Application Guidelines

Contents

See Also

The Application Form

To access the online application form, click here >>

Section 1: General Information

Before beginning the application process, please review the Application Guidelines.

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 cannot be accepted for consideration by CLIR.

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.

Once you have submitted your application, it can no longer be edited or revised. Please ensure that all your information is correct before you click “Submit.”

Contact Information
Provide your contact information as requested. Under "University" provide the formal name of the institution where you are currently enrolled.

Section 2: Eligibility Information

Complete all questions below to determine whether you are eligible to apply for this award.

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, 2014, official approval of your dissertation proposal?

• All applicants must receive formal approval of their dissertation proposals by no later than April 1, 2014. Those who will receive approval after April 1, 2014 (including those who will receive approval later in the month of April) are not eligible to apply for a 2014 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 begin research as early as June 1 and no later than September 1, 2014.

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.

Section 3: Academic Information

Please include information for all graduate study you have undertaken, including coursework taken where no degree was granted. Transcripts for all study listed here must uploaded in Adobe Portable Document (PDF) format.

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 IF it is not a protected document; otherwise you will need to scan and upload a copy of an official paper transcript.

All documents must adhere to the following guidelines:

• Documents should not have any sort of protection (e.g. passwords, expiration dates, restricted print functionality, etc.). Many institutions do issue transcripts in PDF format with protection that can make them difficult or impossible for CLIR staff and program reviewers to access. Please ensure that the document you are uploading is protection-free. CLIR will accept copies of official electronic transcripts, even if they have a watermark such as COPY.
• 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 two or more transcripts, click the "add" button underneath the existing entry.

• 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/dd/yyyy): If you do not know the exact date, you may use the first day of the month in which you expect to receive, or did receive, your degree.
• Subject/Title of Thesis/Dissertation

Your most recent transcript should be uploaded first, with successive transcripts uploaded in reverse 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 you have obtained more than one degree at a given institution, you do not need to upload the transcript more than once. Simply indicate the degrees earned/expected in the " Type degree earned/expected" field (e.g. "MA / PhD") and, in the date field, use the date of the most recent degree.

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.

Field of Study: Please indicate your current field of study. If none of the fields indicated serve as an approximate match, you may select "Other" and enter your field in the box below.

Section 4: 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?

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 (no maximum length, but must follow format below)

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 applicants should not include information other than that requested in this basic outline. 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 inchcpn

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 requirements and goals of this fellowship program and your 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

Section 5: Other Information

You must complete the following questions before submitting your application.

• 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, 2014)

All requirements must be completed prior to the proposed fellowship start date. The dissertation proposal must be approved no later than April 1, 2014. If your dissertation proposal will be approved after April 1, 2014, you are not eligible to apply for a CLIR Mellon fellowship this year.

Please indicate the length of time needed to complete your dissertation 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 2014. If you do not intend to begin research by September 2014, you are not eligible to apply for a fellowship this year.

Please indicate the date by which you expect to complete your dissertation (mm/dd/yyyy).
CLIR realizes and expects that date will represent a good-faith estimate on your part, based on your currently planned schedule. If you do not yet have an exact date in mind, you may simply use the first day of the month in 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 held in mid-May of the year the fellowship is awarded; the post-fellowship meeting is 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 region(s) in which you intend to conduct research during the proposed fellowship tenure.

Section 6: References

IMPORTANT NOTES:

• Be sure to complete and save your contact information on the application form before you send requests to your letter writers - otherwise they won't know who you are.
• An application is not complete 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. The deadline for submission of reference letters is 5:00 pm Eastern time on November 15, 2013. If you are concerned that a letter will not be received by the deadline, 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.

 

Each applicant is required to provide three letters of recommendation. An application will not be considered complete unless three letters have been received by the application deadline, even if all the required applicant information has been provided and the application form has been submitted.

To enter information for your reference providers, you must first save your form as a draft by clicking “Save Draft” at the bottom of the application screen. Once your application has been saved, access the menu screen by clicking "Return to Menu" at either the top or bottom of the page. From the menu screen select "Add or Edit Letters of Recommendation" to proceed.

• Enter the requested information for the person who will submit your reference.


• After entering the information, you may either send an email request immediately or save the information in the system and return at a later time to send the email request (see below). To send the request, click to save the entry by selecting either either "Save & Exit" or "Save & Add Another." You will now be given an opportunity to add a personalized message to the standard request, should you wish to do so; this text will appear at the top of the message when it is sent to your reference provider. Click "Send" to then send the message.


• If you would prefer NOT to send the reference request immediately for any reason, uncheck the "Send the recommendation request when I press Save (below)" checkbox and then click either "Save & Exit" or "Save & Add Another" as appropriate. When you are ready to send the request, return to this screen and click the "Resend Request" button associated with the person's entry.


• Should you enter an incorrect e-mail address or other information for a reference provider, you can return and update the information at any time prior to the person's submission of their letter by editing the field in question and clicking "Save Changes."

Once you have entered the information and saved it, unless the "Send the recommendation request when I press Save (below)" checkbox is unchecked, the reference provider will immediately be sent an automatic e-mail from the online application system notifying him/her that you have requested a reference letter. 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. If your reference provider has not received the automatic notification within two days, you may wish to return to the system and resend the request (which can be done by clicking the "Resend Request" button found in the "Status" line under the person's entry).




The reference provider should follow the instructions in the e-mail to complete the reference letter online. 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 prior to the application deadline.

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 resend the information at any time by returning to the system and resending the request (this can be done by clicking the "Resend Request" button under to the person's entry). If you believe that security settings at the reference provider's institution may be preventing delivery of the automated message, contact us at mellon@clir.org to request that the email be sent manually.

When a reference letter has been received, the Status line for that reference provider will change to read "This person has responded to your recommendation request and no further changes to the information above can be made at this time." Applicants will not be able to view reference letters, which are held confidential between CLIR and the reference provider.