Rubenstein Library Grants & Fellowships

2023-2024 Travel Grant Cycle Information

The Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library provides travel grants of up to $1500 for researchers whose work would benefit from access to the following collections:

• Archive of Documentary Arts
• Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Travel Grants (Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture)
• Harry H. Harkins T’73 Travel Grants for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History
• History of Medicine
• Human Rights Archive
• John Hope Franklin Research Center for African and African American History and Culture
• John W. Hartman Center for Sales, Advertising & Marketing History
• Mary Lily Research Grants (Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture)

Other Grant Opportunities:

• Jewish Studies and the Hebrew Bible Research Fellowships (The Jewish Studies Fellowship has a separate application process and is administered by Rachel Ariel, Librarian for Judaica/Hebraica, with support from the Center for Jewish Studies.)

Timeline

• Deadline for applications will be Friday, February 24, 2023 at 6:00 pm EST.
• Grants will be awarded for travel during May 2023-June 2024.

Eligibility

• Anyone who wishes to use materials from the designated collections for research may apply, including, but not limited to students at any level of education; faculty members; visual and performing artists; writers; filmmakers; public historians; and independent researchers.
• All applicants must be over the age of 18; reside beyond a 100-mile radius of Durham, N.C.; and may not be current Duke students or employees.

Application Materials

• In addition to contact information, the application requires:
  • A Project Proposal (up to 4 pages total) consisting of a narrative description of your project (500 words) and an annotated list of materials you with to use (up to 3 pages).
  • Other Supporting Documentation in the form of a 1-2 page resume, CV, artists' statement, or other supporting documentation that lists or summarizes your relevant experience, education, accomplishments, or work. 
• We recommend using the Word document version to draft your application and proposal.  You will be asked to upload separate PDFs with your Proposal and 2 page support document (CV, resume, or artists' statement).
• Letters of reference or recommendation are no longer required.
• Download a Word document version of the full application for full details.

Potential Projects

Rubenstein Library Research Travel Grants support projects that present creative approaches, including historical research and documentation projects resulting in dissertations, theses publications, exhibitions, educational initiatives, documentary films, or other multimedia products and artistic works. The research topic and collections identified for research must be appropriate to the individual Centers offering travel grants (see Center travel grant pages for details).

Evaluation Criteria 

Applications will be evaluated on how well they meet the following requirements: The majority of the collections identified in the proposal are unique to the Center(s) of application; Research focus clearly matches the Center grant subject(s) focus; Application demonstrates reasonable expectations for budgeting, length of stay, amount of materials to be used, and consultation with RL staff; Research project should render a tangible outcome which contributes to expanding cultural and/or intellectual bodies of knowledge.

Expenses and Reimbursement

Our Research Travel Grants are offered as reimbursement based on receipt documentation after completion of the research visit(s). Grant money may be used for: transportation expenses (including air, train or bus ticket charges; car rental; mileage using a personal vehicle; parking fees); accommodations; meals; and child care. The recipient will receive a check by mail after submission of original receipts and other required documentation. International visitors are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visa for their research travel.