Summary

The New York Public Library is pleased to offer the Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Fellowship to support advanced research on The New York Public Library’s holdings of materials from the Arab world, Africa, Turkey, Iran, South Asia, Central Asia, and their diasporas in the United States. Fellowships are open to Ph.D. candidates, post-doctoral scholars, and independent researchers with projects that would significantly benefit from research drawing on collections accessible at The New York Public Library. Projects requiring access to original materials including manuscripts, archives, books, photographs, prints, maps, newspapers, and journals will be given preference, but all worthy projects will be considered. Applicants studying the humanities as well as those working in the visual, auditory/performing, and literary arts are welcome to apply.

Established with the generous support of Mahnaz Ispahani Bartos and Adam Bartos, the Fellowship Program will support one fellow annually for three months with a stipend of $25,000. Each fellow will have full access to the Library’s collections and staff, as well as a dedicated place to work in the Vartan Gregorian Center for Research in the Humanities.

Key Details

Award: $25,000 stipend

Award Period: 3 months (January–June 2027)

Deadline: August 3, 2026 (11:59 PM ET)

Eligibility

The Middle Eastern and Islamic Studies Fellowship is open to individuals with the legal right to work in the United States. Applicants who would require sponsorship for an employment visa should indicate this on their application form.

Selection Criteria:

Applications will be reviewed by  an external selection committee of expert scholars, librarians, curators, and creatives who will consider the following criteria:

• Need for research holdings of The New York Public Library
• Uniqueness of materials and innovative uses of material
• Quality of the project plan as it relates to the size and scope of materials to be accessed
• Impact this grant might have on the applicant’s project or career

About

The New York Public Library has been an essential provider of free books, information, ideas, and education for all New Yorkers for more than 125 years. Founded in 1895, NYPL is the nation’s largest public library system, featuring 92 locations across the Bronx, Manhattan, and Staten Island, including our world-renowned research centers at the Stephen A. Schwarzman Building, the Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture, and The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Together with our circulating branches, including the all-new Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library (SNFL), the Library provides an extraordinary richness of resources and opportunities available to all.

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