I applied for the Center for Africana Studies Fellowship, too, and I received my rejection email for that one last week. Looks like they are speeding things up. Both emails were written the same way since it is being administered by the same department. (2/1) Q: Could you share if your rejection said the same as above about not being advanced to the final rounds and your department? Thank you. A: Yes, the same wording. My area is Art History (fyi).
• Perhaps Art History made its first rounds later than the others? Just a thought. And good luck to all. --> Though, one of the recent rejections above was Art History, too (the person listed History as well, though I know History people rejected in December)... This process is so odd and confusing! Rejecting individuals little by little... UGH! Just tell us already! (x2) 2/2
• Q:I think that they haven't made the anthropology cuts yet. Does anybody have information on this?
• ouch! just got rejected, I'm in Comp Lit. (2/2)
• Has anyone been notified that they have been advanced to the final round?
• Yes. 2/2 (I'm in comp lit/French). I'm also in comp lit (x1). More info to follow by March 1. (x3) Q: Does this imply that (as of 2/2) everyone who has been notified that they have been advanced to the final round is associated with Comp Lit? A: Nope - I got a final round email today and I'm not in Comp Lit. Q: what department are you in, if you don't mind telling us?
• OK, perhaps we could start a count?
  • I have heard nothing: 15 (2/4)
  • I have heard that I made it to the final round: 1
• What is going on??? Anyone up for calling?
• Did they just forget to send the rest of us rejection emails?
• I called -- apparently those who haven't heard anything are still being reviewed by one of the committees, one which hasn't reached conclusions yet. All decisions for who is to be in final round should come in by Monday; no news is good news (I was told). Then final decisions go out March 1st.
• Thank you for calling. (x9)
• And thank you for ending the ridiculous speculation!
• Thanks to the caller and can anyone clarify if there are any campus interviews involved in the process?
• No interviews.
• Did someone just accidentally erase part of this blog again?
• Q: Has anybody heard anything recently? A: Hopkins is closed today because of the snowstorm, so that one committee might not be able to meet to pare down to its list of finalists by today as the caller indicated.
• Heard from a friend at JH that the school may be closed til Wed....Uhh... --> Yup, closed tomorrow and 10-20 inches of snow predicted for Tuesday into Wednesday... (on top of the 26-30 already there). Hang in there everyone!
• Man, this is unbelievable. Hope it doesn't push the March 1st notification date. (x2)
• I just got a rejection via email (2/9 x 2). Hopefully others have better luck (and also hear soon!).

[edit] Johns Hopkins University - Writing Program

http://sites.Jhu.edu/ewp/lecturer.html

Deadline Jan 15th

[edit] Lawrence Universtiy Fellowships in Liberal Arts

Deadline Jan 31

[edit] Lilly Fellows Program

[http://www.lillyfellows.org/index.htm; Deadline Dec. 15, 2009

Ack. letter (12/8): "Our selection committee will begin reviewing completed applications after the deadline and will contact individuals regarding their status in January."

E-mail rejection (1/5)

E-mail notification of semi-finalist status. Six finalists will be chosen around Jan. 12 (1/5) x2

Semi-finalist rejection by e-mail, Jan. 13

Invitation to on-campus group interview (1/14)

[edit] Luther College Postdoctoral Fellowship English and Enviromental Studies

Deadline: Oct. 20, 2009

Has anyone heard anything?

A: I had a telephone interview a few weeks ago.  Last I heard, they had selected three candidates for campus interviews and were planning to have a signed contract by Dec. 16th.

A: They have selected three candidates - are doing campus visits this week. Will make final decision by Dec 14th

[edit] Macalester College - Wallin Postdoctoral Fellowship in International Studies, Islamic World Studies

info Deadline: November 15, 2009

• (12/29) Has anyone been asked to supply rec letters yet? Yes, around thanksgiving. - Ok, thanks.
• Hnm. Never heard anything; presume/hope that my having submitted when it was the 16th (Central time) but still the 15th (PST) was the cause of the silence.
• Not to squash your hopes, but I submitted well ahead of the deadline and never heard anything either, so if others were asked to submit rec letters (as indicated above), I say we're out of the running.
• I got a request for my writing sample (chapter) in late Nov...received email that folks would be invited to campus in mid-Feb.
• After being asked to send a writing sample and letters of rec, I was told they were meeting on Jan. 12th to review the candidates but haven't heard anything since. Anyone get an interview yet?
• Position was reposted on insidehighered.com on December 17
• Great, that can't be good news. Haven't heard anything either since the email about Jan. 12th decision.
• heard that they conducted phone interviews last week
• I had been asked for a chapter in Nov, but have not heard a peep since
• I contacted them to check the status of my application, but they did not respond. Did anyone else have better luck?
• I had a phone interview last week (1/20), they said they would let me know this week about whether I make the final 3 that they invite to campus, but still no word (1/29).
• Has anyone been invited to campus?

[edit] Madison Wisconsin - Postdoctoral Fellowship in Human Rights

Info Deadline: Dec 15, 2009

Any news on this position?

No news (1/26)

I haven't even had an 'app received'. (1/26) -- x2

Offer made, and alternates notified (2/2)

[edit] Magdalen College, Oxford Fellowship by Examination

Info Deadline: Oct 12, 2009

• When they say that "candidates must have undertaken no more than four years' graduate study" they mean post-doctoral study, in Americanese, correct?If they require a PhD AND that you not have done more than 4 years graduate study, that would be a pretty tall order, wouldn't it?
• No; remember that UK PhDs are research-only, with a theoretical duration of just 3 years (I suspect that this might be negotiable for US doctoral students, but I don't know anyone who has asked).
• I asked! And I was told that I can apply as a US PhD provided I make it clear in my application that the research-only portion of my PhD studies was 4 years or under
• What is the "examination" - is it a defense of the work you submit, or something else?
• I think it refers to the fact that if you are shortlisted, you have to sit a "viva," or a defense of your proposal/research.  Kind of like a dissertation defense, but live as in a UK viva.
• I know it has been just 10 days since the deadline but has anyone heard anything? My referee received an acknowledgement email but that's all I know. Any news on when they ask for more material, interviews etc?
• Request for more materials received by email Nov. 4. (x2)
• General question for those submitting applications for positions/post-docs in the UK (or outside the US more generally) from the US: Will you go out of the way to submit things on A4 paper, or just use our normal US Letter size? In the case of Magdalen, they ask for a single copy, which suggests they'll make additional copies upon receipt, which will no doubt be in A4. Finding and printing on A4 in the US is not easy, however. Thoughts? -- I sent them PDF copies of Word Docs that I had reformatted into A4. I figured it was worth the effort if only to show some consideration; but then, I'm not one of the people above who got a request for more materials, so maybe A4 ingratiation isn't that helpful. (Oh, and if you need hard copies, I know a friend of mine bought some A4 paper online inexpensively, so it might be good to keep on hand just in case.)
• For what it's worth, I'm applying to both American and European jobs from Europe, and using a mix - sometimes in the same app - of American and A4 paper. Unless you are writing extremely close to the margins, you can put either type of paper in the photocopier of the other and it comes out fine.
• I gather they are requesting work from candidates one subject at a time, so all is not necessarily lost if you haven't yet heard anything.-- Thanks, that's very helpful to know.
• And sure enough - my work was requested today (11/12) - Anthropology
• Anyone feel like revealing what subjects have been dealt with? Put your colleagues out of their misery! (x2) History, requested 11/4. Geography requested 11/4.
• Anyone heard anything about Modern Languages?
• Did any candidates asked to submit work ever hear back r.e. interviews? (1/28)--I emailed last week to ask and was told that I did not receive an interview. I assume that this means they have selected (and likely informed) their finalists, but have not sent rejection letters yet. (2/1)-Thanks for passing this on. Much appreciated.
• Was called back to interviews 1/22
• Interviews, originally scheduled for the 6th of February were postponed indefinitely
• Anyone know what is going on there? Have they gone bust or has the process simply been postponed?
• Adminstrative assistant indicated `Unforseen legal problems' and that they will be in touch with candidates in due course.

[edit] Manchester U - Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute postdoc fellowship

Info Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

[edit] Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Mellon Sawyer Postdoctoral Fellowship

Info Deadline: March 1, 2010

Theme: “Sensing the Unseen”

[edit] MIT, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships in the Humanities

Info

Deadline: January 15, 2010

Q: Has anyone received ack for app, as indicated? Or did the Jan 15 deadline for email app receipt mean office hours? Applicant abroad 1/20

• I received two apps actually. One when I submitted it, and another on the deadline. The ack did not indicate whether or not rec letters had been received. 1/20
• Received no ack yet, submitted at deadline. 1/20 (x2) [I take it back, received ack email today--yes, I did too, as the 2nd person who had previously stated no acknowledgment.]
• (Q person here) Ack, but not for rec letters (though tracked arrival within deadline, so should be OK) 1/20, pm
• Fellows announced in March, quick turnaround. No campus visits?
• from what i can gather from the wiki on last year's competition, no visits and no interviews, but perhaps it will be different this year? 1/26

[edit] Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology Fellowship

Info Deadline: Nov 30, 2009

I heard the positions have been advertised again--any idea? rejection by email (1/29)

[edit] Max Weber Fellowship

Info Deadline: Oct 25, 2009

• Is anyone else having trouble uploading their application materials on their electronic app page? I keep getting error messages that say they only accept uploads in pdf or rtf format. I've put my materials in both formats, but still the same error message for 2 days now...(10/25)
• I think I had that problem until I replaced spaces in filenames with underscores. Sorry this info comes so late. (11/3)
• email confirmation of completed application (23 Oct.)
• offer received. Q: was this by email, phone, or post? A: that was by email.
• no word -- anyone else receive an offer, or have any idea if all offers have gone out? (7 Dec)
• may I ask what's your area / which department you chose? (11 Dec) A: Political and Social Sciences (16 Dec).
• as a previous MWP fellow: be prepared for a lot (way more than one would expect) of required program activities, week after week after week...
• Just received a rejection email saying they had 1042 applications for 43 positions. So, I'm one of the 999 (18 Dec). (x3)
• Email with notification of "alternate"  / "reserve list" status. They will know by mid-Jan if they will move to the reserve list for new offers. (12/18)
• Same *on the reserve list* email for me too-wondering if there are any chances for an offer...know 3 people that got an offer after being on the reserve list but that was for a doctorate, not MWF.. (1/8)
• On the reserve list and waiting too - I even emailed them but no response... (1/21)

[edit] McGill University - Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellowships in the Humanities and Related Social Sciences

Deadline: November 23, 2009

• Received email that candidates have been contacted, been put on the list of alternates (12/15)

[edit] National Endowment for the Humanities Fellowships

[5] Deadline May 5, 2009

• 12/4 Q.: Has anyone received the result? I've heard that announcements are being made either by email or by mail--is this depending on acceptance or rejection?
• E-mail rejection received 11/30.

[edit] NEH Summer Stipends

Deadline: Oct. 1, 2009

Anyone have an idea of when we can expect to hear anything?

March, I believe. Hang in there. (2/1)

[edit] National Humanities Center Fellowships

Info Deadline: October 15, 2009

• (Q: does this fellowship only accept advanced faculty, people who already have a job? It says that "young scholars are encouraged to apply," but they must have a substantial record of publication, and almost everyone who got it last year was an Associate prof.)
• It also says that young scholars should be aware that the center does not support the revision of dissertations. So unless you've already got the diss published, and are on to the next thing . . .
• At one point in their materials they refer to a 1,000 word proposal; in another they refer to it as approximately 1,000 words which must fit on four pages. How strict do you think the 1,000 word maximum is?
• Has anyone had any kind of acknowledgment of their application materials? I've heard nothing, and it's officially been a month.
• I have applied for this fellowship in the past and think they do not send anything other than the rejection notice. 11/17

[edit] Northwestern-African American Studies

          Deadline: 31 December 2009

• Anybody have an idea of the dollar amount of the stipend?  (Not that I'll be looking down my nose at any offers, mind you.) (12/17)
• No idea. I'm assuming this is one of those post-docs where the salary will be unknown until they make an offer to someone. (12/19)
• Anyone hear anything on this one? (2/4)
• I emailed a few weeks ago to confirm receipt and they did confirm. Other than that, no news (2/4)

[edit] Northwestern-Linguistics Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship

    Info    Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

       Ack. email received (12/17) Question: Any news from them?

A: I received "The finalists should be announced by the end of March." message in response to my inquiry.(1/29)

March? Are they kidding? When will they decide on the fellows, in Sept.?

A: The person who wrote me that message is the department administrator. But I checked the ad again and saw that they would ask for the dissertation from the finalists. So I don't think they wait for this till March.

B: Yes, saw that. Either the administrator doesn't know what (s)he is talking about, or I'm right about how long it will take.

A: Why don't you ask them too? Maybe they feel the pressure and decide as early as possible :)

B: Frankly, I'd rather tell them to screw themselves.

A: Apparently, "[they] won't know the results for some time" (2/9).

> You contacted them and asked? Btw, what does "some time" refer to?

A: Yes. The response is from the fellowship search committee: "[They] are still in the process of reviewing applications for the position; [they] won't know the results for some time." I don't know what "some time" refers to. (2/9)

B: It would feel so good to be offered the fellowship and tell them "No thanks, I've made other plans". Newsflash to members of the search committee: people don't just sit around and wait until the summer to make plans for the fall; moving to another city involves planning and time.

[edit] Notre Dame Center for the Philosophy of Religion Fellowships

Info Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

[edit] Notre Dame Institute for Advanced Study Residential Fellowships

Info Deadline: Dec 1, 2009

[edit] Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute for International Studies Visiting Fellowships

Website  Deadline: November 2, 2009

• Anyone get a receipt notification yet? (11/6)
• No.
• Does anyone know if they contact everyone in February, both shortlist and rejections, or if they contact successful candidates before February? (12/10)
• Rejection received by postal mail, 1/29
• Has anyone received an acceptance letter? (2/2)
• Rejection received by PDF attachment in e-mail. The e-mail message itself was blank and the sight of an attachment really got my hopes up for a moment until it opened in the pdf reader (2/5) x2 (I received both email and postal mail. So nice to get two rejection letters. x2 WHY two separate rejections?! -I recall that there were separate instructions for international applicants: they were allowed to email their application materials while the rest of us had to use snail mail; so I guess they get a fair number of international applicants and it would be costly or take a long time to notify them of results via post. On the other hand, they could've just sent *those* people the email rejection! As it happens, I was traveling overseas when I got mine, so the email was actually appreciated.)
• I received an acceptance letter. It was also a blank email with the attached pdf. I was also sent a letter by mail. Sending out 2 versions is a nice idea since many people are abroad, traveling, or have different addresses (2/8). - Congratulations! Out of curiosity, do you do Latin/Central America, poli-sci, and/or quantitative research? I'm not trying to figure out who you are, just whether there is much variation in who they accept (a friend at Kellogg says the people they choose tend to fit the description I just provided).

[edit] Notre Dame Moreau Academic Diversity Postdoctoral Fellowships

Deadline: December 10, 2009

Rec'd email ack 12/11 , 12/18

No word as of 2/06

12/18 ack. email says they plan to develop a short list by mid-to-late February for campus visits in March.

[edit] Nottingham Advance Research Fellowship

Info Deadline: Dec 14, 2009

• School of English Studies will sit down the week of 12/7 to decided which applications to support, applicants will be notified of results on Tue, 12/8.
• No word yet (english studies 12/8 18:43)...are they emailing?
  • according to the contact person for the School of English Studies, yes . . . but I am still waiting, too . . . might be they are meeting later this week, or there was no time to send out emails today?
  • I wish they had just left it vague, then I wouldn't have to check my emails every 10 seconds!
  • REJECTION STRIKES AGAIN 09/12 15:26. 
• Did anybody apply through the Cultural Studies dept? If so, any news or further info about when they planned to shortlist? Thanks!
• yes, after I emailed on Saturday to ask, I was informed that they chose one out of 27 applicants to shortlist, and it was not I.
• Thanks! I guess that means it was not I either... That's nice that they took the time to let us know!
• Email notification of departmental selection (1 of 5) for larger university process of selection - American Studies (12/8)

[edit] NHC Wellesley Fellowships

Info Deadline: December 1, 2009 Does anyone know what Departments are they are looking for postdocs this year?

