Application Guidelines

Contents

See Also

The Application Form

To access the online application form, click here >>

To submit an application through CLIR's online system, you must have an active account. If you have previously applied for a fellowship through this program, you may log in using your account on file. If this is your first application for a fellowship, please click here to register.

Tab 1: General Information

All sections of this application are required.

To begin your application, please first complete the Eligibility Information section. If you are not eligible to apply based upon your answers in this section, your application will not be accepted for consideration by CLIR.

To navigate through the application form, click on the tabs on the left-hand side.

You may partially complete your application and return to complete and submit it at a later date by logging back in to the application site. Changes may be made throughout the application period at any time prior to your submission of your application.

A button allowing you to submit your application will appear in the left-hand navigation bar (below the tabs) once all required elements have been completed. You will not be able to submit the application until you have provided all the required information.

Once you have submitted your application, you may view it but can no longer alter it. Applications can only be viewed until the application deadline, after which time the system will be closed. If you'd like to save a copy of your work, please do so prior to the deadline.

Tab 2: Eligibility Information

Please complete the first three questions below to determine whether you are eligible to apply for this award. If you are interested in consideration for the CLIR/Library of Congress-specific fellowship, answer "Yes" to the fourth question. Once you are finished, be sure to click "Save Eligibility Information" to save your work before moving on.

Are you currently enrolled in a U.S. institution?

An applicant may be of any nationality but must be enrolled in a U.S. graduate school and be studying here, not on a campus abroad even if operated by a U.S. institution.

If you are not currently enrolled in U.S. institution, and/or you will not be enrolled for the entire proposed duration of the fellowship, you are not eligible to apply.

Have you already received, or will you receive by April 1, 2013, official approval of your dissertation proposal?

All applicants must receive formal approval of their dissertation proposals by no later than April 1, 2013. Those who will receive approval after April 1, 2013 (including those who will receive approval later in the month of April) are not eligible to apply for a 2013 Mellon Fellowship.

Applicants must complete all other doctoral requirements (except the dissertation) prior to the proposed start date for their fellowship.

Applicants must be ready to start research as early as June 1 and no later than September 1, 2013.

Will you be conducting research on-site in libraries, archives or other repositories both full-time and continuously during your entire proposed fellowship tenure? NOTE: This fellowship program cannot provide support to those conducting research in archives intermittently throughout the year, or for periods of less than 9 full months.

Only those who will be conducting research continuously throughout the entire fellowship period are eligible to apply for this fellowship.

Awards can not be granted to applicants who request support for intermittent research trips combined with the writing of their dissertations.

Will your research fellowship be spent entirely at the Library of Congress? (You do not need to answer "Yes" to this question to be eligible for this fellowship program.)

If you would like your application to be considered for the CLIR/Library of Congress Mellon Fellowship, answer "Yes" here. Otherwise, answer "No".

Tab 3: Academic Information

Please include information for all graduate study you have undertaken, including coursework taken where no degree was granted.
An official transcript, mark sheet, or final grades sheet from each institution where you have undertaken graduate coursework must be uploaded into the system. If your institution provides you with an official electronic copy of your transcript, you may use this; otherwise you will need to scan and upload a copy of an official paper transcript.

All documents must adhere to the following guidelines:

Documents must be in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format.

Filenames must not include spaces or any of the following characters, as they will not be accepted by the system: < > : " / \ | ? * & ' , ; { } [ ] ( )

To upload a transcript, first click the "Add New" button. Provide the required information in the dialog box and click "Add".

Institution: Provide the formal name of the institution.

Field of Study: You may list here the department name or, if you wish, a more specific sub-discipline.

Type degree earned/expected (e.g., Ph.D.)

Date this degree has been/will be earned (mm/yyyy)

Subject/Title of Thesis/Dissertation

When the information has been received by the system, a button titled "Add transcript" will appear. Click this button to upload the appropriate transcript. You may edit and replace your uploaded documents at any time prior to final submission of your application.

Your oldest transcript should be uploaded first, with successive transcripts uploaded in chronological order. Do not upload transcripts for undergraduate study, unless this information is included on the same transcript as other graduate coursework in the same institution.

If your transcript is not in English, the uploaded transcript must be accompanied by a certified English translation as part of the same document. The translation should be literal and complete. If you have undertaken graduate study at a non-U.S. institution and do not have a transcript but instead were issued a record of study or an official degree verification, you may supply this document in lieu of a transcript.

Transcripts can not be accepted by mail. If CLIR finds an official paper transcript is deemed necessary for any reason, CLIR staff will contact you to request one.

