"Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow"

Wesleyan University, founded in 1831, is a diverse, energetic liberal arts community where critical thinking and practical idealism go hand in hand.

Scholars who have received their Ph.D. degree after June 2022 in any field of inquiry in the humanities or humanistic social sciences – broadly conceived – are invited to apply for a postdoctoral fellowship, made possible through a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation to Wesleyan University.

The purpose of this Fellowship is to provide scholars who have recently completed their Ph.D.’s with free time to further their own work in a cross-disciplinary setting, and to associate them with a distinguished faculty.

Two Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows will be appointed to the Wesleyan University Center for the Humanities for the academic years 2026-2027 and 2027-2028, and will be awarded a stipend of $70,000 (with an additional $3,000 of research funding). Each will teach a one-semester undergraduate course; participate in the collegial life of the Center for the Humanities, which sponsors conferences, lectures, and colloquia; and give one public lecture. The Fellows will be provided with an office at the Center for the Humanities, and will be expected to work there on weekdays while the university is in session, and to reside in Middletown, CT.

Special Instructions to Applicants:

You will be asked to upload electronic versions of the items we require, which are (1) a cover letter of application, including a statement of current research interests and a brief proposal for a one-semester undergraduate course, indicating how they relate to the Center for the Humanities’ organizing theme for academic year 2026-27, (2) a full curriculum vitae, (3) a writing sample of published work, extracts from the dissertation, or drafts of work in progress (not to exceed 25 pages). Please apply at: https://wesleyan.wd5.myworkdayjobs.com/careers.

More information on the Center’s organizing theme can be found here: https://www.wesleyan.edu/humanities/Future%20Themes%20.html

In the cover letter, applicants should describe how they will embrace the college's commitment to fostering an inclusive community. You will also be asked to provide the email addresses of three references from whom we may obtain confidential letters of recommendation (please double-check the accuracy of the email addresses of the references you name to ensure that you have the most up-to-date email addresses for each one). After you have submitted all of the required documents, you will see a confirmation number. At that point, each of the three references whose email address you provided will receive an automatically-generated email requesting a letter of reference for you.

Minimum Qualifications: Candidates do not need to have their PhD in hand at the time of application, but will need to have it by June 30, 2026.

Additional Information: We regret that we cannot reply to individual inquiries concerning the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship Program at Wesleyan’s Center for the Humanities. All information that applicants may need is available at this website.

There is no official application form. Interviews will be held via Zoom during late February 2026 or early March 2026.

Note for Interfolio users:

We gladly accept letters of recommendation from Interfolio. From your Interfolio account, please use the “web delivery” method to upload your letters directly to our online application.

Work Location: On Campus

All offers to external applicants are contingent on the candidate’s completion of a pre-employment background check screening to the satisfaction of Wesleyan University.