• No.  I contacted the NHC and they said to contact the individual departments.
• Anyone get an acknowledgment on this yet?

[edit] NYU - Liberal Studies Program

Info Deadline: December 1, 2009  

• mmm, I guess these days teaching 3/3 qualifies as a postdoc?
• I don't think this belongs here, since it advertises for faculty positions, with renewable (term) contracts.
• why not just leave it here?  it's not hurting anyone...(11/16)
• I agree with the third poster.  It's clearly not a postdoc, but it really doesn't fit any category.  So, let's just leave it here for those of us who applied. (x5)
• Anyone receive an acknowledgment yet? (12/14) - The announcement did say "pending administrative and budgetary approval," so maybe they're still pending on it.
• If you log into your application, you may find (as I did 12/26) that it's been assigned a new title and confirmation #.
• Thanks for posting this!  I've got a new number too.
• Yes, I've got a number in "group 2."
• Any idea what those groups mean? One group per position? Specialty? Definite v. maybe?
  • I would guess one group per position; do you also have the old application listed, as well?  (I am a bit confused)
  • Now that I look at the original post, it lists the following specialties: 
    * Global Culture/Literature/Arts
    * Global Economics
    * Global History
    * International Politics
    * Science/History or Philosophy of Science
    * Science and Public Policy
    I'm guessing that each group maps onto each of those. I'm group 1 and I'm in the Global culture/literature/arts. But that's 6 categories and there are seven positions - I wonder where they'll double up
• Rather oddly, when I log in, my app is now listed under the original general job title (with no additional group number), and also listed separately as an application for a specific discipline that more or less maps on to one of the ones listed above-- but it's not actually *my* discipline. Hm.
• I'm Group 1 and Global culture/literature/arts as well.
• Hmmm. Where do you see this when you log on? I'm not getting anything.
• I see two listings. One is for Master Teacher with the date of my application.  Right underneath I see Master Teacher, Global culture, etc. with a different date.  I suspect that they segregated applicants into categories based on discipline and created a new job listing.
• Maybe...I only see the Master Teacher one when I log on. Maybe that's all they think I'm good for! Q: Does anyone else see only one listing ("Master Teacher"), as I do?
• I'm in group two and applied to Global culture/literature/arts as well, so I'm not sure about thetheory of the person above. But I don't know what else it might mean.
• I'm group 1 and definitely Gloabl culture/literature/arts. I also turned my app. in the day it was due, so I don't think the number could have anything to do with when applications came in. I wonder if for the poster above me there was a mistake and you should have been in group 1 in that all of  literature/culture people here are so far in group 1. Oh, how I want this job!
• I'm in Group 2 *and* in Global Culture/Literature/Arts, so maybe that's where the doubled up. Don't you just wish you were a scientist sometimes?
• anyone in anthro?  where did y'all end up?  I am in Group 2, I'm anthro.
• I'm a modern European historian and was placed into a "Global History/International Politics" grouping.  This suggests that they combined those two positions.
• I'm in anthro too, and I'm in Group 1.
• I'm in Global Culture/Literature/Arts Group 2, Master Teacher, and Science/History/Philosophy of Science. 3 groups. At least I can't say I wasn't considered!
• I seem to be listed in two groups, but NOT the one which is blatantly my discipline. My PhD is in one of the areas people are being put into, and yet I'm not in that group. That's annoying, as I probably have the best shot competing in my own field.

1/10 - did anyone get asked for letters of references or additional materials?

• They're obviously not there yet. It still says "0 out of 0" under "references received". Mayhaps somebody should email an inquiry? 
• Talked to someone I happen to know on the search committee - they are totally swamped with applications. Silence means nothing - they are just working through the piles.
• Heard from someone on the search committee that they had over 1000 applications.
• Received Email ack 1/14: "The search committee will screen applications through January and early February, and we will contact those whom we wish to interview only when our review of files has been completed."
  • Received identical ack 1/20. Also noted that they will not respond to questions about status of applications.
  • Also received identical acknowledgement 1/21
  • Did everyone receive an acknowledgement? I didn't... 1/21 (x2 - but it seems like they're staggering the ack's)
  • Ack (X3) 1/22
  • Ack 1/25 (x2)
  • Still no ack. here ...
  • I actually got three versions of the same acknowledgment email. System malfunction, I guess. Anyone else?
  • Ack 1/28
• Phone interview 2/8 (scheduled 2/1)
• Crap (x2). Anyone else? Should I cross this one off my list yet? Were you notified by email or phone? - By phone. Next round of interviews won't be til March, so it may be too soon to give up hope --good luck --
• To the person with the phone interview: which category and group are you in?

[edit] NYU Academic Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity

Deadline November 30, 2009 Any news on this one? Esp. interested in #s of applicants...

Nope.  I didn't even get an acknowledgment of the receipt of my application yet. (12/23)

I don't think you'll get an acknowledgment.  Just the application complete status when you log in to the online system.  Last year, they had 200+ applicants. (12/23)

As with the NYU Liberal Studies position (above), the application status (online) shows that applications have been forwarded to particular schools, I think.  I'm hoping that we might get word early.  Anyone hear anything yet, even rumors? (1/13)

Do you need to be an American citizen to apply for this fellowship? (Btw, I didn't apply for this fellowship... just wondering.)

Does NYU interview for this postdoc? Has anyone received any form of notification? Like the fourth post, my application was forwarded to two schools in Dec, but I have not seen any activity on my online application since. (1/24)

I asked the program officer about interviews, and she said there would be none. I think there is no notification, since you can see on the website whether your application is complete (including letters). What I don't understand is why they have forwarded my application only to one school instead of two (as I indicated in my application!). (1/24) --In answer to this, I know that I only submitted for one school and they sent it out to two. I'm guessing they looked at the applications to see what potential demand/availability there is with each school. (1/24)

Any news on this? It's getting close to 15 February and I'm wondering if offers have gone to the finalists yet. (2/1)

For those who applied last year, did you receive an email rejection the day offers were made or prior to the date? (2/1)

[edit] Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 2 Year NEH

Website Deadline November 1, 2009

• This seems to have a serious bump up in pay this year
• Received letter acknowledging receipt of my application (11/7).  "By the end of January all applicants will have been advised of their status in the competition."

Umm...today's the last day of January. Anyone heard from them yet?

[edit] Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture 1 Year Mellon

Website Deadline November 1, 2009

[edit] Oxford - St. John's, Christ Church & Merton Colleges Joint JRFs

Info Deadline: December 11

Does anyone have an email address for these fellowships where questions can be sent? I can't find anything on any of the forms, though they reference email several times in the application materials!

I second that request: They say letters can be emailed, but no email address! Quite a hassle to request letter writers to mail things to Oxford from US.

• How is it a hassle for recommenders to mail letters from US to Oxford? Surely, that also goes for the opposite direction? I do agree, though, that everything should move to electronic submission, email at the least . . . saves trees and postage, ya know?
• I can't speak for the penultimate poster, but for me, I find the mailing a hassle simply because recommenders are often so harried this time of year that they forget to mail letters on the first, second, or even third request. When you're dealing with transatlantic transit times, prodding them repeatedly to mail your letters requires a lot more advance planning to ensure ontime arrival than if they can simply email them at the 11th hour. And yes, it does go both ways in terms of the mailing problem, US to England and England to US; likely the poster above was simply referring to his or her particular case, for this particular job, not suggesting it's much more onerous for applicants to send letters eastward than westward.
• I don't understand what is so much more difficult about addressing a letter to the UK than it is to the US. You need to allow a little more time -- my application took about a week to get there, but I mailed it over Thanksgiving weekend. As for an email address, just go to the website of the college you're applying to -- the Academic Administrators are all listed, complete with contact info.
• Again, no one is saying it is more difficult to address a letter to the UK. Further, no one is suggesting applicants themselves cannot plan sufficiently in advance for mail to arrive. You are misreading, or reading very uncharitably, if you gleaned either of those points from the comments above. The point under discussion was related to referees mailing letters, which can cause difficulty for letter-writers who have multiple other obligations and who therefore tend to do things closer to deadlines. (x2, from England)
• RES (from above): I'm quite clear on that, I'm just confused as to why the UK vs. the US changes anything for anyone involved -- couldn't this concern be applied equally to any letter being requested at this time of year? Hasn't chasing down referees been a challenge since we were all filling out college applications? I included the amount of time it took for my letter to reach Oxford to give a sense of how much time/notice referees would have needed; I also offered the information on how to find the email addresses for each college's academic administrator that the o.p. requested in case there were people out there trying to beat the deadline. Just in case, however, here they are: Merton, Victoria Lill, Academic Administrator, victoria.lill@admin.merton.ox.ac.uk; St. John's, Eileen Marston, Academic Administrator, academic.administrator@sjc.ox.ac.uk; Christ Church... well, I confess, I can't find the email for the Academic Administrator at Christ Church. (Actually, looking at my watch, I see this is now irrelevant, as the deadline passed a short while ago; sincere apologies if not providing this information yesterday prevented anyone from filing recommendations.)
• Christ Church: acknowledgment of application; interview date (if invited) Feb 4. (12/18) (x2) Via email or snail mail? Thanks. (12/18) -email.
• Merton: request for written work (01/11). (x2)
• Merton: short-listing meeting will be held on Feb. 11. Interviews: Feb. 22,23,24. Final decision: Feb. 25. (Email in response to my request for info) --Thank you, poster!
• Any word on St. John's? (1/13) x2 Interview shortlist to be set by Feb. 11 per email from the College Academic Adminstrator. (1/14) Do you mean you've already had written work requested? I haven't heard anything either way (1/14) No, I wrote to them because I have a job offer with a quick deadline for a decision, so I wanted to know when I might have a clear picture of what's happening with St. John's. Eileen Marston only mentioned the 2/11 date in her response to me.
• Has anyone had requests for written work from Christ Church? I haven't heard anything yet (1/15) and don't know whether to keep on hoping!
• Also waiting for any word from Christ Church. The acknowledgement of application e-mail said nothing about written work, and the application form is a generic one for all three colleges. That said, it is fairly unusual to not request written work for long-listed candidates. However, given the big increase in numbers applying for all postdocs this year, it wouldn't surprise me if they got a bit overwhelmed and have decided either to demand written work literally at the last minute (unlikely as it puts them under greater pressure), or to base it all on the application form and let the interviews decide. Taking all bets...
• Merton: request for written work (01/18)
• Christ Church: rejection by e-mail (01/21)
• Me too. Another Christ Church rejection by email. (1/21)
• Has anyone heard from St. John's? (01/27)
• Rejection letter from St John's by mail (02/05) (x2)
• (For any other sciences people lurking here, the Sciences Committee at St Johns will meet on the 11th Feb)

[edit] Pennsylvania State University Africana Research Center Postdoctoral Fellowship

• Rejection by mail, dated 12/7 (x2)

[edit] Presidential Management Fellows

Info Deadline through school, October 2009

• Didn't see this anywhere else on the wiki, so I thought I should add it
• PMF Class of 2010 Nominees announced; test-taking is ongoing Jan/Feb

[edit]

[edit] Princeton Center for African American Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship

Info Deadline Nov 20 2009

• News? (1/5)
• letters go out Feb 25th

[edit] Princeton Center for the Study of Democratic Politics Visiting Scholars and Research Fellows

Info Deadline Nov. 15, 2009

• Any word on this one? (1/3)
• I haven't heard a peep. Anyone else heard anything? (1/20)
• Rejection received via email. 3% of applicants received a position. (2/2)

[edit] Princeton Davis Center Fellowships

Info  Deadline Dec 1, 2009

• 2010-2012 Theme: problems of authority and legitimation
• Any word on this one? (1/3)
• Any sense of a time-line? (1/29)
• God only knows. I haven't heard a word.
• I believe the website says they will notify people in early or mid March. (2/1)

[edit] Princeton Niehaus Center for Globalization and Governance Fellowship

Info Deadline Jan 15, 2010

[edit] Princeton Writing Program

info Deadline: Feb 1, 2010

E-mail ack. (12/18) x2 --Email says candidates will be notified of application status by April 15.

• The number of applicants is much higher than usual, I hear.
• No surprise; lack of TT positions to which one can apply = deluge of applications for postdocs, VAP's, writing program positions, etc.
• Never received email ack of reciept of materials; emailed 02/04 to ask for ack, received automated response: "we're very busy, we won't respond to your email, we'll let you know when we let you know."
• Ack. 2/6; applied on the deadline. (x2)
• To the person who didn't receive an ack - if you applied online (as I think you have to), you should have received an automatic generated response. You should check the status of your application and make sure all your materials registered properly.

[edit] Princeton Society of Fellows

Info Deadline: October 1, 2009

• Question: Has anyone receive confirmation on their submission? I sent mine weeks before the deadline and still haven't heard from them.
• Nope. (10/23) (x3)
• last year they had almost 1000 applicants--probably takes them forever to move through all of the aps. 
• received postcard confirming they received my application yesterday (10/24) (x2)
• received postcard confirming receipt 10/26 -- ditto, and, it says interview candidates will be contacted by the end of January
• received postcard confirming receipt 11/04 (I'm in the Netherlands)
• received more than 1400 apps this year. yikes.
• yeah yikes. wow. that's nuts.   --1395 rejections and wasted effort will make princeton narcissistic
• I'm less concerned about the institution's ego. what is worse is that it will leave a lot of very smart and qualified people unemployed. And that's a shame. And no one (narcissistic institution or not) is addressing that issue.
• Yes, the numbers are astounding and deeply disturbing.  It is a very sad situation in the humanities right now.
• One issue always left out of this discussion: at least a thousand of those applicants had no shot whatsoever.  Time for many to take a more realistic approach.
• I don't mean to get snarky, but are you, previous poster, part of the illustrious 400?  (11/28)
• What an arrogant and inconsiderate statement.  In one simplistic and naive claim, the poster dismisses the work of a thousand people. A sad reflection on academia. 
• All judgment aside, it also begs the question: how do you ("one") know whether you are part of the happy few?
• Not sure how it's naive to say that.  If your Ph.D. is not from one of a handful of schools (we all know which ones they are), if you don't have a track record of publication and/or prestigous graduate research fellowships, it's a waste of time money and paper to apply.  Is it really so horrible to point that out?
• It's just you sound like a snot, is all.  And in case you're wondering, yes I meet all of your little criteria there.  (x3)
• I think it's worth pointing out that even if one "doesn't have a shot" or meet all of the above criteria, it can still be a useful process to work up an application for these big postdocs. First, you never know. Second, the due date is relatively early in the fall, which helped me get some ideas together that I have since fine tuned for other postdocs that are perhaps more attainable. I don't expect to hear back from Princeton and that's okay with me. I'm still glad I applied. (x2)
• Okay, can we stop snarking at each other now and get back to commiserating and conveying useful information?
• I'm glad everybody applied too.  On another note, this board is deader than dead compared to last year.  More hopelessness or fewer funding opportunities or both?  --more hopelessness. oh, well.
• A friend got a call on Friday about interviewing (12/5) - Q: What field is your friend at? -A: Lit. Sorry (very sorry), it was Penn, not Princeton.

Q: UPENN Teaching or UPENN "virtuality"? A: This is a TT
 Q: thanks!