Normalized Field of Study: Select your general field of study from the list provided. If your field is not in the list, select "Other" and enter your field in the space provided below.

Tab 4: References/Certification

PLEASE NOTE: An application is not complete and CAN NOT BE SUBMITTED until three reference letters have been received. Please be sure to give your reference providers plenty of time to compose and submit a letter on your behalf, as CLIR does not accept late applications due to delayed submission of reference letters. CLIR recommends that all reference letters be submitted by November 23, 2012. If you are concerned that a letter will not be received in time to allow you to submit your application, you may wish to request letters from additional sources. The system will accept more than three letters, although applicants are advised that during the review phase, only the first three letters received will be reviewed as part of the application.

Please provide information about your references by clicking the "Add New" button below.

Enter the name, contact information, and affiliation of the person who will submit your reference. Review this information carefully before clicking the "Add" button, as this will automatically save the information to the system. You will not be able to change this information once the "Add" button has been clicked.

Please be aware that hitting the "Enter" key will have the same effect as clicking the "Add" button. Use the "Tab" key, or the mouse, to maneuver through the fields.

Should you enter an incorrect e-mail address for a reference provider, contact CLIR staff at mellon@clir.org to request that the information be changed.

Should you wish to remove a reference provider whose information has already been submitted to the system, contact CLIR staff at mellon@clir.org to request that the information be changed. Be advised that the original reference provider will have already received an automatic e-mail notification of your request, as outlined below.

The reference provider will receive an automatic e-mail from the online application system notifying him/her that you have requested a reference letter. The e-mail notification will be sent immediately upon submission of the reference provider's information (when the "Add" button is clicked). CLIR staff can not recall these messages. Please be sure your reference provider is aware of your request prior to entering his/her information into the application system. Also, although notifications are sent immediately, final delivery is dependent upon the recipient's e-mail system and may take 24-48 hours. Ifyour reference provider has not received the automatic notification within two days, please contact CLIR staff at mellon@clir.org to request that the information be resent.

The reference provider should follow the instructions in the e-mail to complete the reference letter online. All letters must be received by the system before you will be able to submit your application. Be sure that you give your reference provider plenty of notice, allowing him/her adequate time to access the system, compose and upload a letter well prior to the application deadline, leaving yourself enough time to then complete and submit your application.

If your reference provider does not receive, or misplaces, his/her e-mail message containing the instructions for logging into the online system, you may contact us at mellon@clir.org and request that the e-mail be re-sent. Alternatively, you (or your reference provider) may visit the main log-in page for reference providers: https://studentapps.clir.org/apps/index.cfm?action=login.refProviderLogin. Click the "Forgot my password" link, enter the reference provider's e-mail address, and a message containing the log-in information will be sent directly to his/her e-mail. (This message will contain only the log-in information. The reference provider may download a copy of the reference provider guidelines from within the system.)

When a reference letter has been received, the Reference Letter status row for that reference provider will read "Reference letter has been submitted." Applicants will not be able to view reference letters, which are held confidential between CLIR and the reference provider.

Tab 5: Essays

To upload your essays, click on the "Add Essay" button below the question. All documents must be in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format.

You may edit and replace your uploaded documents at any time prior to final submission of your application

All documents must adhere to the following guidelines:

Each document should include the essay title (e.g. "Qualifications"). The title must appear on each page of the document, in either the header or the footer.

Your full name should appear on each page of the document, in either the header or footer.

Pages must be numbered.

Documents must be in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format.

Filenames must not include spaces or any of the following characters, as they will not be accepted by the system: < > : " / \ | ? * & ' , ; { } [ ] ( )

Dissertation Description (maximum length: 5 pages)

Provide a description of your dissertation. How will your proposed dissertation advance scholarship in your field?

If you are applying for a CLIR/Library of Congress Mellon Fellowship, include a section explaining how you propose to use new technologies, sophisticated analysis and/or restoration methods to reveal content and properties of original sources to elicit new interpretations of those materials. How will your dissertation project benefit from the opportunity to interrogate primary sources in this fashion?

Document guidelines for the Dissertation Description:
Note: Failure to adhere to these guidelines will automatically disqualify the application from consideration.

Maximum 5 pages

Text must be in Times New Roman font, 12pt size

The document must be double-spaced

Minimum margins are 1 inch

Your dissertation title must be included at the top of the first page of the document. It is permissible to use a working title.

Applicants are not expected to include bibliographies. You may include footnotes, endnotes, tables, images, etc. at your discretion, but may not exceed the 5 page limit. (Footnotes and endnotes may be single-spaced, and should be in a font no smaller than 10pt size.)

