The Woodson Institute’s Residential Fellowship Program has attracted outstanding scholars in the humanities and social sciences who work on a wide array of topics in African-American and African Studies, as well as related fields. These two-year fellowships—offered at the pre-doctoral and post-doctoral levels—are designed to facilitate the writing of dissertations or manuscripts and provide successful applicants the opportunity to discuss and exchange works-in-progress both with each other and the larger intellectual community of the University. Preference is given to applicants whose research is substantially completed, thus providing them the maximum amount of time to complete their manuscripts within the fellowship term.
Post-doctoral fellows are expected to teach one upper-division seminar each year within the African-American and African Studies Program on a topic chosen in consultation with the Director of Undergraduate Studies. For more information about preparing your application to the Fellowship program, please review the following pages:
Pre-Doctoral Fellowship:
For advanced PhD students completing dissertation projects, the program exposes pre-doctoral fellows to other emerging scholars from Universities across the nation, offering the space, guidance, and intellectual exchange necessary to complete one's research and successfully defend one's dissertation.
Delali Kumavie (Fellowship cohort of 2018-2020) reflects on the pre-doctoral fellowship
Post-Doctoral Fellowship:
Post-doctoral fellows take up residence in the Minor Hall Annex to compose their book manuscripts. These newly minted PhDs also have the opportunity to develop their teaching portfolios by instructing one course per year in the Department of Africana Studies.
Jermaine Scott (Fellowship cohort of 2018 - 2020) discusses the importance of the Woodson's community of fellows
Please visit the pages for the pre- and post-doctoral fellowship program and review the application instructions page for information about important deadlines, application guidelines, review procedures, and frequently asked questions:
- Pre-doctoral residential fellowship
- Post-doctoral residential & teaching fellowship
- Application instructions
The application deadline for the fellowship program is always the same: December 1st at 11:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time). We are unable to review applications submitted after this date.
Please note: due to the large number of applications we receive each year, we are unable to provide feedback for unsuccessful applicants.
Learn more about the Woodson Fellowship program
Browse the list of our Current Fellows, including each fellow's home institution, research project title, and description.
Review the ranks of Woodson Fellowship Alumni who comprise a distinguished group of scholars working in the field of global black studies, many of whom have pioneered new trends in scholarship.
Look back video recordings from our annual "Meet the Fellows" event, where we introduce the University of Virginia community and broader Woodson network to the current fellowship cohort
Many former fellows speak highly about the benefits of the interdisciplinary nature of the program. Most especially, the feedback and commentary provided during the fellowship workshop.