• That seems like very early contact, based on the information on the acknowledgment card and last year's wiki, anybody have information about if the process has changed somehow? Perhaps to deal with the increase in applications?
• Sigh of relief (x1400)
• I withdrew my application for personal reasons, so now it is down to 1399 !!
• any new news?
• the website says we will know by late January, so at least most of us can still hold out hope for a few more weeks, unlike with some of the other big ones (e.g., Columbia) that notified earlier (12/31)
• Notified about interview on January 12th via email (X6)
• Congratulations to those notified about the interviews on 1/12 (X2) Q: Would you mind posting the approximate time stamps on these emails? A: 3:48pm for me (X2). A: 4:12PM EST for me. Q: Would you mind posting your fields?
• Curses!  Much-anticipated curses! x2
• anyone know how many people are interviewing? A: in the past they interviewed about 5 people for each spot, so about 20-25 people. This year they're giving only 3 fellowships, but I don't know whether it changes the number of people they will interview.
• For those who heard, was this in reference to the genearl Society of Fellows position, the Latin America specific one, or do they do this together? Thanks! A: Mine was for the general SF. A: I was invited for interview on 1/12; they specifically mentioned that it was for the Latin America one (I applied for this one and the general one) (<---X2). A: I applied for both the Open Fellowship in the Humanities and the Fellowship in Humanistic Studies. The invitation e-mail did not specify the position for which I am under consideration (a, b, or a + b).
• Anyone else get an email 1/15 -- "While you are not part of this group of candidates selected, the committee is still very interested in your candidacy and has placed your name on a second list for possible interview" - ? Quit playing games with my heart!
• Wow, that's crappy...
• I'm one of the interviewees, also applied for both open fellowship and humanistic studies (I assume/hope I'm under consideration for both, since they open application to both... but not sure, that wasn't specified). they said they are interviewing 16 candidates for the 3 posts, and from what i can tell everyone is coming on the same day in February
• anyone else out there who hasn't heard anything either way? 1/19 ... I haven't heard anything at all either, not since the post card acknowledging receipt of my application 1/19 (x2) 1/20
• cordial snail-mail rejection rec'd 1/19 x6 - (and wasn't that one of the nicest rejection letters ever? - indeed; is it an ego boost that its was 'semi-finalist' rejection letter - top 58 out 1400 ain't bad)
• snail-mail rejection 1/20
• snail-mail cordial rejection 1/22
• I've received neither confirmation nor rejection of my application, which I sent before the deadline by fed-ex. Should I assume it was never processed? -- I've heard nothing either, nor has one of my colleagues. We're both towards the end of the alphabet-- maybe that's it?
• Yes I think so, I just received mine. 1/28
• Is anyone else out there who didn't get an interview still waiting for a rejection letter? Maybe mine has been sent via Pony Express.
• Yes, I haven't received one either.
• Can anyone tell when the interviews took/will be taking place? Are they all scheduled on the same day? Thanks.

[edit] Rice University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

http://hrc.rice.edu/PDCall.aspx

Ack. receipt via email, 12/3

Q:  did you send your application via email or snail mail? - I sent it via email. I asked for confirmation in my first email, and then two weeks later again, for which I received a very nice response about three days later, mentioning that they were swamped with applications and that it therefore takes some time to confirm. 

• Thanks!
• Thanks, too, for the response.  That application took forever to complete, formatting the 6 documents as a single PDF attachment.

Q: Is there anyone who hasn't received anything (e.g., ack. receipt)? I'm yet to hear from them.

A: I haven't received anything either; got my app in just before the deadline, though. (x7); I sent my application in about three weeks before the deadline, and I haven't heard anything either (x2).

- It seems the only person posting that received an ack. receipt specifically requested it - two times. They are probably negotiating a slew of applications (like everyone) and will confirm receipt at some point in the future. I wouldn't worry.

-After a couple unanswered emails, I called to make sure that my application was indeed there. The very nice woman I spoke to said that they were, of course, totally deluged, and were thus not really answering emails or acknowledging apps. She said on the phone that my application was complete and in the pile. It sounded like they haven't done any winnowing yet and wouldn't for some time.

-Has anyone received any kind of form letter acknowledgement?  The office was really helpful with some questions I had about submitting recommendations, but I haven't followed up with them since it sounds like everyone is in the same boat when it comes to receiving an acknowledgement. A: I submitted my application super early (October) via email and got an email confirmation a day or so later.

-I submitted mine in early October and have heard nothing.

-Heard they received more than 1000 applications <---nice! how many fellowships do they offer? A: The website says "up to three".

-Up to three fellowships? I would have had somewhat greater chances then if there had been up to two candidates.

- Does anyone have any idea when they announce finalists and/or decisions? Thanks! (x2) <-- the website says "Applicants will be notified of fellowship decisions in February 2010."

-Actually, I'm still waiting for my acknowledgment email! (Still bitter about figuring out how to format all the different files into a single document!)

Q: Any news? (2/1)

-february has arrived. no acknowledgement so far. i'm wondering whether they will notify us about the results (2/4).

-I heard that there received 1200+ applications. And the notifications will go out at the end of February (2/6).

-1200+?! Do you mind sharing your source on that one? I find it hard to believe that this one got more applicants that the Michigan Society of Fellows, for example.

-Wow, how to choose 3 out of 1200??? And to make a guess at the question just above: this application was really easy to complete (how many writing samples for Michigan!?), the deadline was later (so people like myself who weren't quite together with job apps in September and October-since it is my first year on the market-were in a better position to apply), and the only requirement was to be in a humanities department (the narrowly focused Johns Hopkins "Concepts of Diaspora" postdoc received almost 500 applications). Therefore, 1200 for a non-themed postdoc seems about right. (Gosh, I'm feeling so much like a high school student writing the standard history essay with intro/3 points/conclusion...)

-The source for 1200+ was the program coordinator of the center.

-I called (2/3) for the Humanities and was told that they are now contacting finalists (and that I'm not one). <--What's your field? How many finalists are out there? Why didn't I get this info? :)

Q: has anyone been notifed of finalist status? I assume that they won't be sending out rejections emails or letters.

- I spoke to a staff member today who said that no decisions have been made and no finalists have been contacted. All applicants will be contacted one way or another by the end of February.

- request for Skype interview, via email. (2/8 x 2) <-- what are your fields? English.

-Congrats to you both! In addition to (or instead of) revealing your fields, would you be willing to indicate whether you're ABD or PhD in hand? I'm just curious to see which way the postdocs are breaking this year. Thanks.

[edit] Rice University - Medical Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship

http://hrc.rice.edu/MedPDCall.aspx Deadline: December 15, 2009

- I know it's early but anyone know what the process will be for this search, campus interviews, what have you?

- Nobody else apply for this? HURRAY!

- Hee hee! Sorry, I'm in the mix, too. But I haven't heard any news.

Oh well, just us two, still love them odds!

Oops, here's another contender. Who also hasn't heard anything.

[edit] Rice University - South Asia

(Deadline Jan 15th)

[edit] Rice University - Center for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Postdoctoral Fellowships

Info Deadline: January 15, 2010

-Anyone receive an ack. of reciept? (2/2)

-Not here (2/3) x3

[edit] Robert Penn Warren Center for the Humanities at Vanderbilt

Info Deadline: January 15, 2010. Theme: "Representation and Social Change"

• Email acknowledgment of receipt of application (12/22). Email states that the decision is expected by the end of March, and that applicants will be notified via postal mail.

[edit] SAR Resident Scholar Fellowships

Info Deadline: Nov 1, 2009

• recieved letter confirming receipt 10/26; ditto (11/2)

• Since the posted info says that the Weatherhead Fellowship is open to all Humanities and Social Sciences, I applied.  But as I was putting together my ap I finally noticed that virtually every recipient is from an Anthro dept.  Does anyone have a sense of whether people from other disciplines actually have a prayer?  Thanks for any info/impressions. 
• Most SAR fellows are indeed anthropologists and they used to ask for projects directly related to anthropology in their applications (I am not sure if they still do).  The School was founded as an institute for archaeological research of natives in the Southwest and shifted to broader anthropological research of natives in the 60s.  I gather that there have been some changes more recently, but I am not sure how their mission has shifted.  I believe that James Brooks, an ethnohistorian who has written on Apache relations, is the current head. --  Thanks for the info.--- i had a SAR fellowship recently--- they would definitely be open to non-anthropologists, great place, good luck.
• snail mail ack, 11/9.  anyone know how many applicants they get for this?

[edit] Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, Scholars-in-Residence Program

Info Deadline: Dec 1 2009

[edit] SFI - Omidyar Fellowships

[[6]] Deadline: Nov 2, 2009

-email rejection (12/18)

[edit] SSHRC

Info Deadline: October 6, 2009

Has anyone submitted?

Nope, but I did get that email that CCV is down. Hopefully it's not a problem.

• Yes: yesterday (October 3). I was determined not to run into busy-server-at-the-last-minute problems. I instructed my referees to have their appraisals uploaded by October 5th at the latest so they wouldn't run into that problem, but they all came through by Oct. 2nd.
• (Oct 5) No: my referees can't get into the EAMS system. I called sshrc and they said that there may be an extension due to technical problems. Even the person answering the phone couldn't get in! Argh.
  • Maybe it's already been resolved. I logged in twice today without any problems.
  • Oct 5 again: yes, things have sorted themselves out. Whew.
  • Oct. 6: but today the EAMS system seems, once again, to be down/in-and-out of operation.
  • Done!! A bumpy ride... but better than last year.
    • Congrats. It's nice to be done with that thing.
• Just thought I'd ask - does anyone know anything about this year's budget? I wonder how many postdocs they'll have this year.
  • Just email a programme officer and ask.
• Has anyone received an acknowledgement of receipt from SSHRC? I ask because I received one by email for the FQRSC application. 
  • Yes, November 24, by email.
• Did everyone get this email? I didn't receive one.
• Neither did I. Anyone else?
• Yes, I also received said email November 24th. It was an application acknowledgment in which they assigned an application number. Perhaps it went into your junk mail?
• Do I dare ask when in February SSHRC announces its results? Or does this date change each year?
• Before the online system was set up to handle the applications, candidates were notified in mid February. Last year, candidates were notified in early April because the deadline had been extended (due to bugs in the system that made submitting materials extremely difficult). If you live overseas, the result will take at least a week longer to get to you.
• Thank you. Based on what you've said, I'll expect to hear something mid-Feb. or later.
• Apparently, according to email correspondence I have had with an admin assistant, applicants will not hear the committee's decision until mid to late March.
• Ah, that infamous SSHRC roving announcement date. Thanks for sharing that. I just emailed them to confirm the decision date. I'll post what I find out when I hear from them. Okay: prompt answer from a programme officer. The results should be mailed out at the end of February. So, depending on where you live, your decision should arrive by mail in the first or second week of March.
• I would prepare myself for May. That way, if it arrives anytime before that, I would be pleasantly surprised.
• I'd say that's a very sensible attitude. (x2)

[edit] Stanford University Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship of Scholars in the Humanities

Info Deadline: November 20, 2009

 - Note that this fellowship, unlike the other Mellon fellowships, is not open to all fields. This year goes only to Asian Languages, Comparative Literature, French and Italian, German studies, Iberian and Latin American Cultures, Linguistics, Slavic Languages and Literatures.

-Question: what are the 'other Mellon fellowships' to which you refer? Through the Stanford Humanities Center? Just curious...

--Other big Mellon pdocs that are open to all disciplines are Princeton, Michigan, Penn (teaching), among others. -Ah, gotcha, thanks for the clarification.

Q: Is there anyone who hasn't received anything (e.g., ack. receipt)?

A. They said they were having problems with the automated email. Supposedly as long as you can see your application online, it should be ok.

A2. They said check your app. online. No confirmation yet.

Notes:  I applied in Linguistics; e-mail confirmation of receipt on 19-Nov. (x 2)

A: They are gonna let people know by mid March

NB: They usually inform 16 or so finalists sometime in Feb.

Q: Any news?

A: No. (2/6 x 2)

[edit] Stanford University Program on Global Justice Fellowships

Info Deadline: Jan 8, 2010

Ack. email 1/9: "we hope to have made our selections by mid February"

• email rejection (2/4) "over 200 applications" x2
• Thank you for the information. Did the email happen to say anything about finalists or a short list?
• no
• Is this still being handled in tandem with the Center for Ethics in Society search, or have they split out the pools?

[edit] Swarthmore Mellon Post-Doc Fellowship in Gender & Sexuality Studies

Info Deadline: November 30, 2009

 - very nice ack. of receipt of application (11/23) x 2

 - email ack. of receipt of application (11/30)

• The women's studies page is listing a scheduled MLA interview (12/14)
• according to the women's studies page on the wiki, they've selected their top 10 candidates and have scheduled interviews with them. (12/16)
• kind, encouraging rejection email today (1/4) x2
• Are there others that have still not received a rejection and weren't one of their top 10? (1/27)
• Here's one! Thanks for asking, I've been feeling lonely.
• Do you have any theory as to why? Oversight? Or, are we on some sort of long list of folks they don't want to reject until someone signs a contract?
• My thoughts were either what you suggested, or that my gender credentials were so laughable to them that they just tossed my application directly into the trash.

[edit] Temple University Center for the Humanities

Info Deadline: January 25, 2010

--ack email received 1/13 --to above poster: How soon after sending materials did you receive the ack email? My materials were sent a week ago and no ack email yet...

I sent mine on 12-6 and still no ack. email ... hmmm.

I submitted my materials about a week ago and got confirmation yesterday (1/14)x2.

Please forgive me, but can someone clarify? the website claims that applicants must have degree in hand. Do they mean by the start date of the post-doc, or by the submission date of the application? thanks!!!

I applied, though I won't have the degree until this May (2010), meaning by the start of the postdoc. I think if it's easy enough to apply, you should.

I did not apply because I assumed that "Applicants must have their degree in hand and be no more than three years beyond the degree on the application deadline" meant that applicants must have their degree in hand on the application deadline.

I think if you have completed all requirements for the degree and are just awaiting the actual piece of paper, then you should be fine. If you have yet to defend, that may be a problem. Easiest thing to do would be to call them.

I emailed them and unfortunately they do require the "the Ph.D. to be in hand as of Jan. 25, 2010."

I contacted them and they said that they would accept applications from those who had completed all requirements but had not yet officially graduated, e.g. already defended, dissertation already submitted, all the paperwork in place, etc.

I'm guessing I'm not the only one who hasn't gotten an ack yet? (1/27)

That's right - you aren't. But I only sent mine in to arrive on 25th Jan, last possible day! (x2) sent mine on 24th and no ack yet. (1/28)

I'm not concerned yet as I'm sure they got slammed with a lot of applications as the deadline approached, but when the next round of acks come out, can someone pls post that here. (2/3)

Still no acknowledgment for application sent on 1/25. Anybody receive one? (2/9)

[edit] Tufts University

Info  Deadline: February 1, 2010

- the link is not working. check this one: [[7]]

- Anybody know what they're looking for with this one? Or is it totally open?

Has anybody received an acknowledgment for this one? (2/9)

-Nope (2/9)

-No acknowledgment yet either (2/9). And what about the instructions to provide the application in triplicate, with multiple writing samples! I imagine that the clerical work for this application will take a long time...

I know! It almost killed my printer.

[edit] Tulane University Mellon Post-doc

Just a heads up - the fellowship requests that fellows will teach in one of their four interdisciplinary programs (Africa/African Diaspora, Asian Studies, Jewish Studies, American Studies). An email to the contact professor confirmed that if your specialties are outside these areas, there's no point in applying. Very prompt and honest.

--Thanks for this very useful information!

Q: Does anyone know whether the "one-page dissertation summary" and the "titles of a few sample classes" are to go within the cover letter or is this a separate document? Thanks!

Assuming this means you got a mats request - when and in what form?

--I'm not the questioner, but I actually faced the same question.  The announcement includes the above request in the body, and then omits it in the quick and dirty list of what you should send.  So, I'm assuming that no request for more materials was made to anyone yet; I think that the questioner is simply confused by the ad, as was I.  And BTW, to the questioner: I included that extra info in a separate doc.  Not sure if that was correct, but it's what I did. (x2)

--I am the questioner and the person above perfectly describes the reason for my question. Thanks for your advice and good luck!

Q: Has anyone received confirmation yet? Any word about timeline/procedure?

--Haven't heard anything yet. The wiki from last year seems to indicate that requests for additional materials (writing sample) happened around the first week of February, with interview requests around the first week of March. Of course, this doesn't necessarily mean anything, since last year's deadline appeared to be earlier than this year's.

--I sent an email to the Dean in charge of the search on Friday. I have gotten no response as of today (1/25)

--still no word from the Dean? That can't be good news.