Research Sources and Schedule

Identify the following about your research sources:

each original source repository you intend to use

the location of each

when you plan to visit each

how long you will stay at each

the principal collections you will use within each

The schedule must be in chronological order. If you will be returning to a given repository, it should be listed twice. If the repository you intend to visit has user restrictions in place, and you have been in contact with the staff to make arrangements for your use of the materials, please make a brief note of this fact following your description.

The schedule must follow this basic outline:

Repository name: Repository location
Month scheduled to visit: length of stay
Principal collection #1
Principal collection #2
Principal collection #3...

Example:

Imperial War Museum: London, U.K.
June 2011: Two weeks
N. Appleyard Memoir
A. J. Longley Memoir
Collection of Letters to Lily Briggs, 1926-1965

There is no set page limit for this document, but it should not include information other than that specifically related to your research sources and schedule. It is not expected that applicants will include information other than that requested in this basic outline. However, should there be unusual circumstances you feel the committee needs to know to properly evaluate your proposed research plan, you may include a brief paragraph providing the necessary information.

Applicants may include a timeline and/or documentation related to communication with the archives they propose to visit as an appendix to this document.

Research Goals (maximum length: 1 page)

Provide a brief statement addressing the ways in which your research will do one or more of the following:

use newly available or little studied sources?

make interdisciplinary use of sources?

use sources in innovative, creative ways?

use sources in repositories that cannot provide financial assistance to researchers?

Document guidelines for the Research Goals essay:
Note: Failure to adhere to these guidelines will automatically disqualify the application from consideration.

Maximum 1 page

Text must be in Times New Roman font, 12pt size

The document must be double-spaced

Minimum margins are 1 inch

Qualifications (maximum length: 1 page)

Provide a brief statement describing your qualifications to do the proposed research. This is not intended to take the place of a C.V. (and a C.V. should not be included with this application), but should speak specifically to the applicant's ability to conduct and complete the proposed research.

post-secondary education - institutions, degrees and dates, major and minor fields

level of competency in languages needed for your proposed research

previous experience in research in primary source materials

other relevant achievements and qualifications (e.g., academic honors and awards, previous fellowships, publications, teaching experience, special skills needed for the proposed dissertation)

Document guidelines for the Qualifications essay:
Note: Failure to adhere to these guidelines will automatically disqualify the application from consideration.

Maximum 1 page

Text must be in Times New Roman font, 12pt size

The document must be double-spaced

Minimum margins are 1 inch

Tab 6: Other Information

You must complete the following questions before submitting your application. Do not forget to click "Save Info" before exiting this page.

All fields must be completed.

If a question is not applicable, enter "N/A" into the field.

Please provide your dissertation title (it is permissible to use a working title).

Provide the dates (mm/yyyy) you completed or achieved the following requirements:

course requirements

foreign language requirements

qualifying or comprehensive exams

official approval of your dissertation proposal (to occur no later than April 1, 2013)

All requirements must be completed prior to the proposed fellowship start date. The dissertation proposal must be approved no later than April 1, 2013. If your dissertation proposal will be approved after April 1, 2013, you are not eligible to apply for a CLIR Mellon fellowship this year.

Please indicate the length of time needed to complete your proposed research.
This may be longer than the amount for which fellowship support is requested.

Please indicate the number of months of fellowship support you are requesting (9-12).
Fellowships will not be granted for terms shorter than 9 months or longer than 12.

Please indicate your proposed starting month for research and fellowship support.
Fellowships must start in June, July, August or September 2013. If you do not intend to begin research by September 2013, you are not eligible to apply for a fellowship this year.

Please indicate the date by which you expect to complete your dissertation.

Please provide a statement of any difficulty you foresee in meeting the fellowship requirements to provide a report on the research experience to CLIR and to attend workshops on primary source research before and after the fellowship period.
The pre-fellowship workshop is generally held in mid-May of the year the fellowship is awarded; the post-fellowship meeting is generally in mid-October of the following year. If you are aware of circumstances which may hinder your ability to attend either of these workshops, make a note of them here. Your statement will not affect consideration of your application. If you do not anticipate any difficulties, please enter "N/A" into the field.

Please indicate any other grants or fellowships you have received for dissertation research or for which you are applying.
Receipt of other funding to support your dissertation work outside the proposed tenure of this fellowship, including other Mellon grants, will not render your application ineligible. However, the CLIR Mellon fellowship can not be held concurrent with other grants, awards or fellowships (including awards from your home institution).

Regions of Research
Indicate the regions in which you intend to conduct research during the proposed fellowship tenure. To select more than one region, hold the CTRL key down while clicking the desired choices.