Fellowships
The William P. Clements Center for Southwest Studies welcomes applications for its four residential research fellowships, which provide junior and senior scholars with an essential element for producing successful books: time. As Pauline Yu, former President of the American Council of Learned Societies, once explained: “Scholars need time to write. In the humanities the expression of the idea is the source of its power, and crafting that expression is essential to the process of research.”
Our residential fellowships are for a full academic year (nine months, typically coincidental with SMU’s academic calendar). Competition is open to Ph.D.-holding individuals in any field in the humanities or social sciences conducting research on Texas, the American Southwest (including California in all periods), or the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, as well as comparative projects with at least one foot in the region.
Our fellowships are expressly designed to provide time for junior and senior scholars to bring book-length projects to completion, and as such do not include any teaching responsibilities or obligations. We offer a research and travel allowance in addition to a publication subvention, and we convene a manuscript workshop for each fellow during their time in residence, sessions in which scholars read and critique a pre-circulated draft in order to advise the author about how to make it the best and most influential book possible.
Please note that our fellowships cannot be used to finish a dissertation or to begin a new book project. Moreover, please be advised that fellows are expected to be in residence in Dallas for the duration of the fellowship period, coincident with SMU’s academic calendar (roughly mid-August through mid-May), and in order to participate fully in the intellectual and social life of the Clements Center.
There are four fellowships available:
(1) The Bill & Rita Clements Senior Fellowship for the Study of Southwestern America carries a stipend of $65,000 and is funded by an anonymous donor in memory of Bill & Rita Clements. This senior fellowship supports work on Texas, the Southwest, or the U.S.-Mexico borderlands by an established scholar developing a second (or third &c.) book.
(1) The David J. Weber Fellowship for the Study of Southwestern America carries a stipend of $50,000 and is funded by the late Bill & Rita Clements as well as an anonymous donor in memory of David J. Weber. This fellowship supports work on Texas, the Southwest, or the U.S.-Mexico borderlands by a scholar developing a first book.
(2) The Bill & Rita Clements Fellowships for the Study of Southwestern America carries a stipend of $50,000 and is funded by the late Bill & Rita Clements as well as the late Louis Beecherl. This fellowship supports work on Texas, the Southwest, or the U.S.-Mexico borderlands by two scholars developing first books.
Applications are due Monday, January 8, 2024. Please direct questions or requests for additional information to Assistant Director Ruth Ann Elmore (raelmore@smu.edu).