[edit] University of California Berkeley - Mellon Postdoc Humanities

Info Deadline: Jan 22, 2010

• E-mail ack. (12/21)
• I can't get the application form to download. Anyone else having problems? -Never mind, solved the problem with some prompt help from the Mellon contact person.
• What's the secret? I downloaded the Adobe upgrade but still having trouble...
• For me, it was that the Mellon PDF was automatically opening in Preview. (I have a Mac.) It took opening Adobe and dragging the file into the program. So a very obvious fix for me, because I'm dumb. There's no way I'm getting this postdoc. >Thanks! I'm sure this is what's going on with me, too.
• Q: Help!!!! For those of you who have already submitted this one, how did you handle pasting-in your proposal, CV, etc. into the fields in the PDF? I am having a heck of a time with formatting and with viewing the document in the form in order to make corrections to losses in formatting. Thoughts?????? Thank you so much!
• A: This is not that helpful, but I just had to go through and manually adjust my own formatting. It's a pain. If you tab out of the box, though, you can see the whole thing, and that makes it easier.
• A: I got 2 of the 3 boxes to accept my info, but the CV would not save after I put it on the box, so I emailed it along with my application and explained the problem.
  • I had the same problem, and did exactly the same thing.
• Q: Does anyone know how the selection process proceeds? Interviews, materials requests, etc?
• Has anyone received a confirmation of application yet who applied in January?
• I applied yesterday and received a confirmation email this morning (1/21); got confirmation: (1/14)
• I applied while they were on winter break, and got an automated response saying they'd respond after 1/11; not having gotten a response as of today (1/21), I emailed asking for confirmation. (Same here x2)
• Further to above: received confirmation of receipt of materials today, following email query (1/21).
• So do we have an idea of the timeline on deliberations for this fellowship (first, second, last cut, etc?)
• Q: Has anyone who submitted their app on the 22nd received an acknowledgment? Not yet (as of 1/28 x2)(X3 as of 1/30) (as of 2/6)
• Ack for app on 22nd followed email query. (1/26)
• Q: Does anyone know if applications are reviewed by the applicant's proposed host dept, or is their a general committee that first screens the applications? Or, are applications evaluated and chosen only by a general committee? (2/9)
• A: My impression from an email conversation with the administrator was that they forward the apps to the depts first. (2/9)
• A2: The process is outlined quite clearly on the webpage: all applications are sent to the depts, each dept can nominate 2 people, then the Dean supervises the process from there (perhaps/probably) a general committee,

[edit] University of California-President's Postdoctoral Fellowship Program

http://www.ucop.edu/acadadv/ppfp/; Deadline: Nov. 02, 2009

FYI: Here were the numbers from last year, according to a current fellow: 141 applicants and 7 awardees in the Arts and Humanities. The Social Sciences had 177 applicants and 5 awardees. I wonder how the current budget crisis will impact this for 2010-2011...

-thanks for the numbers from last year on this one.  Nice to get a sense of the percentages.  Good luck to us all. 

Q: Does anyone know when they might contact finalists for transcripts?

A: I don't think they will contact you for transcripts unless you are actually offered the postdoc.  I was an alternate last year and they never asked me for one.

FYI: Heard there were 500 applications this year (not sure if that includes the 'hard' sciences). The number of awardees will likely be the same i.e. 5-7 per category.

Q: Just received an administrator notice that my dissertation chair submitted another letter today (1/27). Does anyone know what this means?

I'd guess that it means that they are verifying your graduation date. Or if your advisor is a little absent-minded, maybe s/he just saw the message and submitted again. Wouldn't the best way to find out be to email him/her to learn what they sent? (1/27)

Yes, I emailed him but know that he left town today. Must be verifying graduation date. Thanks!

The same thing happened to me a little over a week ago. I assumed it was some sort of glitch in the system, as the email message was worded the same as the initial upload confirmations back in Nov/Dec. My advisor didn't mention anything to me; I should probably ask. (1/27)

Do let us know what you find out from your diss chair. (1/28)

A: I had the same thing happen a few days ago and checked in with the UCOP administrator. She said that some reviewers didn't have the latest version of Microsoft Word so they had to upload my letter again as a PDF. That's probably what happened with everyone. (x2)

-Yep. That is what it was . . .

Some (not sure if all?) people were notified today (2/8)--like clockwork, same day as last year—and the year before!

Thanks for the update, but can you say how you know that people were notified and from which discipline?

Q: for those of us who did not apply last year--and the year before--would the above poster please be more specific? If you are uc admin trolling this wiki site, please help us out without being vague.

I completely concur with the above post. Please be more specific. Has anyone received any kind of email notification regarding the outcome of their applications?

A: Apologies. A friend got a phone call from the UCOP administrator, the awardee is in Arts/Humanities. Judging from last year and the year before, the awardees all get notified at once. But it's still possible to be an alternate ... I'm also an applicant (in Arts/Humanities) ... oh and re last year I heard that people were informed of alternate status around the 15th, and there's this re. last year: [[starting 2009]]

-If you don't mind saying, did anybody receive a rejection? No (2/9)

-According to last year's site, rejections came via snail mail around the 24th of February,

[edit] UCLA Dean's Postdoc Fellowships in Social Science in Practice

http://ssip-postdoc.sscnet.ucla.edu/ deadline: Feb 19

• has anyone else's sponsorship requests been ignored? (yup x2) How humiliating is this process?! (very x 2)

[edit] University of Cambridge - Clare College JRF

[[8]] Deadline: December 14, 2009

has anyone heard from this? (Jan 27)

Yes: rejection email Jan 27 (x4)

[edit] University of Cambridge: Corpus Christi JRF

Deadline: November 25 2009

Has anyone heard from this?

nope

Request for written materials made on 21 Jan. via email.

What subject?

[edit] University of Cambridge - Emmanuel College Junior Research Fellowships

Info Deadline: October 8, 2009

Rejection e-mail on November 18...

Request for written materials received, Nov. 17: they asked for both hard and soft copies: hard copies have to arrive by Nov. 23rd, so a very fast turnaround (x2)

This "very fast turnaround" of hard copies is unfair and discouraging to persons who must post their materials from other countries, which is already expensive and made much more so by having to use some sort of express/rush courier service (whoever deleted my comment last time, please do not delete this).

I agree about the unreasonableness of this fast turnaround. It seems like all the Cambridge JRFs are this way. I think they set themselves very tight deadlines, but in doing so presume that candidates are UK-based. I'd expect a more "global" outlook from a top international university, but Cambridge does things its own way. One of the Cambridge colleges, I think Sydney Sussex, sent an email recommending that applicants keep their written materials "lodged" with a contact in the UK in case they are requested. There's a presumption of being tied to the UK too, but at least they give you a heads up about the process.

That is crazy about keeping written materials "lodged"!  To their credit, when I asked if they would be flexible regarding hard copies arriving a bit after the deadline (which for me meant a huge difference in shipping costs--like US $40...), they said that was fine, since they get electronic copies this year...

Magdalene College, Cambridge, is even worse. They state on the application form that they'll request written materials by telephone on the afternoon of Jan 11, and expect to receive two hard copies by Jan 13. Do they imagine that candidates have nothing else to do except apply for their fellowship? It seems they have not updated their systems since the days when these things were intended for their own graduate students, who would just have to pop across the quad to hand their essays in. I don't want to allege that they still favour insiders - Cambridge colleges draw fellows from all over the place. But if they want seriously to recruit internationally, or even just nationally, they need to make their application processes practical for people based elsewhere.

(Jan.12) Received notice by email of being one of eight finalists (for 3 open fellowships) and that committee will vote on Monday Jan.18 

(Jan.13) Good luck. Blast I haven't heard anything so I suppose I'm out! Can I ask what subject?

(Jan. 18) Offer made (Anthropology)

[edit] University of Cambridge - Five College Joint JRFs

[[9]] Deadline: November 22, 2009

• supposedly we will hear "after January 12th.."
• Rejection by email 1/13 (x3)
• mind sharing for which field/college? (x2 talking here: History (preference was Trinity Hall, Fitzwilliam, Murray Edwards)) Me, too.
• Rejection by email 1/13, English
• Rejection by email 1/13, History (at least they're nice enough to let us know by email unlike some of the other JRFs I applied for).
• Request for written work 1/13 (x2) -- Successful candidates mind sharing fields? Mine is music.
• Classics

[edit] University of Cambridge- Gonville & Caius College Junior Research Fellowships

Info Deadline: October 1, 2009

• Note: Must be graduates/current students of a British institution, with no more than 4 years post-doctoral experience see below.
• Actually I'm not sure if '4 years of post doctoral experience' is correct. I think its 4 years of post graduate study- which in the UK means 4 years after your undergraduate degree. The Caius website also says that "Candidates must be graduates of, or research students in, a University in the British Isles, and they must have completed not more than four years of full-time research (or part-time equivalent) by 1st October 2009." This would therefore disqualify the vast majority of 5th year PhD students from the US.
• It is not post graduate study; it is "full-time research." A taught masters does not count.  A research masters (MPhil) or a PhD program probably does.
• Does anyone know if there's a shortlist for this one? Or do we not hear anything until certain applicants are called for interview in January?
• (18/12) An email went round acknowledging applications about this time last year (according to last year's wiki), but it's not clear whether that went to all applicants or just to those who were shortlisted. Has anyone heard anything?

(13 Jan) Anyone heard about this one yet?

• Interviews conducted and winners announced earlier this week (1/20).
• This has to be the least professional and most arrogant of all the Oxbridge colleges. Not merely do they require all your work up front (although this is an advance on the twelve - yes, 12!! - copies of application materials they required last year) and have quite the longest lead time of all the JRF competitions, but apparently there is nobody in the college capable of doing a mail merge or of sending out a bulk 'bad luck' e-mail. Frankly, I'm glad that I'm now so far out of my undergraduate degree that I'm no longer eligible to apply for the JRF competition here, and won't be thus compelled by the sheer need of a job to waste my time on it. (Spleen duly vented...)

[edit] University of Cambridge: Homerton JRF

Deadline November 30 2009

Reached first shortlist: Email received January 7

(22 Jan) Rejection by e-mail.

[edit] University of Cambridge - King's College Junior Research Fellowships

[[10]] Deadline: November 13, 2009

Rejection by email - 12/12

Has anyone received a request for written work?

Yes- request for written work by email, 12/12.  They request 2 writing samples, up to 80,000 words total.

Q. I'm unsure how to interpret the request for written work. "Two papers" suggests two contained pieces of work. I have no papers anywhere near that length. Also, does anyone know how many people are in this situation -- in terms of keeping dates free and whether travel from outside the UK will be provided? (Or is it a telephone interview?). Sorry for the questions! Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks. (12/13)

Q: may I ask what your field is?

A: History... Oh, I forgot that it's open to all disciplines!

Q: Has anyone else not received any word as of yet? 12/14 (x2 - I think this is an internal hire - I was told Cambridge does this often?)

Why do you think some people have not heard anything yet?

is this just a history post? any other disciplines being considered? dec 14 - Anthropology is also being considered.

thanks... are you suggesting making the written work interdisciplinary? are most people already england-based for this?

A: At least one in musicology is being considered, and that candidate is based in England, but of U.S. nationality. Not sure what happens _often_, but JRF hires I've seen are usually PhD candidates internally or from an Ivy League school in the States.

Q. Do you know how many people are being considered? Or any more about what they're looking for?

Rejection (anthropology): 300 applicants for 1 position (12/16)

--- ditto. these numbers are crazy!

Jan 17 - Any updates on this? Still have not heard anything...

1/21- invitation to interview on Feb 4 by email Q: Do you mind sharing what discipline you're in and whether you're UK or Oxbridge based? A: anthropology- US-based

[edit] University of Cambridge - Magdalene JRF

• Deadline November 30 2009

[edit] University of Cambridge - Newnham JRF

Reached first shortlist (writing sample stage) - email on 12/17 (literature field)

[edit] University of Cambridge - Peterhouse JRF

• Deadline: November 15 2009
• Reached first shortlist: email received November 30

[edit] University of Cambridge - Peterhouse College Fellowship & College Lectureship in History

5-year fellowship in "either ancient, extra-European, modern British, or modern European History" (details)

Deadline: December 31 2009

This should be moved to the History Job page, I think. It's not a post-doc.

It is listed on the World History page.

[edit] University of Cambridge - Randall Dillard Fellowship, Pembroke College

Info Deadline: December 1, 2009

• Q: I am just finalizing my application for this fellowship, and I realise that I am not sure about the details of the request for details of current research and proposed research. Can anyone guess: should I send a 1000 word account of my current research and a seperate account of my proposed research, in addition to these 1000 words? Alternatively, is the intention for me to send 1000 words which contain a description of both my current and proposed research? In another alternative, am I supposed to send a 1000 word account of proposed research and a separate account of current research? These are the bits of the application that confuse me: 
• From the website:

"Applications should reach The Senior Tutor's Assistant by 1 December 2009 and should include the following information:

1. the usual particulars, and a short account of the applicant's academic record and career so far, including a note of any other appointments for which applications are being made
2. an explanation of the nature of the applicant's current research in about 1,000 words of non-technical language, a brief statement of any future research project, together with a statement of published and unpublished work; the work itself should be available to the Electors shortly after the closing date but should not be sent until requested"

• From the form itself:
• "1. An explanation of your current research, and

2. A brief statement of your next research project, in about 1000 words of non-technical language."

• One statement of 1000 words to address both current and future research was my read of the instructions.
• 09 December: email thanking for application and saying they are being reviewed over the next two weeks. (x 4)
• 28 December: the two weeks have passed... has anyone heard?
• Email request for written work Monday January 4th
• May I ask in what field?
• Classics
• email rejection (1/8) (x4)
• over 300 applications
• has anyone heard back about interviews? (1/21)
• No, not yet (1/28)
• Anyone heard back about interviews? (2/05) - the interviews took place on 8th Feb

[edit] University of Cambridge - St Catharines College Junior Research Fellowships

Info Deadline: October 31, 2009

• 11/19- Received email of making the long short list and requesting that written work be sent by email by November 30th x2.
• 01/29-Offer made

[edit] University of Cambridge - Sidney Sussex College JRF

Deadline: October 20 2009 13 November: received email warning they are in the process of shortlisting and work will be required only 3 days after shortlisting. (x5) Rejection by email 23 November (x3)

[edit] University of Cambridge - Trinity College JRF

Information for applicants Deadline: 1 March 2010

[edit] University of Chicago Society of Fellows

Info Deadline: Nov 2, 2009

• Q: App asks for 2-pp teaching statement writing about a text of their own choosing, then provides examples: I assume that the examples not a list of texts from which one *must* choose? (p.s. wish the apps for these postdocs were as standardized as those for TT-jobs; super tired of tweaking and rewriting the same materials over and over again)
• A: If selected as a fellow, you will be asked to teach the books that they list as examples, so it is generally a good idea to pick from what they give you or pick a similar "Great Books" text.
• It does say that the text should be of your own choosing.  I interpreted this to mean that it should indeed be a text of your choice and not one of the few they provide.  I have an example 2 page teaching statement from someone who won this two years ago and she chose her own text which is not one of the 'great books' or canonical texts listed as an example. 
• I certainly hope the texts aren't limited just to the books they provided; if all they want is what's listed, their "humanities-wide" fellowship definitely seems to skew heavily towards people in just a smattering of disciplines.

