SHAFR awards four prestigious grants to help graduate students defray dissertation research expenses: the Stuart L. Bernath Dissertation Research Grant, the W. Stull Holt Dissertation Fellowship, the Lawrence Gelfand - Armin Rappaport - Walter LaFeber Dissertation Fellowship, and the Samuel Flagg Bemis Dissertation Research Grants. These awards are announced formally in January and recipients are recognized at the annual SHAFR conference in June.
Membership in SHAFR is required.
Procedures & Eligibility
Self-nominations are expected. Applicants are automatically considered for all four available grants listed below and must be actively working on a dissertation dealing with some aspect of U.S. foreign relations history.
Within eight months of receiving an award, each successful applicant must file a brief report on how the funds were spent, with the SHAFR Business Office. Such reports will be considered for publication in Passport.
Available Awards
The Bernath Dissertation Grant
Intended to help graduate students defray expenses encountered in the writing of their dissertations.
Up to $4,000
The W. Stull Holt Dissertation Fellowship
Intended to defray the costs of travel necessary to conduct research on a significant dissertation project.
Up to $4,000
Gelfand - Rappaport - LaFeber Fellowship
Established to honor Lawrence Gelfand (founding member and former SHAFR president), Armin Rappaport (founding editor of Diplomatic History), and Walter LaFeber (former president of SHAFR), this fellowship is intended to defray the costs of dissertation research travel.
Up to $4,000
Samuel Flagg Bemis Research Grants
Intended to promote dissertation research by graduate students. A limited number of grants of varying amounts will be awarded annually to help defray the costs of domestic or international travel necessary to conduct research on significant scholarly projects.
Generally up to $2,000
Submission Procedures
To apply, please follow the submission guidelines outlined below.
2024Carlotta Wright de la Cal, University of California, Berkeley
2023Evan Bonney, SciencesPo Paris
2022Ayelet Marron, Rutgers University
2021Jilene Chua, Johns Hopkins University
2020Rong Aries Li, Rutgers University
The 2010s
2019Vivien Chang, University of Virginia
2018Amna Qayyum, Princeton University
2017Alvita Akiboh, Northwestern University
2016Michael B. de Groot, University of Virginia
2015Eva-Maria Muschik, New York University
2014Nguyet Nguyen, American University
2013Teishan Latner, University of California, Irvine
2012Rebecca Herman, University of California, Berkeley
2011Sarah Miller-Davenport, University of Chicago
2010Kevin Arlyck, New York University
The 2000s
2009Christopher Dietrich, University of Texas at Austin
2008Jennifer Miller, University of Wisconsin-Madison
2007Blair Woodard, University of New Mexico
2006Peter Shulman, MIT; Robert McGreevey, Brandeis University
2005Jessica Chapman, University of California, Santa Barbara
2004Meredith Oyen, Georgetown University
2003Adam Howard, University of Florida
2002Larry Grubbs, University of South Carolina
2001Hiroshi Kitamura, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Clea Bunch, University of Arkansas
2000Joseph Henning, American University
The 1990s
1999E. Kopelman Borgwardt, Stanford University; Deborah Kisatsky, University of Connecticut
1998Max Friedman, University of California, Berkeley
1997D'Arcy M. Brissman, Duke University
1996David Fitzsimons, University of Michigan
1995Amy L. S. Staples, The Ohio State University
1994Delia Pergande, University of Kentucky
1993R. Tyler Priest, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Christian Ostermann, University of Cologne
1992Shannon Smith, Cornell University
1991Eileen Scully, Georgetown University
1990David McFadden, University of California, Berkeley
The 1980s
1989Thomas Zeiler, University of Massachusetts-Amherst; Russel Van Wyk, Kent State University
1988Elizabeth Cobbs, Stanford University; Madhu Bhalla, Queens University
1987Janet M. Manson; Thomas M. Gaskin; W. Michael Weis; Michael Wala
1986Valdinia C. Winn; Walter Hixson
1985John Nielson
W. Stull Holt Fellowship Winners
The 2020s
2026Alexander Insley, University of Missouri
2025Shelby Jones, Purdue University
2024Oliver Lazarus, Harvard University
