Rubenstein Library Grants & Fellowships

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

• Archive of Documentary Arts
• Doris Duke Foundation Travel Grants
• Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick Travel Grants (Sallie Bingham Center for Women's History and Culture)
• 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.)
• Harry H. Harkins T'73 Travel Grants for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender History was offered from 2018-2024 and is currently on hiatus.

Timeline

• A Travel Grant Information Session was held on Wednesday, January 15, 2025 2-3 PM EST.  If you were unable to attend, a recording and presenation slides are available here.
• Deadline for applications will be Friday, February 28, 2025.
• Grants will be awarded for travel during May 2025-June 2026.

Eligibility

• Rubenstein Library travel grants are meant to support travel to the library to view materials in-person.  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 contace 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 wish 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 are no longer required.
• Download a Word document of the Grant Application and Project Proposal template to draft your application prior to submission.
• For more information on the application process see the recording of our travel grant information session here.
• Apply Now.

Potential Projects

Rubenstein Library Research Travel Grants support projects that present creative approaches, including historical research and documentation projects resulting in:

• Dissertations, theses, and publications
• Exhibitions
• Educational initiatives
• Documentary films, or other multimedia products and artistic works

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.
• 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).

Expenses and Reimbursement

Our Research Travel Grants are paid as reimbursement based on receipt documentation for personal expenses after completion of the research visit(s). The travel grant does NOT cover fuel for a personal or rental vehicle and scanning and reproduction requests.  The recipient will receive a check by mail or direct deposit after submission of original receipts and other required documentation. International visitors are responsible for obtaining the appropriate visa for their research travel to the Rubenstein Library . 

Travel grants will reimburse:

• Transportation expenses (including air, train or bus ticket charges)
• Car rental, personal vehicle mileage, parking fees, ride share/taxi services
• Accommodations
• Meals
• Child care