• Their core courses pages give I think a better idea of what they would want you to teach and the types of text they use in the program. I imagine what distinguishes different disciplinary approaches is not just the choice of the texts (which are a fairly broad list of major Western thinkers), but the manner of using them.
• why oh why did they make the hard copy receipt deadline on a holiday??? All of that work for nothing, will miss the deadline...
• 11/10 just saw this on their website "NOTE: Due to the fact that the post office will be closed on the 11th for Veteran's Day, all mailed materials will be accepted through November 12." --THANK YOU for your insight, you made my day
• Q: Does any one know when things start happening in this fellowship usually? When do they in general start to give any sign of what is going on? Thanks.  
• A: Last year, Humanities got started in mid-December, and Social Studies not until January. However, everyone seems to be running a bit behind this year because of the increased number of applications. I wouldn't be surprised if that's true here too.
• Q: Does any one know what materials they request for the second round?
• A: Good question. Last year (2008-09) in Social Sciences it was one writing sample ("of up to 50 pages") and one syllabus ("of a previously taught course"). Good luck! (12/10)
• It was the same for the Humanities and the request came on 12/22.
• 12/11 request for writing sample and syllabus of stand-alone course (+1 mine was in the Humanities field)(x5)
• Heard through the grapevine that two U-Chicago PhDs were told that they have "strong chances" of getting positions here, so buyer beware..Sadly, I too applied and am not at U-Chicago.
• Of course, this is all word-of-mouth, but I guess it's a sign of the times if these big fellowships become safety nets for a department's recent grads in a down market.
• A portion of fellows in the past always came from UC. It seemed like that they were linked to the faculties in the committee. Then, the same guys also got hired at UC. I didn't apply for this one...just thinking about 1000+ applications gives a me headache. -- I think one usually has a hometown advantage, just because other people on the faculty (and in other disciplines) will know your hot-shot advisors in a way that can't be said of other universities. I doubt they are letting in sub-par people, but their very good people probably have a leg-up on other very good people for the reason of familiarity and trust. Which is probably true of any of us when we apply to places where we know a lot of people. Especially when the place (like Chicago) has a very specific idea about what kind of curriculum it does and what kinds of graduates it cultivates.
• With that mentality nobody should apply to this but UC people... I don't know, call me an idealist, but I think that you apply and try to put a good application and then see, you never know...it is a long shot, that is true, but I feel I have at least to try. Good luck to every one! Hopefully we will start to know something in concrete soon.
• Thanks for the helpful info! Of course, most of the people who are currently at Chicago would be highly qualified for this post. And you make an excellent point that it's tougher to reject the student of a hot-shot adviser whom you see every day than the student of a hot-shot adviser elsewhere. The fact that fewer of those highly-qualified people at UC will secure a tenure-track job elsewhere may make it even more likely that they will shut out other candidates. Would be kind of fun to bet on what % of next year's fellows are from Chicago. Well, morbid fun, but that's my favorite kind.
• Q: The person who wrote "12/11" request for writing sample--did you mean for this year's competition??  I assume yes, but I was confused by the previous discussion.  I also was in touch with someone who referred to the 1000 apps. "on their desk" just this Tues....  Thanks for clarifying!  --re: "12/11"--that was me, and yes, referring to this year's (2010-2011) search.  I am at U of C and can corroborate all of the above chatter about hometown advantage--but only because I've spent several years teaching in their "core," which essentially qualifies me by default for the "job." I also know the 2 recent phds referred to above and can tell you that at least one of them already has a book deal and most likely will have several offers.  Honestly, we here at the U of C believe that the committee (in Humanities) is biased against hiring its students, but there is always at least one inside hire.  I have heard that in the Social Sciences, there are guaranteed spots for U of C phds.
• Q: Does any one know how many persons are usually contacted for these additional materials? Is it a rather long short list? -
• To "12/11"-Thanks for the info!
• Is it over? Was 12/11 the end, or are there more emails that will go out?  Just wondering whether I should cross it off my list...
• Yeah, cross it off. Why would you want to get that UofC smell on you anyway?
• Have there been any requests for additional materials in the social sciences? I know it's a long shot because of the guaranteed spots for U of C PhDs, just thought I'd check...
• Re: all the discussion about U of C favoritism, FWIW, I hold one of the most prestigious dissertation fellowships the U of C offers, have two committee members who are on the Society of Fellows (not on the selection committee, but still, their recs should theoretically "count" more), I've taught in the Core with excellent course evaluations, and did not get so much as longlisted for the Humanities jobs. So U of C people reading these old posts next year ought to be wary of feeling they can cakewalk into these jobs, and equally, I think non-U of C people shouldn't write off applying. From what I've been told by some of the profs in my department, there is increasing scrutiny of internal hires at all levels at the U of C.
• From asking very direct questions while at Chicago, I learned the following: UofC students have a distinct advantage over all others for a HS if they have taught the core sequence 'self, culture, and society.' It is one of the few, if not the only, exceptions. Why? Because it is a very particular sequence, taught according to a very particular methods and in accordance with a very particular perspectives. Those who run the sequence are very concerned with keeping things as is. More often than not, those from Chicago who are selected as HS Fellows, had already taught this sequence at least two years as graduate students, have been through the drill of the weekly faculty meetings dedicated to teaching this sequence (and thus in constant view of the selection committee), and have had at least one, if not two, of the main people who run this sequence on their dissertation committees and orals committees. Beyond the 'self, culture, and society' sequence the selection process is far more open to non-UofC phds, and the selection usually runs along the same lines as any other postdoc.
• 12/30: Re: nondated's question above: any requests for additional materials for social sciences?
• 1/8: Additional materials requested for the social sciences (by email) (x8). Anyone know how large the applicant pool is at this point?
• Found out from somebody who asked the office that 77 people were asked for writing samples out of an applicant pool of 600. Less than half of these 77 will get on the interview list.

• Clarification query: is that 77 seminfinal number for social sciences, humanities, or both? I presume the 600 refers to either the SS or H pool (but not both together), but 30 plus interviewees strikes me as a possible number for both together. Can anyone clarify? 1/16
• 1/16: Sorry for not clarifying. That would be for the social sciences.
• OK, so that means 1200 total and around 150 semifinalists...and they are going to campus interview around 60 people altogether? How many positions in each pool are there?
• fyi: requests for interviews for Humanities went out today via email. no idea how many. first round of interviews in late feb. (x2)
• 1/16 received email re: alternate status for interview (x3)
• were emails received for Hum or Soc Sci?
• My interview request is in Humanities (it came by email on Jan 16, and interview is mid March)

[edit] University of Chicago Provost's Career Enhancement Postdoctoral Scholarships

info Deadline: November 1, 2009

• Email acknowledgment of completed application (29 Oct.)
• Email acknowledgment of application (11/2)
• Q: Anyone know about # of applicants this year or last?
• A: Last year's wiki indicates about 250.
• Q. Anyone heard anything yet? Or when we can expect any info?(1/13/2010) - in April, I was told when they confirmed my app
• I asked, and was informed that they are reviewing applications and will make offers by the first week of March. (1/26)
• Just wondering how many people sought faculty sponsorship? I didn't, since the guidelines said it was optional, but I bet I should have. Looking at last year's wiki it seems that the University was also confused about how to handle this. Anyone care to weigh in?

• I did not seek a nomination either. I have no clue how this affects their decision-making... (x2)

[edit] University of Michigan Du Bois-Rodney-Mandela Fellowship

Info

• News? (1/5)

[edit] University of Michigan Society of Fellows

Info Deadline:  September 30, 2009

• what is the deal with the writing samples? is it between 1 and 3, or are 3 required? (9/25)
• It says between 1 and 3 and total pages can't be more than 25 or something.  But then online form won't let you submit w/o three.  So i submitted the same article (circa 25 pages) three times.  (9/25)
• No, Each sample should be around 20 pages: you can submit longer work, either in installations, or as one sample and then in the others just write a note saying that is what you did. I know this for a fact because I asked, and that was the reply I got from the administrator.
• I wrote and asked if I could submit one sample of 60 pp or two that equal 60 in length. They wrote back and said they require three 20-page samples. I guess that doesn't preclude cutting up one large sample into three parts.
• Does anyone know if you are allowed to submit the same research proposal two years in a row? Thanks.
• I asked the same question (about submitting a lengthy writing sample) and was told that it's fine to split a longer text into multiple documents. Seems like the total page count is what they're really worried about.
• Am I the only person who is getting an error message when they try to go to the online ap?  (9/30, 3 PM EST):  "Error: Could not connect to the database. Please try again later."
• sigh. there goes another $30. at least harvard and princeton aren't so crass as to milk us for our pennies....
• does anyone know when they usually notify people about making the short list or the interview process? - Around February, and there are no interviews.
• I wonder why they extended the deadline on this one.

• Does anyone know if they conduct interviews for this one? - they don't.
• rejection received 11/12 (dated 11/6): "your file is no longer being considered." Letter says there were 860 applications and they've narrowed it down to "about 400" semi-finalists. (x5) - 860x$30=$25,800 - maybe they'll offer an extra fellowship...Michigan dollar scheme!

-Q: For those of you who received rejection notices, how did they come? Email? Snail mail? 

    -A: Snail mail.

• Wow, last year's search had 498 applications received with 100 semi-finalists identified. Good to know how to gauge the heightened competition this for year's postdoc fellowships.
• So if I haven't received a rejection, then does that mean I'm still in the group of "about 400" semi-finalists?
• If they do it like last year, yes, that means that you're a "semi-finalist."  I didn't get my rejection for last year's cycle until Jan or Feb of this year.  No news is (provisional) good news.
• rejection received 12/2, dated Nov. 30, via snail mail. Letter says they are now down to 180 semi-finalists. (x2)
• Thanks for the update, 12/2. What's your region? -Midwest
• Rejection received 12/4, dated Nov. 30 (snail mail to NYC). Does anyone have theories about how semi-finalists are selected? They've got to have some speedy way of eliminating lots of people...--I suspect that they are not reading the application materials carefully. Neither are the eliminations based on applicants' academic achievements/institutional prestige etc. And their multiple writing samples were quite fishy, given that they didn't even promise to abide by some sort of honor code (unlike Oxford) to keep them from misuse.
• Good question.  I made it further last year when I was ABD; I've got a much stronger CV now, but I got the reject today too (West Coast).  I'm nonplussed . . . bemused, even. (x2)
• Ditto on doing better last year (got rejection yesterday, East Coast).  My application materials were much weaker all the way around last year (proposal, samples, and to some extent CV).  Perhaps they start eliminating a bit by discipline at this point in the process?
• People, there's no need to be negative or take things personally. There are so many factors in this process, such as which departments received fellows last year, who in each department is on sabbatical next year and therefore needs a replacement, who is on the different committees each year, and so on, and it's only to be expected that results will be different each year. Also, even if only 10% of the applications were strong - and I have no doubt that many more are - when there are so many applications in the process, it's clear that many talented, well qualified people will be cut early. ---Michigan Customer Service? It's going to be tough for 855 "people" not to react negatively, especially if they had to pay $30 for some speedy cutoffs.
• Just curious: What are the disciplines of those who have received rejections?   --History; anthropology; political science; art history; sociology
• I just got back from a professional conference where I spoke to a current fellow. This fellow also reassured that the SOF gets so many qualified applications and that those departments with 2 fellows (with fellowship years left) already are least likely able to contend for a new fellow. At this stage I was told that the remaining applications are forwarded to the departments for their input. --There are two fellows with years left in my discipline, so that's nice to hear. But it would be even nicer if, like Stanford, the Michigan SOF would announce at the beginning which departments were getting postdocs.
• Rejection received 12/5 by mail. "reviewed some 860 candidates in order to identify about 180 semi-finalists." -Q: Would you mind stating your region and the date of the letter?
• I was just informed by a faculty member of the history dept at Mich that history has until the end of this week to review MSF apps and offer its input (8 Dec) x2
• Question:  For those of you who received rejections, were they sent to your home or office address?  (I'm out of town and fretting that the rejection is in my dept mailbox.)  Thanks. --Mine was sent to my home address.
• Are there MLA or other interviews?
• No interviews, as I recall. Regarding earlier posts—rejection sent to home address; English/comp. lit field.
• My friend was interviewed on phone last year, but didn't get it.
• Rejection dated 11/30. East Coast. History.
• Rejection received 12/16 (East Coast [Canada]). English.
• Question: for the most recent post, what was the date on the rejection?
• Additional question for the poster with the 12/16 rejection: did the letter mention anything else? It seems like the previous two rounds of rejections included the number of candidates still standing. Anything of the kind in the current round of rejections?
• Anyone else convinced that they accidentally through their rejection letter into the recycling, tucked between stacks of coupons and magazines and the other unimportant stuff mailed to your home address? YES! you are not alone...Even worse: what if that mythical letter contained a real offer? A: According to last year's page, offers are made by phone, and not letter. My typo has been killing me; all attempts to be cool and let it stand have failed; read "threw" for "through" in the original posting.

• Anyone have any news? Are they choosing a shortlist directly out of 180, or will there be another cut (and round of rejections) first?
• According to a current SOF I know, there is still another narrowing down meeting on January 19, so there is still time yet.
• Last year, they made the offers right around then (third week of January). Does that mean final decisions will be made weeks later than last year?
• Rejection received (dated 1/12). Letter says 35 semi-finalist were chosen. [Thank you for this information. Do you mind sharing which region of the country you live in? That is, how fast does the mail travel in this guessing game...] (x2 on the question... :) A: Midwest.
• So this rejection came by snail mail?
• And arrived when? (to gauge difference between when dated and when mailed...obsessive, I know!)
• And as long as we're all showing our obsessive sides, is 1/12 a postmark date or the date on the letter itself? Anyone else thinking they're not going to be able to sleep between now and Tuesday, when mail service resumes?
• The letter itself was dated 1/12 and arrived on 1/16. Good luck to those still in the game!
• Hmm, so the January 19 meeting will be to cut down from the 35 semi-finalists... I wonder if they'll contact finalists at the end of the week?
• That's consistent with last year's schedule, and it also means they have their act together.
• Snail-mail rejection received today (east coast), dated 12 Jan, 35 semi-finalists chosen (19 Jan) x4...good luck to everyone left!
• any news about supposed meeting today and when they may notify final finalists?
• Are rejections coming to homes or offices? The application asked for both addresses.
• If anyone received a rejection at their office address, please post that info so we may check our dept/office mail.
• Good News: An early rejection letter did not get lost in the mail, I really was still in the running; Bad News: I know this because rejection letter arrived today, 1/19 by snail to the home adddress (East Coast).
• Apparently I spent the day stalking the wrong mailbox. On the upside, I'm in the Midwest and didn't have anything at home, either. I hope this is a good sign for my application and not a bad sign for the local postal service.
• Any news from the poster in touch with the current SOF?!
• Got an offer by phone today 1/20; Q: Your field in Humanities or Social Science? (x3 on the Q). A: social science
• Were all offers extended yesterday, or is there more to come? If anyone has info, please share. 1/21 (x3)
• A little confused by the December dating (corrected). Received an offer by phone yesterday, 20 January. Humanities. Q: Field?
• Heard from insider that they made all offers and don't expect to have to go to an alternate list in this economy. 1/22
• Any one else not have an offer or a rejection letter? Does that mean the letter's just in the mail somewhere?
• Rejections will be sent in the next two weeks. I asked. 1/22

[edit] University of Michigan Mellon Sawyer Post-Doc - Ethnicity in Africa

Deadline: November 13, 2009 

Q. Any news on this one? (11/30) - No, but it would be helpful to know if they acknowledge when a file is complete. OP here - I've still heard nothing and I'm sure my file is complete :( (12/13).

This one is very mysterious. No news at all (2/4/10). I emailed to confirm receipt of rec letters in mid-Dec and never got a response.

[edit] University of Michigan NCID

Anyone heard anything about this one?

[edit] University of Minnesota Quadrant Fellows

Info Deadline November 20, 2009

• Any word? (1/3)
• How many people watching this wiki applied for this fellowship? Total number: 6
• 1/19 decision "within a couple of weeks"
• I got a confirmation email on 1/4 which read: "We are happy to confirm that we have received your complete Quadrant application. We plan to make fellowship offers in February 2010." (1/22)

[edit] University of Oxford - Nuffield College Postdoctoral Prize Research Fellowships

info Deadline: November 6, 2009

• anyone invited for an interview yet? it's supposed to be in the end of this month... (1/8)
• still haven't heard anything (1/8)
• Invitations are supposed to be sent out in mid January, so about now. Anyone contacted?

• still waiting to hear something pos or neg (1/14)
• no news here, but it's nice to know others are waiting as well. (1/14)
• still waiting too (18/1)

• apparently, short-listed candidates have already been contacted
• that makes sense what with the on-site interviews happening in less than two weeks
• yes, they made their decisions on Friday actually
• did anybody receive rejection letters?
• no rejection letter yet, but expecting one if above is true (1/18)
• I actually emailed the secretary as I have to give my reply for another postdoc offer I got...and so she told me that they did not put me in the final shortlist and they have already invited selected applicants. It won't surprise me if Oxford only sends letters and not emails to notify you on the outcome actually-they used to do the same in Cambridge where I did my grad.
• Nice rejection email (1/26)
• Anyone else not receive rejection or campus invite?? I'm not an idiot, it's obviously over for me, but I don't understand why they wouldn't send out all rejections at once...
• I don't either. I haven't received a rejection or an invite. (1/29) (x2)

[edit] University of Pennsylvania, Critical Writing Program

• Deadline:  January 5, 2010

• Any news on this at all? Anyone? Even an acknowledgement of receipt of materials?

