Career Enhancement Fellowship
The Career Enhancement Fellows are outstanding junior faculty whose work broadens the range of perspectives and understandings offered on college campuses and creates opportunities for crucial new scholarly voices to be heard in disciplines and institutions.
This award is funded by The Mellon Foundation.
INTRODUCTION
About the Fellowship
First administered at C&S in 2001, the Career Enhancement Fellowship has supported more than 400 junior faculty members, creating a robust network of scholars committed to engagement and scholarship in core fields in the arts and humanities. Fellows have gone on to serve in administrative and leadership roles, receive high honors like MacArthur Fellowships, and teach new generations of students.
Fellows receive stipends up to $35,000, funding for travel and research, and attend a retreat to connect with other scholars and mentors.
The Challenge
A need for more scholarly voices to be heard in the humanities and institutions.
The Fellows
235 Fellows have gained tenure, 44 Fellows have been promoted to full professor, and at least 13 hold joint academic and administrative positions as deans, provosts, and Vice Presidents.
The Impact
Young adults have increased access to multiple perspectives and deepen their understanding of people of all backgrounds.
WHY APPLY?
Benefits of Fellowship
Fellows are committed to campus engagement and innovative research in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Through the program, Fellows build an academic community and system of support as they pursue careers as university faculty and administrators.
- Dedicated time, financial support, and resources—including stipends up to $35,000 and research/travel funding—to advance your scholarship and strengthen your academic trajectory.
- A powerful professional network of more than 400 Fellows who continue to shape the arts and humanities through research, teaching, leadership, and public engagement.
- Mentorship and community through retreats and ongoing peer connections that offer guidance, collaboration, and support during key stages of your career.
- A proven pathway to advancement, with many Fellows achieving tenure, full professorships, and influential academic and administrative roles.
- Greater impact on students and the field, as you and other Fellows’ work broadens perspectives on campus and helps bring new voices into the humanities.
Award & Selection Details
Award Information
The Fellow’s institution is expected to supplement the Career Enhancement Fellowship stipend so that the Fellow receives his/her academic salary. Additionally, the Fellow’s institution is expected to provide yearly health and benefits coverage.
The award cannot be transferred to another institution. It will be sent to the institution that the applicant indicates when applying for the Career Enhancement Fellowship.
Who can apply?
- Junior faculty with a demonstrated commitment to campus engagement and innovative research.
- While all faculty members who meet the below required criteria may apply, those who have been Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows are strongly encouraged to do so.
Required Criteria:
- At the time of application, considered by your institution to be in the third year of the tenure-track teaching appointment (the award is distributed in the fourth year of the tenure track);
- Teaching in one of the designated fields (see fields here), although interdisciplinary work will also be considered;
- Completed no more than two years on the tenure track at another institution prior to joining your current institution;
- Ability to accept the Career Enhancement Fellowship in the upcoming academic year. Please note that the Fellowship must be continuous; and
- Applicants must be U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the United States as of October 2024 (include copy of green card if a permanent resident).
- Eligible fields include: Humanities: Area/Cultural/Ethnic/Gender Studies, Art History, Classics, English, Film, Cinema and Media Studies (theoretical focus), Musicology, Ethnomusicology and Music Theory, Foreign Languages and Literatures, History, Linguistics, Literature, Performance Studies (theoretical focus), Philosophy and Political Theory, Religion and Theology, Theater (theoretical focus) | Social Sciences: Anthropology and Archaeology, Demography, Sociology, Geography and Population Studies.
Meet Ben Vinson III
“Now you have the beginnings of a critical mass [of faculty] …who have really been nurtured and networked through this program. I wouldn’t even be in the academy if it weren’t for these programs and I certainly wouldn’t have thrived.”
Ben Vinson III
President, Howard University - 2001 Fellow
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is eligible to apply?
Junior faculty working in the humanities or social sciences who demonstrate strong scholarship and a deep commitment to campus leadership and community-building.
What does the award provide?
The award offers financial support and recognition to help emerging faculty balance research, teaching, mentoring, and service as they progress toward tenure.
What makes me a competitive candidate?
Selectors prioritize candidates whose scholarship relates to democracy, society, or education in the Americas—and who actively strengthen their campus community through leadership and service.
Have program or eligibility questions?
We’re here to help. Email us anytime at careerenhance@citizensandscholars.org.
Stay in the Know
Join our mailing list to get Fellowship Alerts.
