Rare & Distinctive Collections Research Fellowships

We are excited to offer research fellowships to support scholars who wish to use archives, rare books, maps, and government documents from our Rare and Distinctive Collections (RaD).

Timeline

  • Applications open: January 6, 2025
  • Deadline: March 2, 2025
  • Notification to applicants: March 17, 2025
  • Funds must be used between April 1, 2025 and April 1, 2026

To apply

Prospective applicants may contact rad@colorado.edu to request a consultation to determine what RaD collections may relate to their research topic.

We encourage applications from all interested parties: CU affiliates (students, faculty, or staff), CU non-affiliates, independent researchers and scholars, filmmakers and artists.

One fellowship may be awarded per individual per funding cycle (see above for current dates).

Apply for a Fellowship

Questions? Please contact us at rad@colorado.edu.

 

Eleanor C. Keating Labor & Politics Research Fellowship – $2000

The Eleanor C. Keating Labor & Politics Research Fellowship provides $2000 to one fellow per year to support on-site research within archival collections documenting labor and/or politics. This fund was established in honor of Eleanor Connolly Keating (1887-1977), wife of pro-labor politician, journalist, and activist Edward Keating (1875-1965).

  • Purpose of funding: Supports in-person visitation to the RaD Reading Room in the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Norlin Library to access and perform research in archival collections documenting people, events, organizations and histories related to American labor and labor rights, and/or Colorado politics and politicians.
  • Use of funds: Travel, lodging, and other costs associated with the in-person research visit.
  • Research proposals must focus solely on research within RaD’s archival collections and application must specify which collections will be accessed during research.

Matthew Fox Archives Research Fellowship – $2000

The Matthew Fox Archives Research Fellowship provides $2000 to one to two fellows per year to support on-site research within the Matthew Fox Papers, documenting the life and work of theologian, priest, author, and activist Matthew Fox, founder of Creation Spirituality.

  • Purpose of funding: Supports in-person visitation to the RaD Reading Room in the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Norlin Library to access and perform research in this archival collection.
  • Use of funds: Travel, lodging, and other costs associated with the in-person research visit.
  • Applications must specify which portions of the Matthew Fox papers will be accessed during research, and, if applicable, related collections within RaD that will also be used during the fellowship to support research relating to Fox’s life and/or related topics in spirituality, ecology, or religion.

Photobook Fellowship – $3000

The Photobook Fellowship provides $3,000 to one fellow per year to support on-site research featuring one or more of the following photobook collections: the David H. Tippit Photobook Collection of fine art photography, the Alan Scuba Photobook Collection of travel and ethnographic photography the Ira Wolff Collection of Photographic History and the Ira Wolff Photo-illustrated Children’s Book Collection (not yet cataloged, title list available on request; see collection development guide). These collections, as yet partially cataloged, trace photography’s evolution as a technical form of documentation to artistic expression from the 20th through 21st century.

  • Purpose of funding: Supports in-person visitation to the RaD Reading Room in the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Norlin Library to access and perform research in the Tippit Collection, Scuba Collection, Wolff Collection of Photographic History or Wolff Children’s Book Collection. Additional research may be performed using collections affiliated with RaD or other CU Boulder Library collections.
  • Use of funds: Travel, lodging, and other costs associated with the in-person research visit.
  • Applications must specifiy which photobook collections will be accessed during research.

William H. Donner Moving Image Research Fellowship – $2000

The William H. Donner Moving Image & Video Research Fellowship provides $2000 to one fellow per year to support research or creative work using archival moving image film and video collections, as well as other archival collections documenting the life and work of filmmakers. Support for this fellowship is graciously provided to the Libraries from the William H. Donner Foundation.

  • Purpose of funding: Supports either in-person visitation to the RaD Reading Room in the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Norlin Library to access and perform research in archival collections (see our experimental film and video collections and moving image inventory), and/or costs of receiving digital reproduction copies of original film and video, per our digital reproduction policies and procedures.
  • Use of funds: Travel, lodging, and other costs associated with the in-person research visit and/or costs of receiving digital reproduction copies of original film and video held by RaD.
  • Applications must specify which of RaD’s collections will be requested for use and for what purpose (reproduction, on-site research, or both).

Women Poets of the Romantic Period Research Fellowship – $3000

The Women Poets of the Romantic Period Research Fellowship provides $3,000 to one fellow per year to support on-site research featuring the Women Poets of the Romantic Period (WPRP) Collection. This rare book collection of roughly 450 titles features written works by British Women poets who published between 1770 through 1830 (view these titles in the Library Catalog).  

  • Purpose of funding: Supports in-person visitation to the RaD Reading Room in the University of Colorado Boulder Libraries’ Norlin Library to access and perform research with rare books and in archival collections relating to women poets of the Romantic period. Additional research may be performed during the fellow’s visit using collections affiliated with the Center for British and Irish Studies (CBIS).
  • Use of funds: Travel, lodging, and other costs associated with the in-person research visit.