• Website lists deadline as 2/15

• That must be a change; my information (which is from a copied-and-pasted page from the site) clearly says, "Priority deadline January 5. Thereafter, applications will be considered on a rolling basis until all lectureships are filled." The verbiage is now exactly the same, but the date does indeed read 2/15.
• Yanking our chain with a short-notice deadline not once but twice? I had already decided not to apply since my app wouldn't be on time. Now I get to make that same decision again!
• But, the fact that their deadline is "Feburary" 15th for a Writing Program job has to make you smile.
• Color me clueless, but...why does this deadline make you smile?
• The misspelling of February on a Writing Program's site seems a little ironic. Maybe it's just my attempt to find something somewhat humorous in this crazy, demoralizing job hunt.

[edit] University of Pennsylvania, Penn Humanities Forum Postdoctoral Fellowship

http://humanities.sas.upenn.edu/mellon_cfa.shtml

• Deadline: October 15, 2009
• Theme for 2010-11: Virtuality
• 5 one-year postdoctoral fellowships are available
• received rejection email (12/16) (x6)
• received award offer via email (12/22)
• congrats!  so was there no interview for this?
• my congrats as well:) can you tell us your field? pretty please?

[edit] University of Pennsylvania Mellon Teaching Postdoctoral Scholarships

Deadline: November 30, 2009

• Q: Am I right in thinking that they don't want a separate cv other than the cover sheet form that they provide? Thanks in advance.
  • A: That's how I interpret the instructions.

• Q: So this was the one on virtuality? I was confused at one point, thinking that there were two, one themed, and the other just a mellon like the ones at Columbia or Stanford. Can anyone clarify?

A: I believe this one has nothing to do with the Society of Fellows themed postdoc on "Virtuality."  It is it's own thing...I'm sure it too will receive tons of applications. 

A: Penn has two Mellon postdocs but they are quite different. One is the Mellon Postdoc in the Penn Humanities Forum, drawn from the humanities, a 1-year (themed to operate with the other PHF seminars and lectures, in 2010-11 the theme is "virtuality"); Two is the Mellon Postdoc, drawn from across all fields, a.k.a. Penn Mellon Teaching Postdoc (2-year, housed in home department, teach one class per semester).

• Q: Has anyone received an acknowledgment of application? (12/14)  A: Nothing (x5)
• Offer made for a Mediterranean Archaeology postdoc (12/22; notification by email).
• Do you mean the Penn Humanities Forum or the UPenn Mellon Teaching postdoc? It would be really early for the Mellon Teaching offers to be made. Alternatively, if it is the teaching postdoc, perhaps the time line for each field is different? OP, did you list this under the correct heading or did you mean Penn Humanities Forum? Anybody else have insights here?

             -- The offer was for the UPenn Mellon Teaching postdoc, not the Penn Humanities Forum "Virtuality" postdoc. It is kind of surprising that they would send out a notification so early. The application guidelines said they were especially interested in people in three fields: Mediterranean archaeology, Philosophy, and English literature. I have no idea if each field is on the same timeline or not, though... has anyone in Philosophy or English heard any news?

• Thanks so much for the response and congrats on the offer! I applied for the English literature position and have heard nothing. I guess it's possible that some field searches are run more efficiently than others. I'd love to know if anybody in the other two fields (Philosophy and English) received an offer. Anybody?
• English, have heard nothing (12/23)x4 (1/8) x3  (1/12)x2
• I am guessing it will be a longer wait for the other fields, as Mediterranean Archaeology is a smaller field, with fewer applicants to review, than English and/or Philosophy.
• Anybody in the mood to call and ask about the timeline for notification? (1/13)
• They were super-slow last year, we must expect the same this year, I imagine.
• I emailed, inquiring as to a timeline, and was informed that I am not a finalist, but that they had over 200 applicants for 3 spots. 1/18.
• Thanks so much for emailing and for passing on the info. I'm sorry to hear your news.  :(
• It's crazy to think that we can easily find out our status right now, just by emailing. Well guess what UPenn, I don't feel like being rejected today! Ah, the illusions of empowerment...
• Any offers received out there? (1/18)

• Still no news, too nervous to email (1/20) x1
• I emailed yesterday (1/19), just to learn that I did not receive this fellowship. I was told that the committee's last meeting would be yesterday afternoon and that official letters would be mailed today (1/20). Good luck to everyone!
• Thanks so much for this info!! And I'm sorry about the news. I'm sure I'm headed for the same fate, but I'm too chicken to email. I suppose that if they're mailing official letters today, they will also email or call the winners. (1/20)
• Anyone receive an email or call yet? (1/21)
• Given the info posted yesterday, I think we can assume that UPenn has notified the winner(s) and that those lucky persons don't use this wiki. I'm surprised that nobody has heard anything through friends, advisors, grapevine, etc. (1/21) Yes, alas. Thank you for responding. (1/21)
• I was told by one of the committee members that an offer has been made (for English) (1/21)
• Someone on the Penn philosophy faculty has confirmed that they've made an offer. The winner is in ancient. (1/20, forgot to post till now).
• Has anybody received the (mythical) rejection letter from ole' UPenn yet? (1/27) Nope. (1/28) Nope. (1/31) Nope. (2/4)
• Offer made in English and accepted last week (2/3).

[edit] University of Pittsburgh - Humanities Center Residential Fellow

Deadline: October 16, 2009

• Received rejection via email (12/18) x3
• Notification of runner-up status; they'll keep my name on waiting list but said it was very unlikely their first choice would fall through. This one looks to be finalized (12/21)

[edit] University of South Carolina Institute for Southern Studies postdoc

Info Deadline: December 15 2009

[edit] University of South Florida

Postdoctoral Scholars Social Sciences and Humanities, 2010-11 Sustainable Societies Deadline: Nov 30, 2009

Some sites (or distributed pdf-notices) have the deadline listed as Nov. 15th. Has anyone confirmed with them, by chance?

I sent my application today (11/18) and got their confirmation of receipt. So I think Nov 30 is the deadline. A: Yes, the deadline is November 30.

yes, and they're serious about the cover letter addressing their strategic plan - they asked me to correct and resend it when I failed to do so adequately (11/19)

Wow, does that mean they already read your cover letter and allowed you to edit it? That's great for you.

Yes, this happened to someone else who submitted an application -- they got a lengthy response about what to include and what to address. Unreal - I've never heard of a Selection Committee guiding you through the process and providing recommendations along the way. That's much more helpful than my advisor.

Did you all get confirmation of your application the day you emailed it?  I sent mine two days ago and have not received confirmation, I just wonder if I should follow up on this.  Thanks! [I also sent mine in a few days ago, and did not receive confirmation until tonight. . . when I was notified that I should more explicitly address the strategic plan. It seems they really want you to copy and paste the goals from the website into the letter. My sense is that we don't have to worry about lost or incomplete apps - nothing is going to get past this guy].

Did you have your recommendation letters sent to their email address the same day with your application? If not, perhaps they want to see your complete application before notifying you. I had everything sent in at the same day and then got their confirmation that my application was complete.

Does anyone know the timetable for this one (i.e. when they are reviewing apps, when finalists might be notified, etc)? 

I updated my contact info with them and was told January at the earliest....

Contacted for phone interview by relevant department (12/16)x4 - do you mind telling us which department please? A: Anthropology x4

If this year is anything like last year, interviews and such will happen on different timelines.

Had a phone interview today (1st week in Jan) (x4), and when I asked about a timeline, the dept. representatives said that they're required to submit their list of candidates to the next level up at the end of this week, then everyone meets some time in the next few weeks about all of the candidates to whittle down the list--candidates with offers should hear by early-mid February. [I thought this interview was for the USF Anthro Dept Instructional Postdoctoral Scholar, but was surprised when they called to find out that it was the Sustainable Societies One -- it's been very confusing!]

A colleague in my sociology dept was contacted about being a finalist; this dept also confirmed they would be picking candidates to send to the university-level committee this week.

Anyone apply to the English department and get called for a phone interview?

Here is the situation as I understand it: there are currently 5 postdocs (selected on last year's cycle), and they will be bringing in 5 more this year, for a total of 10. They will also be replacing postdocs from this year's cohort who leave for TT positions. Because this number is still up in the air, they don't yet know how many new postdocs they will be bringing in, or which departments they will be affiliated with. I hope this helps.

Has anyone heard more about this one or does anyone know when we should expect to hear about the final decisions the unviersity committee makes? (2/2)

Offer made in third week in January for my field (humanities).

[edit]

[edit] University of South Florida

USF Anthro Dept Instructional Postdoctoral Scholar. 

Deadline Dec15th. Any word? Anyone?

not a peep (2/4)

The search committee is planning to meet on 2/19 to make decision

[edit] University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies

Info   Deadline: January 15, 2010. Applications materials, including letters of reference, should be submitted electronically to the Director, Julie Hardwick, at historyinstitute@austin.utexas.edu

So, how many people have applied for this? (x14)

• Hopefully considerably fewer than 1000.
• So far, so good.

Anyone care to specify field or specialty?

• US urban (x1)
• early modern (x2)
• northern ireland
• historical geography
• medieval (x2)
• US foreign relations

IHS Admin Note: Thank you very much for your 2010-11 fellowship applications. All told, we received 228 applications. We aim to send offers by early-March. We'll be in touch if we need more information. Thank you and best wishes to all who applied.

Thanks, IHS admin. Appreciate you keeping us up to date. (x4)

2/3 Received email notification from IHS that my application has advanced to the next round of consideration. (x3)

2/3- Congratulations! Are you ABD or you already have your degree in hand? Thank you!

2/3--reply to above--thank you!--degree in hand (x2)--but let me clarify that i applied for a tenure-track faculty fellowship, not the post-doc/junior fellowship

• Received email notification that my application has moved on to the next round. I am ABD, but was asked specifically whether I would be finished by the end of March. Which, hopefully, I will be. 2/8
• Will they be sending out rejection emails?

[edit] University of Texas at Austin, English Department

Deadline: November 15, 2009.

• any news?
  • I've been told by a fairly reliable source (someone who received this postdoc recently) that news from UT usually comes in Jan/Feb.
• Have they sent out acknowledgements for this postdoc?
  • I never received one. Anyone else?
  • Me neither. (X6)
• Email request for writing sample 2/5 (x3).

[edit] University of Texas at Dallas, Arts & Humanities

Info Review of applications first week of December.

Submit materials electronically through online application. Humanist List Posting (more specific)

Has anyone heard anything about this? (12/11)

Interview requests going out today by email (1/29) sc

[edit] University of Virginia, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies, Post-doctoral Residential Research and Teaching Fellowship

Deadline: December 1, 2009 Info

• Any news?  I never even got an ack after sending in my application in mid-November. (1/4)
• No ack or news for me either. (1/13)
• Nothing. (1/14)

[edit] University of Western Sydney - Research Lectureship in English Lit or Linguistics.

Deadline: 11/30

https://uws.nga.net.au/cp/

Received the following email 12/22: Thank you for your application for the Research Lectureship position.  We received close to 400 applications for twelve Research Lectureship positions.  Therefore, due to the holiday break we will not be finalising the interview shortlist until mid January.  Should you be selected for an interview, you will be notified by the College in late January.

Got the same email.  Any idea what the process will be for applicants outside of Australia?

(x2) Email notification that "you have been included on the list of applicants for further consideration" and request for two writing samples. (1/17)

Is no news bad news?

Interview request 1/26 (x3)

About the 12 spots, does that mean there are 12 spots for literature, or is there a range of fields and this English Lit/Linguistics is only one spot?

I would guess that it's 12 altogether. i haven't even been able to figure out if the have an english department.

[edit] Van Leer Institute Jerusalem - Polonsky Postdoctoral Fellowships

Info Deadline: Jan 31, 2010 

[edit] Virginia Foundation for the Humanities

Deadline: Dec. 1, 2009

Has anyone heard anything from them? Any acknowledgement even?

Received rejection email last week (2/1)

[edit] Walters Art Museum Mellon Curatorial Postdocs

[11] Deadline: December 1, 2009

Does anyone know anything about the timetable for this?

I have no idea. Also, never got any form of acknowledgment. Par for the course (1/14)

[edit] Warburg Institute, University of London: Frances Yates Long-Term Fellowship in Cultural and Intellectual History

http://warburg.sas.ac.uk/Fellowships/Longt.htm

Deadline: December 4 2009

• Email ack. 12/09

[edit]    Washington University Mellon Postdoc

Info Deadline: December 1, 2009.

•  Received e-mail saying all materials have been received / application is complete (11/9). No other info on number of applications, etc.
• how long after you submitted your materials did you receive this confirmation? I still haven't heard anything. (12/6) A: About 5 days later. But I sent my materials nearly a month before the deadline, so I'd assume that's why processing time was so short. (12/6)
• Didn't they interview for this last year?  They must already have a short list then no?
• No, the search was canceled for lack of funds, and they never made it to the interview stage. They did tell applicants that they were welcome to re-activate their applications from last year, so they did hold on to the files (they also welcomed new applications instead, as per the applicant's preference).
• think they did actually have interviews scheduled before the rug was pulled out from under them.Interviews were going to be at MLA, which made many speculate about what they actually mean by "interdisciplinary."
• i think in the past they've held interviews at the MLA and the AHA (if you check the list of past fellows, there are a number of names of historians and lit people that I recognize)
• received ack. that application is complete via email (12/17) Q: when did you submit? i sent mine on 12/1, and still haven't received ack. -A: I submitted mine 11/20 and received my ack only today (12/17), so it's clearly taking a lot of time to go through all of them. So I wouldn't worry if you haven't received yours yet.
• received ack today (12/17) as well; my app. arrived on 12/1, though.
• anyone know for sure whether they're really going to be doing interviews at MLA?  Seems like an awfully quick turn-around time, sincethe deadline was only 12/1.
• received ack today (12//21).  seems like they're still in very early stages of going through apps...

received ack today (12//22) No MLA

• received ack (12/29) (x4)
• anyone else not receive an acknowledgment yet?  For those of you who did, who was it from?  (This way, I can do a search of my inbox to see if I mistakenly overlooked it.  Thanks!
• I received my acknowledgement about a week ago from the following email address: mhausman@artsci.wustl.edu.
• Thanks so much!  I _did_ overlook it!  Whew.
• I still haven't received an ack! now i'm worried my materials didn't arrive...
• Ditto! R: wouldn't worry, I just got one the other day.
• Anyone else still waiting for ack? I have some unreliable letter writters who swore they sent materials in on time, but... (1/16)
• I'm still waiting for an ack, too, and I used Interfolio for my letters, so I'm confident they were sent. (1/18)
• Thanks - that puts my mind at ease!
• So, have they interviewed for this yet? (1/19)
• I haven't even received acknowledgement yet. 1/20 (x3)
• Anyone have a sense of the number of apps? Can it be that high that some people still haven't received acks yet?
• They just seem to be extremely disorganized.
• In response to an email inquiry, they told me they expect the committee to meet within the next few weeks, and to make a decision between mid-Feb and early March (whether or not this will involve interviews, I don't know.)
• Does anyone have any further info about timeline, who is on the search committee, etc? Their website is particularly lacking in useful content...

[edit] Wesleyan University - Center for the Americas Mellon Postdoc

Deadline: December 4, 2009

(2 postdocs: "Wesleyan University invites applications for two fellowships: (1) Native American Studies: We seek a cultural anthropologist or historian whose research focuses on indigenous peoples of the Americas; (2) Latin American Studies: We seek a postdoctoral fellow whose research focuses on literary and/or cultural production in the borderland zone of the Caribbean, Mexico, and the United States.")

• Has anyone received confirmation of receipt of application?
• Not here. 
• Me neither (1/9)
• 12/9--i asked for confirmation in my email with app materials, got it about two days later, very nice message
• Did the e-mail mention anything about the timing of the process?

