Fellowships & Grants

Marilyn Blatt Young Dissertation Completion Fellowship

SHAFR will make one year-long award in the amount of $25,000 each, to support the writing and completion of the doctoral dissertation in each academic year. This highly competitive fellowship will support the most promising doctoral candidates in the final phase of completing their dissertations.

Annual Deadline: 1 April

Graduate Dissertation Research Grants

Annual Deadline: 15 October

Applicants are automatically considered for all four grants and must be actively working on dissertations dealing with some aspect of U.S. foreign relations history. These awards are announced formally at the SHAFR luncheon held during the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in January.

The Stuart L. Bernath Dissertation Research Grant
The Bernath Dissertation Grant of up to $4,000 is intended to help graduate students defray expenses encountered in the writing of their dissertations.

The W. Stull Holt Dissertation Fellowship
The W. Stull Holt Dissertation Fellowship of up to $4,000 is intended to defray the costs of travel necessary to conduct research on a significant dissertation project.

The Lawrence Gelfand - Armin Rappaport - Walter LaFeber Dissertation Fellowship
SHAFR established this fellowship to honor Lawrence Gelfand, founding member and former SHAFR president; Armin Rappaport, founding editor of Diplomatic History; and Walter LaFeber, former president of SHAFR. The Gelfand-Rappaport-LaFeber Fellowship of up to $4,000 is intended to defray the costs of dissertation research travel.

Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Research Grants
The Samuel F. Bemis Research Grants are intended to promote dissertation research by graduate students.  A limited number of grants of varying amounts (generally, up to $2,000) will be awarded annually to help defray the costs of domestic or international travel necessary to conduct research on significant scholarly projects. 

The Michael J. Hogan Foreign Language Fellowship

Annual Deadline: 15 October

Applicants must be graduate students researching some aspect of U.S. foreign relations history.  This award is announced formally at the SHAFR luncheon held during the annual meeting of the American Historical Association in January.

The Michael J. Hogan Foreign Language Fellowship was established to honor Michael J. Hogan, long-time editor of Diplomatic History. The Hogan Fellowship of up to $4,000 is intended to promote research in foreign language sources by graduate students. The fellowship is intended to defray the costs of studying foreign languages needed for research, or for the travel costs associated with research in foreign language archives.  Given current travel restrictions, these funds can be used for online language learning programs.  The award is announced formally at the SHAFR luncheon held during the annual meeting of the American Historical Association. Applicants must be graduate students researching some aspect of U.S. foreign relations history.

William Appleman Williams Emerging Scholar Research Grants

Annual Deadline: 15 October

The William Appleman Williams Emerging Scholar Research Grants are intended to promote scholarly research in U.S. foreign relations by members who are within six year of the Ph.D. Grants are limited to scholars working on the first research monograph.  A limited number of grants of varying amounts (generally, up to $2,000) will be awarded annually to help defray the costs of domestic or international travel necessary to conduct research on significant scholarly projects.  The award is announced formally at the SHAFR luncheon held during the annual meeting of the American Historical Association.

The Myrna F. Bernath Fellowship

Annual Deadline: 15 October

The Myrna F. Bernath Fellowship was originally established by the Bernath family and SHAFR Council in 1990 to promote scholarship in U.S. foreign relations history by women. The award committee now invites applications from women, nonbinary, and/or trans scholars.  The Myrna Bernath Fellowship of up to $2,500 is intended to defray the costs of scholarly research by women. It is awarded biannually (in odd years) and announced at the SHAFR conference. Applications are welcomed from scholars at U.S. universities as well as those abroad who wish to do research in the United States. Preference will be given to graduate students and those within five years of completion of their PhDs.