2023Andrew Klein, University of California, Los Angeles
2022Graeme Mack, University of California, San Diego
2021Miriam Lipton, Oregon State University
2020Ji Soo Hong, Brown University
The 2010s
2019Yi Lu, Harvard University
2018Jonathan Ng, Northwestern University
2017Nguyet Nguyen, American University
2016Cindy Ewing, Yale University
2015Ryan Archibald, University of Washington
2014Zach Fredman, Boston University
2013Wen-Qing Ngoei, Northwestern University
2012Alexander Noonan, Boston College
2011Stephen Macekura, University of Virginia
2010Lauren Beth Hirshberg, University of Michigan
The 2000s
2009Christopher Dietrich, University of Texas at Austin
2008Ryan Irwin, The Ohio State University
2007Sudeepto Ani Mukherji, Brown University
2006Kate Burlingham, Rutgers University
2005Keri Lewis, University of New Hampshire; Jongnam Na, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
2004David Snyder
2003Jason Colby, Cornell University
2002Erez Manela, Yale University; Daniel Michael
2001Mary Montgomery
2000Jason Parker, University of Florida; Jeffrey Engel, University of Wisconsin-Madison
The 1990s
1999Michael Donoghue; Gregg Brazinsky; Carol Chin
1998Christopher Endy; Richard Wiggers; Xiaodong Wang
1997Max Paul Friedman, University of California, Berkeley
1996Philip E. Catton
1995John J. Dwyer
1994Christian Ostermann, University of Cologne
1993Darlene Rivas, Vanderbilt University
1992Robert K. Brigham, University of Kentucky
1991Kyle Longley, University of Kentucky
1990Katherine A. S. Siegel, University of California, Santa Barbara
The 1980s
1989Joseph Bedford
Gelfand-Rappaport-LaFeber Winners
The 2020s
2026Ryan Metz, The Ohio State University
2025Shelby Jones, Purdue University
2024Jeffrey Lamson, Northeastern University
2023Brian McNamara, Temple University
2022Eri Kitada, Rutgers University
2021Clare Richardson, Freie Universität Berlin
2020Sarah Sklaw, New York University
The 2010s
2019Daniel Chardell, Harvard University
2018Thomas Jamison, Harvard University
2017Rachel Steely, Harvard University
2016Evan C. Rothera, Penn State University
2015David Reid, Rutgers University
2014Heidi M. Krajewski, Tulane University
2013R. Joseph Parrott, University of Texas at Austin
2012Lauren F. Turek, University of Virginia
2011Thomas Westerman, University of Connecticut
2010Stefanie Bator, Northwestern University
The 2000s
2009Candace Sobers, University of Toronto
2008Min Song
2007Sarah Manekin, University of Pennsylvania
2006Heather Dichter, University of Toronto
2005Joey S.R. Long, University of Cambridge
2004Susan Haskell
Samuel Flagg Bemis Grants Winners
The 2020s
2026Rosie Click; Lucas de Souza Martins; Liye Hong; Joseph Johnson; Zachary Tayler; Yixin Tian; James Spencer Tompkins; Jieon Yoo
2025 Nicholas Allen; Emma Herman; Michael McGalliard; Issay Matsumoto; Rashida Shafiq; Alexandra Southgate; Jack Werner; Yuan Yan
2024 Shaffer Bonewell; Robert Ferguson; Benjamin Gladstone; Janna Haider; Minseok Jang; Dante LaRiccia; Sean Raming; Sarah Sears; Ann Ngoc Tran; Casey VanSise
2023 Graydon Dennison; Kaitlin Findlay; Syrus Jin; Damanpreet Pelia; A. J. Perez; Sam Rogers; Boyd Ruamcharoen; Richard Sakamoto-Pugh; Rohan Niraj Shah; Kaitlin Simpson
2022 Kimberly Beaudreau; Amy Fallas; Dexter Fergie; Christopher Hulshof; Muhammed Cihad Kubat; Miriam Pensack; Emily Sneff; Joshua Stern; Adam Stone; Shang Yasuda
2021 Nathan Ellstrand; James Fortuna; Elizabeth Hameeteman; Nada Khalifa; Robert Konkel; Frances Martin; Sara Meiners; Steven Rodriguez; Amit Sadan; Megan Streit
2019 Marino Auffant; Robert Bell; Amanda Joyce Hall; Brendan A. Collins Jordan; Harrouna Malgouri; An Thuy Nguyen; Minami Nishioka; Kent Weber; Ida Yalzadeh
2018 Miles Culpepper; Susmita Das; Ruodi Duan; Koji Ito; Sejoo Kim; Ruth Lawlor; John Perry; Kyle Shybunko; Amanda Waterhouse; Brandon Kirk Williams
2017 Turgay Akbaba; Ashley Black; Rachel Bunker; Henry Gorman; Fumi Inoue; Robert Larson; Erik Moore; Heidi Morefield; Kaete M. O’Connell; Aileen Teague; Yuan Yi
2016 Noaquia Callahan; Alexandra Tejblum Evans; Cody James Foster; Michael Franczak; Chad D. Frazier; Nathaniel George; Michael Limberg; Jessica Malitoris; Kazushi Minami; Rachel Grace Newman; Loan C. Pham; Mark Sanchez; Keenan J. Shimko; Allison Wells; Silke Zoller