- It's almost 2 months and not even a confirmation here. Any news? (1/29) - Very nice phone call today to schedule on-campus interview for the Latin America/borderlands position. (01/30). Thanks for sharing, good luck! (2/1) x2

-Any news on the Native American Studies position? (1/30)

[edit] Williams College - Bolin Fellowship

• email acknowledgment 12.10 (x3)
• Ack in Dec. said that applications were going straight to departments. Anybody got any news yet? (12/29)
• Email rejection. "Not one of the semi-finalists." 120 applications. Oh well. (2/1) x2
• Has anyone been contacted about being a semi-finalist? I've not heard anything either way. (x2 2/6)

[edit] Yale University - Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

Deadline: postmarked by Jan 1 Q: It seems the competition "opens" Jan 1, no?  And the deadline is in fact Feb. 5.  Do other people agree? R: Yes. Under "Application Procedures" it says that materials are to be postmarked by Feb. 5th.

link

3, 2-year positions available

• One of their requests is a one-page (!) statement of "teaching interests and sample syllabi." Any thoughts on how to accomplish this in one page?

R: I assumed that the one-page was for a description of teaching interests (or philosophy) and then, in addition, some sample syllabi.

Q: They say that you must have the degree "in hand" by July 1 to apply for this. If I am defending in late April and submitting all required documents to my school by May 25 (the stated deadline for a Winter term defense), does this constitute degree "in hand"? The degree is formally conferred on August 20.

R: Can't imagine them so picky about inconsequential technicalities, but what do I know? I was told at my university when I defended that I could consider myself to have finished as far as the job market was concerned, and that the department could always write a letter certifying my completion. But of course that wasn't at Yale, so who knows what they think!

R: Somebody I know got one-year Yale postdoc (not Mellon) and they took the position last Autumn without defending, as far as I know. It seems that the regulations are not uber strict. I'd call them up first.

[edit] Yale -  Post Doctoral Fellowships in South Asian Studies

Deadline Jan 5th.

• Receipt of application by email (Jan 4) x2
• Found out from the office that the review of applications has started.
• Did they say approx. when candidates would be notified?
• Anybody rewceive any news yet? Acceptances or rejections?
• Not yet. 2/3

[edit] Yale Linguistics Dept -  postdoctoral associate in syntax

Deadline March 1st.

Announcement: http://linguistlist.org/jobs/get-jobs.cfm?JobID=71420&SubID=2231195

Anyone else applying for this?

[edit] General Discussion and Comments

[edit] Project Proposals

• Question: I'm wondering how people feel about sending a proposal to revise your diss vs. proposing a new project. Is the former considered to be not original enough and/or is the latter considered to be not very believable (because everyone assumes you will indeed turn your diss into a book? Any advice from people who have been successful with postdocs? (9/26)
• Answer: I was interviewed last year for one of the fancy-schmancy postdocs (I'm not bragging, by the way; I completely blew it), and I sent a proposal for a brand-new project. Whether this helped or hurt is hard to say. I know people who have gotten the very best postdocs by proposing to revise. If you do get an interview, it's a hell of a lot easier to talk about your dissertation. Sorry I don't have a more decisive answer. 
• ANSWER: I got a postdoc this year and a few interviews etc for others. I sent a proposal for an additional chapter/ new research that I tried to fit into the larger scheme of the revised dissertation. But that made sense for my work, so I think if you can show how your work is grounded in doctoral research (either dissertation or otherwise) but takes it in new directions, that is the best. What this looks like for everyone is different, though. Hope this helps and good luck!
• ANSWER: I defended my diss early in the summer, spent the summer writing and revising a project proposal for a new project. It was funded absurdly well. (Three full-year grant offers.) But it had also been on the back burner conceptually for a couple of years, so it was pretty well-developed AND it was on a maddeningly hot topic that had nothing published on it and was becomingly increasingly of interest. It was also a lot easier to talk about than my very abstract theoretical dissertation. So I think the funding I landed was due to a combination of factors. I agree with previous poster: what works best for each person varies. Good luck!!
• ANSWER: My impression from speaking to senior colleagues (I'm defending later this year and applying to post-docs right now) is that post-docs expect you to be applying for support to revise your diss. That said, they also advised me to indicate some things I had discovered along the way that I would like to incorporate into the revised project, suggesting that I'll be doing more than just rewriting existing material.
• A: Good question.  My chair actually chided me for making my postdoc proposal too close to my diss topic, so I've written another one that has a few connections to my diss, but is actually a new project.  (I'm in anthro - btw).  It might be helpful for us all to check in at the end of this cycle to say what worked and what didn't.  For example, adding a list to this thread saying: Fellowship name; discipline; status (got it/didn't); postdoc proposal=diss, postdoc proposal extends diss, or postdoc proposal is a new project altogether.   This would be very helpful - competitive altruism at its best.  I'll report in later, and I hope others will join me.
• ANSWER: I applied for post-docs and grants with an entirely new research project. I landed funding hand over fist. (Three sources.) Think it was not the fact that it was new but that

my dissertation topic was not of interest to most people and the new topic was a very hot topic. I also ha a very well-developed proposal, since I'd had the project on the back burner for about a year and had done oodles of research for it on the side. (Was procrastinating finishing my diss.) And I circulated my project proposal to oodles of critical people before applying. Spent months on it, tinkering and tinkering. It never hurts to have another project idea b/c it comes up in interviews for t-t jobs, too.

• Okay! The table's all ready to go.
• Thanks for setting this up. I wonder if it might be helpful, however, under "Were you successful?", to make the response options "rejected," "interviewed," or "hired," rather than just yes or no.
• No problem!

[edit] Outcome of your Postdoc Competition

To make a new entry in the table: 1) Enter the edit function. 2) Right-click on an existing row in the table. 3) Select "row" from the menu and choose insert row before or after. (And why not create a new row for the next person.)

Postdoc Name	Discipline	Outcome (Rejected, Interviewed, or Hired?)	Relationship of postdoc proposal to dissertation (Same as disseration, extends dissertation, or new project altogether?)
UM SoF	Anthro	Rejected	Completely new project
Penn SoF	Anthro	Rejected	Complete new project - tailored to Virtuality (=waste of time)
Michigan SoF	English	Rejected	New project, with cnxns to diss.
Harvard SoF	Anthro	Rejected	Extends dissertation with a complementary project
Berlin Program for Advanced German and European Studies Post-Doc	German	Accepted	Completely new project

Seriously? You'd need a supercomputer to house this, as initiated. How about one row per postdoc, populated only with current status and/or the final resolution of each search (i.e. what stage is it at, or who got it)?

• Maybe not: apparently there's only four people here who are willing to share the (disappointing) results of their applications. But maybe if you build it, they will come...

One could write an article in the time it would take to do this.

• Exactly.

Congratulations, Berlin postdoc!

[edit] Application Format

• Question: Because I am looking for more things to be obsessive about, here's a question: do people tend to staple, paperclip, or neither the individual components of an app (cv, writing sample, etc...) since i imagine they photocopy these, stapling seems obnoxious but paperclipping seems messy.
• Answer: If the application requires multiple sets of materials (e.g., Columbia SOF)  then I staple each set. -- Another Answer: since Harvard specifically asks not to use paperclipping, but to staple, I assume that this is the preferable way to go.
• Answer: I paper clip or don't do anything, but I don't staple -- since things have to be photocopied, I've also assumed that stapling creates more work for them on the other end. That said, Harvard is obviously a counter-example. I also put my name and a page number in the footer of every page, starting anew with each separate document, somewhat countering the need for stapling or paper clipping.
• Answer: I also don't staple b/c things have to be photocopied. (I've been on selections committees internal to the University I was at and saw this in action there.) I paperclip or - since you want to be obsessive - use those black binder clips, the small ones, for writing samples and teaching portfolio.

[edit] Specific Competitions

• Questions: These may seem like a vague questions, but are Oxbridge JRFs worth applying for, especially if one's main discipline is English literature? If they are, what's the competitive standard (i.e. about how many publications, etc.)? The reason why I ask is because I suspect - and would like to be corrected if wrong - that English would be at a disadvantage. It seems to me that it's more difficult to produce 10+ articles in English than in, say, Psychology or Sociology, where co-authoring is common. 
• Similar Question: Are these worth applying to if your discipline is social anthropology?
• Answer: JRFs are not done (generally) by 'tick boxes'; applications will be assessed by people who have some awareness of the disciplinary fields involved, so if there's a comparative difference in publication speed and style which is discipline-specific rather than candidate-specific they'll be well aware of it.
• Question: anyone have any info on the Minnesota postdoc? The info was out by this time last year. I tried emailing the contact info on their webpage, but have not received a response. I also asked a faculty member, who just said that he has yet to hear anything.
• Answer: I wrote them a while back to ask about the postdoc and just got an email today saying that UMN is not holding a competition at this time (10/29)

[edit] Application Strategies

• Question: Is there anything to be lost by turning in things early?
• Answer: yes. If, say, a response from a journal about your submission can make your cv look better; or encourage you to rewrite and improve your paper/writing-sample (I lived to regret applying early more times than I care to remember).

[edit] Accepting / Negotiating Offers

• Question: Has anyone ever accepted a postdoc fellowship, and then backed out when they won another (better) one down the road? Is it legal?
• Answer: I don't know about legality, but it is very poor form. Postdocs, even fancy postdocs, accept that you may renege on an offer if you get a tenure-track job. But to do so for another postdoc? Very dicey. That being said, I'm sure it has happened.
• Answer: A different PoV from someone with significant non-academic work experience (private & public sector): All's fair when you're on the market and you receive another offer that you like better. In my opinion, the academic market is no different; people just act like it is. I get frustrated with academics hamstringing themselves into feeling obliged to accept offers they aren't happy with. You are talent. You're marketable. As long as you haven't signed a contract, you are free to bid adieu to the first employer and accept another offer. It's how you do it that makes all the difference. Ring up the person who made you the first offer. Explain that you've received a second offer that is much more aligned with your priorities (career, personal, you don't need to specify more than that because it's none of their business). Thank the person and institution profusely, and be incredibly gracious about the whole thing. Then post a thank-you card to them, for making the offer in the first place. In other words, act professionally, so they are left only with regret that they couldn't retain you. Also, look at a second postdoc offer as a bargaining chip: you might be surprised, but if the employer really wants you, when you make that call, they might tell you they're willing to make a better offer.
• Answer (same person as first answer above): There are other factors involved here that should be addressed. Postdocs typically give you a period of time to make a decision before accepting, particularly if you are one of the first choice candidates. Take that time if you have another potential offer from a better postdoc that you are waiting on. Also, you will probably get the contract VERY soon (days) after you make the oral commitment, so we really are talking about breaking a contract. The postdoc folks will probably not issue official rejections to the other finalists before they get your contract. If you have signed the contract and they have sent out the rejections, they will be very unhappy with you if you renege. And the idea about "bargaining" with humanities postdocs is not, IMHO, a good idea. Humanities postdocs are, with very few exceptions, not negotiable. And postdoc committees do not get "attached" to particular candidates like faculty search committees. They are happy to go to one of the other finalists if you try to pull any nonsense. (All of this, IMHO, of course...though I do currently hold a very competitive Mellon postdoc, so I am not just making things up.)
• PoV here. These are good distinctions to point out. I'm coming from the medical social sciences, so I suspect our experiences and advice reflect the different norms in our fields. I had two postdoc offers this year from departments in med schools, and there were no postdoc committees, only the employer. In both cases, they made it very clear they were attached to me and I could negotiate. 
• First answer person again: I think most prestigious postdocs inform successful candidates well before less prestigious ones, so it is probably unlikely that someone would face this scenario. But in this job market, it would be a nice problem to have! In general, I think good advice is to be upfront and honest with people. (Or perhaps I'm just naive.)
• Yes! (PoV again). You have no idea how much employers appreciate candidates being candid with them. (Former vocational counsellor here). It show respect, class, and courage, which no one forgets. It dignifies them, and you. And: most employers can usually detect when someone is fudging or withholding information. You can do a lot of damage to your integrity if Employer A (who you turned down) talks to Employer B (who you finalized with) (since they turn out to be colleagues), and A finds out you gave different reasons to B for turning down the initial offer. Honesty is respected.
• But what happens if you're required to let institution #1 know in, say, 3 weeks (by contract), but you won't know what the results for institution #2 (which is a better fit) are until 3 months later? In these times, you can't really gamble. I would imagine you need to sign the contract for #1 in case #2 falls through. And if #2 is successful, you must renege on #1 - which shouldn't be a problem if both postdocs don't actually start until months later. Right?
• Yes, (getting back to the earlier question), people do renege after they've signed contracts, before a position starts. I would not want to do it, unless I was completely miserable with the first offer, or if the employer revealed some new conditions that had not been made clear at offer. You're better off negotiating a verbal offer than reneging on a signed offer. (And no one in any other non-academic industry has a crystal ball, either, so no, you don't gamble if there's only one solid offer. You take it. But you negotiate, meanwhile, if you're not satisfied). What I'm trying to emphasize is that you can, contrary to belief, negotiate (unless you are one of thousands of postdocs in a humanities field where if you decline there's someone else to take your place, as person above points out). You can negotiate salary, benefits, start date, your duties. You just need to do it with diplomacy. Finalizing a position can take quite a while, especially if you're negotiating, so there may be a long window of opportunity. If another offer rolls along while you're still negotiating, you're free to decline the first offer and accept the second, or use the second to negotiate a better offer with the first. It's how the job market works. Postdoc employers, particularly those running centers of research with multiple sources of funding, can sometimes top up your salary by drawing from another funding source. They will be honest with you if they can't. All you can do is ask. As I said, if you're going to renege on the first offer before you sign, do it professionally and graciously in conversation, and always send a thank-you card for the offer. If it's a small universe you work in, you will probably have the opportunity to work or collaborate with the first employer down the road, so you want to be thinking of this as relationship-building. You can address this during the conversation by saying that you're looking forward to working with that person at some point. Again, you're showing appreciation both that the person considered you and long-term interest in their work. A comment like says you're not just seeing them as a place that's offering you a salary.
• (new poster) Last year I was offered a 1 year postdoc and they asked me to sign an acceptance thing by a certain date, but I had an interview for a 3 year postdoc so I asked if I could wait on the decision before signing (about a week after the acceptance thing was originally due). They said yes. I didn't get the 3 year one. However, I would also note that whilst they wanted me to accept the offer at this point, I didn't receive a confirmation of award until I had submitted my PhD. It seems a bit one-sided, really. I suppose that just reflects the fact that it is one-sided, in that they have all the power.
• Is it OK to email a university for my post-doc application status? They are supposed to notify us by this month and I would like to know my status before reserving a flight ticket for another interview.
• A: I've done it before and found that - if you explain the situation and why you need to know - the response is generally favorable.

[edit] Wiki Behavior

• Question: can anyone shed light on why a user or users is/are repeatedly deleting entries from the 2007-8 Hum/Soc Sci post-doc page?
• Answer: No, but my guess is it's someone who tried to edit the page, deleted entries by mistake, and then didn't know how to find the edit log to restore the previous page. And is too embarrassed to ask for help or own up. (Happened to me...I deleted an entire, well-used wiki...but I eventually found the log, and restored!)

Q: Why is it that people keep posting new postdocs the date of the deadline or shortly afterwards so that no one can learn about them in time to apply? A: Sounds like you answered your own question. One may certainly wish all comers the best, but do you really expect other people to do your research for you? I hate to be ugly about this but use those skills that you expect to be paid thousands of dollars to exercise. Find your own opportunities.

• That is my guess. I, frankly, do not really get it.  If there are 700 applicants instead of 800, the chances are still pretty slim.  A sad reflection on the nature of the academic market. 

A sad reflection on human nature too--I think a wiki site should be a place where there is a good-hearted and generous exchange of information that is mutually beneficial to all. As many hours as one spends researching postdocs and jobs, there is no way one can find all of them. Schools will pick the people that are the best fit, so why keep information to oneself?

• Hi everybody. I don't know whether this will be much help now, although there are some postdocs with January deadlines (and beyond) posted here. In any event, you might want to pass this on to your colleagues who will be looking for postdocs next year (or keep it in mind for the future). It really is an excellent resource:

http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/studentgrantsfellowships/

[edit] CV Content

Question: When does it make sense to include on a CV that you were chosen as an alternate for any particular postdoc or fellowship? Do people still do this? In what cases does it make sense, and are there cases where you don't want to do it (anymore)?

Answer: I think that if you were chosen as an alternate for a postdoc last year, you should definitely put it on your CV. Especially b/c the job markets this year and the last were so highly competitive, it really demonstrates that you have potential and are probably an even better candidate now.  Though if it was two years ago, I wouldn't list it since people might wonder what you're still doing in school.  My two cents. Thanks for your thoughts . . . I guess, then, that this would go doubly for alternate status from a postdoc search this year.

Answer: I agree with above poster. Does it make you more look more competitive for the position you're applying to? Then by all means include it. Other things to put on your CV:  the dollar value of each of your grants, fellowships, scholarship, travel awards, etc.  And: "declined" in parentheses, after the date & name of the award, if you declined it. In your cover letter: mention the total dollar value of all your funding.

Answer: This depends, and I can attest (from our job market handout) that at least some people/departments find it to be tacky or gauche to list either declined positions or full dollar values for everything. And think about it, if you list 3 declined positions, that's great for you, but are the search comm members going to be seething with rage at all your opportunities? For the money, it seems to be the case here that with grants, you are welcome to list dollars, but with fellowships, they don't necessarily like to see dollars. If you prefer not to list dollars, you want to give some information about the grant size or duration so that you give an accurate picture (eg. small, 1-year, 2 year, "full funding"). Best thing to do is look for exemplar/good candidate CVs in your area and see what they do. So personally, I dollarize competitive grants, but not fellowships, and since they were small grants anyway, that's me being honest too.

Question: I have worked as a freelance journalist for the last decade in addition to my academic studies: I have no peer-reviewed publications. Is it advisable to put a selection of my articles under "Publications" on the CV (including stuff for the Times Literary Supplement)? Should I specify that they're not peer-reviewed?

Answer: I would put it under a section heading called "Non-Peer-Reviewed Publications." As soon as you publish one article in a peer-reviewed journal, create a section just before this one in your CV called "Peer Reviewed Publications," and start populating it.

[edit] State of the Academic Job Market

• the academic job market is so dehumanizing in the way it pits us against each other - I just posted a bunch of postdoc opportunities (ahead of deadlines) as an act of resistance and as an assertion of our humanity. Happy holidays everyone.
• that is very nice of you; thanks.  this should absolutely be a venue for us to support each other. 12/21
• Well done! keep in mind that this is exactly the time that reveals a person's character--selfish and "ugly" actions speak for themselves.
• For OP, who is finding the market dehumanizing: it really needn't be this way. Here are some suggestions: 1) Don't succumb to the mentality of being "pitted against each other." Cultivate a small group of supportive colleagues with whom you routinely share your cover letters and CVs for comment and criticism. Work together to make each other more competitive, and reinforce each other's successes. 2) Your non-academic accomplishments and skills will make you stand out from the crowd of PhDs in similar fields. Departments need candidates who can do other things besides deliver curriculum and get grants: they need bodies who can teach their students how to apply for grants, reform curriculum, build bridges with administration, secure funding for and manage their new center of innovation, etc. Identify what unique suite of skills you can bring to a position. Outline those skills in your cover letters (e.g. "here is how I can contribute to the success of your department." Wow 'em with your versatility. 3) I keep harping on this on these wikia but here it is again: consider expanding your job search beyond academia. You're talented, ambitious, smart, analytical, and passionate. You can write well. I don't think most PhDs realize that those skills are in short supply. Employers everywhere are looking for them. If you can demonstrate you're a good fit for a position, you'll be snapped up.

Q:  where are all of these other jobs waiting to snap up smart Ph.D.s?  Where are all of the hundreds (thousands!?) of great Ph.Ds. going to go--the ones who are being churned out every year and for whom there are no academic jobs? 

A: a) Open your eyes, my friend. Business, health care, non-profit, government, consulting. Start by visiting your career center to learn how to access these markets. b) Exactly. No one should be undertaking a PhD assuming that they are going to get an academic job. There just aren't enough jobs to go around, and that's not likely to change. See the thread on Dear Search Committees. See also the Chronicle forums for good discussions about the realities of the academic job market and the pros and cons of getting a PhD. c) "Business, health care, non-profit, government, consulting" = Anyone that will hire and pay. 

Response A is lousy and cheeky.  -- The question was petulant and rhetorical, asked by someone who sounds as if s/he has no idea how to conduct a non-academic job search and expects jobs to materialize without looking.

The answer was factual: these are (broadly) the industries that will hire PhDs, and a career center is often the best place to start if you don't know how to identify them or how to market yourself.

--It does not take a Ph.D. to realize that a rhetorical question does not merit a response, much less a snarky one.  Furthermore, Ph.D.s are, as the original poster stated, churned out every year, regardless of the prospects of jobs. Beyond that, it IS an utterly miserable job market, everywhere. 

• Interesting. I go to a large state university and my career center has no idea how to help PhDs... they are totally focused on undergraduates and have refused to help me at various stages, stating that their funding comes from undergrad sources, and not graduate students. And a note about seeking job opportunities outside of academia: my consultant friends tell me that there really isn't money for anyone right now. What are they doing? Going back to grad school....
• You make a really good point. Career centers are largely geared towards helping undergrads. I'm sorry--and really annoyed--to hear that your career center has refused to help you. Who then is supposed to provide you with these services? This is a problem I've been talking about with our career center graduate coordinator for the last few years, how grad students are just left to fend for themselves by their departments. It's her hobby horse, then it became mine. It's in everyone's interest if universities make it a priority to deliver career training to PhD students from the start.
• I wonder if this is the appropriate forum to be asking 'rhetorical' questions anyway? We are a breed of educators and researchers who, I would like to believe, are more inclined to answer questions helpfully and give advice when asked for it than to sit back and ignore them. We ask why things are the way they are and my theorize possible solutions to them. I didn't read the responses to be lousy, snarky or cheeky and wires do tend to get crossed when discussing things this way online. My point: if you ask questions here, most likely they will be answered by someone.

Perhaps the answer isn't as convenient as one might like it to be, but I think it's a fair point. It's more difficult to independently seek out and/or create a (non-academic) career for yourself than it is to play the game of academia or even to visit a career center. That is where the frustration lies. It's new, it's scary, and it's something many of us will not be used to. It's difficult, but frankly and more importantly to those who participate in this forum, it's not the type of system we have been used to in our 10+ years of higher education, and really, our education since age 5. We are more used to a 'work hard in the system and be rewarded' type of life. Getting a job in this economy may require thinking outside the box a little more as well as luck and many other factors. I could go on, but I just want to reiterate that I feel strongly that one shouldn't take out their own frustrations out on someone that tries to answer a (perhaps intentionally rhetorical) question.

• Thank you, poster, for your compassionate comment. You're reminding me that it is challenging, even threatening, for people at this stage to rethink career direction. Since this has turned into a long thread, would it be useful to start a new page on job seeking tips, to exchange practical Q & A on finding jobs inside and outside of academia? (e.g. negotiating contracts, cover letter & CV questions, what to include in an application)
• Yes, perhaps some subheadings would do as this is getting long and its only just turned January. Might I add that a lot of the discussion you just mentioned can be found in various forms on the Chronicle for Higher Education forums (apologies if someone has said this already).
• It doesn't hurt to mention the Chronicle forums again.http://chronicle.com/forums I've put subheadings in. (I moved one entry). But I'm wondering whether we should move this discussion to a new page altogether? It sure is a long scroll down the page to get to Q&A.

More on this subject: http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2010/01/04/nojobs; See also the comments.

--  I heart Marc Bousquet.  Check out: http://howtheuniversityworks.com/wordpress/

It's nice to know that I'm not the only one in academe who's struck by the irony that all these supposedly smart critical thinkers trained by this system fail to see the blatant hypocrisy they are embodying in their tenured positions. Hegemony doesn't just live, it thrives at the "top" of the intellectual food chain. Too bad tenured Phds don't require continuing updating and re-certification like real doctors. His book could be made required reading for every department chair, provost and dean. Though I'm sure they could manage some rhetorical jujitsu about the righteousness of the system they "oversee".

• These posts are so depressing I want to scream... well, if the system isn't going to change (let's face it: it won't), then we have to. I guess prospective grad students just have to start seeing doctorates as something other than a path to an academic job. In this day and age, the phd is really for those who have the money, time, and interest to study something in depth with ONLY that as the reward. Those with phds should consider getting a regular day job that isn't too demanding and be an independent scholar on the side. Einstein started off that way...
• Marx too (Gramsci did his best work in prison...)
• And they sound genuine, too, unlike some over-protected academic liberals--for whose freedom we now bleed.
• Yes - some of the most brilliant scholars in history were independents and the most useless scholars were academics. I guess there's hope.
• Does all this mean that if you (the above posters) are so fortunate to be offered a tenure track job and to be granted tenure, that you'll decline tenure and insist on a continued regimen of regular reviews and heavy publication requirements all the way to retirement? I'm not saying their aren't problems with the system, I'd just like to know whether, once you are potential beneficiaries of those admittedly advantageous problems, you will decline to benefit to your own obvious detriment.
• One of the above posters: Is it so surprising (or perhaps threatening) that some phds can see benefit outside of tenure? Tenure isn't the end all, be all; that's brainwashing from grad school. Sure, it has benefits; nobody can deny that. But from my perspective, these aren't avoiding 'regular reviews and heavy publication requirements'; these are opportunities to get some major reforms rolling along without the threat of being fired. If I'm offered the chance to change things attached to tenure, no, I wouldn't decline. If I'm offered tenure with the expectation that I sit on my arse and exploit others (i.e. sell my soul), yes, I would decline. If I don't get any offers whatsover, I move on and consider research/writing as a hobby. I've heard so many stories of people being successful outside of academia that I'm not scared.
• Those two things -- freedom from 'regular reviews and heavy publication requirements' and getting 'major reforms rolling' go hand in hand. Dispensing with the former creates the time and freedom that permit the latter. And I don't hear many of the people on this forum expressing core concern about the moral perils of tenure, at the root of it all, I hear complaints about a system that prevents them from accessing the system, a system that creates a surplus of labor in a tight labor market, that trains students in part to produce a graduate student labor pool, not, as should be the case, with the primary goal of preparing scholars and teachers for a ready job market. If you want to resist this from the position of a grad student, start by talking to aspiring grad students about the perils of grad school and academe. Then accept, nay embrace, the idea, as others have said, that there are many worthwhile things to do with ones life besides teaching at the college and university level. One thing you can do once you're on the market to improve the situation is refuse to take a succession of 4-4 one year positions (or whatever -- you get the drift) -- teaching 4-4 for no money to disinterested students at an exploitative school ain't no way to make a living, we're all able to live more fulfilling lives than that and, in the meantime, starve the market of a type of labor we all object to.

• And speaking of the "moral perils" (or moral possibilities) of tenure, I'd love to see some of those "major reforms" mentioned above actually initiated in university departments anywhere, whether I ever get tenured or not. The system is changing, but mostly for the worse.

[edit] Miscellaneous

Question: The deadline has passed for a fellowship and I just realized that there is a spelling mistake in my proposal. (Interestingly, I ran it through my spellchecker again and it detected nothing; in fact, it gave me the wrong spelling as an option!!) Should I write an e-mail to the grants administrator or should I just let it go? Do postdoc committees toss out applications that have 1 mistake or do they forgive the applicant?

• One person's opinion: Please. Do yourself a favour and let it go. Pour yourself a drink, give yourself a hearty pat on the back for getting the application in and on time, and have a laugh at how human you (and the spell-checker) are. One spelling error isn't going to get yourself thrown out of the competition. They'd have to be pretty tight-assed to ding you on that. It's probably not even in their policies and procedures guidelines to disqualify someone for one typo. If you're not convinced, turn it around and imagine that you're the grants administrator, with 5 billion unanswered email messages, 400 files on your desk, 4 meetings every day, and a really sick child at home. Would you really want to read an email message from an applicant, concerned about something so trivial as a spelling error? I know I would get really annoyed and think, "How narcissistic and insecure. Don't these applicants have anything better to do than to waste my time?" (You don't want to piss off grants administrators.) Just consider yourself wiser and double-check your spelling in future applications, after your spell checker has run (or ask a friend to check it, even better). And congatulations on getting that application in--no small feat. Have another drink.
• A true anecdote to cheer you up: my close friend and colleague recently had an interview for a prestigious postdoc (she ended up being their second choice candidate by a hair's margin, too). After she re-reviewed her cover letter, she discovered that she had actually left a whole word out of a sentence, rather noticeably. I used to have the policy of having someone else spell and grammar check my documents, especially for those kinds of problems that computers simply can't catch. But my documents keep changing, and I can't bug my colleagues and friends every couple of weeks for a new round of help. Sometimes you just have to live with your imperfect eyes, and often it works out. And, do have another drink.
• This is highly miscellaneous, but I have to say that my favorite username on this site is Hermes Trismegistus. I hope the alchemy works for you, buddy.

[edit] Interviews

Q: A talk... to read or not to read?

A: Oh, this is a divisive question! Don't read. Unless it's from the notes page on your PowerPoint screen, and you can glance at it occasionally without losing eye contact with the audience. Or you have such a complex topic that you absolutely must read. Or you will go blank without the text. I'm not persuaded by the vague dictum that "reading is bad form." It's that there is a world of difference between someone who is communicating directly with their audience by making frequent eye contact, pausing appropriately (and dramatically), and being human, and someone who is reading a text and essentially engaging with it, not the audience. Reading is static. It's not always error-free either. I have seen very good talks where the person has read, but they know their subject and are able to interject and ad lib. I've done it, and really hate how stiff I sound. I guess the best choice is the one that allows you to communicate most powerfully. By that, I mean that you leave your audience feeling that you have really connected with them, and you've conjured an emotional response from them, and not simply talked at them. But wait...here comes the opposite viewpoint....

A: While I agree with many of the points made in the above answer, I think you need to find out what is expected for your field. As a graduate student I saw a dozen or so job talks over the course of a few searches and I only saw one person who didn't read (and it was not a successful talk). The problem with not reading is that it can come off as teaching rather than as a polished scholarly lecture. That approach can really backfire, especially at an R1 school. For a job talk at a teaching-intensive place, however, it might work in your favor. Other thoughts? --That sounds like good advice too! (previous poster)

Q: I have loads of receipts from interviews. I'm supposed to send them in, but I'm holding back. First, is it best to wait until a decision is made? Does it look pathetic to send it receipts right away? Second, are food receipts in transit even fair game for reimbursement? A lunch at the airport? Will my food decisions be scrutinized? ("A loaded baked potato?! How pedestrian.... I told you all that she wasn't sexy enough for us.") --> Seriously? As most of us are agonizing over the fact that we have no interviews at all, you're agonizing over what do with your "loads of receipts from interviews." Do I need to say what I think you should do with them? * Sorry, friend. I didn't mean it to come off like that - I am shocked to have two, and I seriously don't want to muck up my minute chance by coming off as desperate by jumping the gun on reimbursements. How am I supposed to know whether they'll think it's tacky or not? Two interviews and neither was promising, and I'll probably be adjuncting again next year. Feel better? I thought this was a place for sharing the good, bad and ugly... I'll keep the good to myself from now on.

• Well, I appreciated your humour! It's a reasonable question. I say: Don't hold back. (From experience). Do up all your receipts, including those for food in transit, in an Excel spreadsheet. Mail a hard copy of the spreadsheet with your receipts, and email the spreadsheet to admin. Admin will appreciate your organization, and you'll at least have a crack at getting reimbursed sooner than later. It might make no difference to the hiring committee, but if I was sitting on the committee and you were short-listed, I might think, "Ah, professional..."
• Thanks, second person. Solid advice.
• No, don't feel bad. The whole reimbursement thing is confusing and not entirely kosher. I agree with the poster who says don't hold back. And congratulations to you. Not everyone here is a bitter troll. When you get to the point where you hate anyone who has any level of success, it's time to go into rehab. Seriously.
• I would add that the committee will probably never know how soon and for how much you submitted your receipts -- that kind of work will be handled by an administrator anyway. So it's likely the person judging your food choices will not have a say in the decision, at least. :)