Humanities postdocs 2007-2008

Back to Academic Job Search

Note: These postdocs begin in 2008.

Suggestions for Syntax, etc.:
 * 1) Please place new fellowship entries in alphabetical order.  Note that "University of X" should be alphabetized by U as first sort, and X as second sort within the U listings.
 * 2) Please use 3 equal signs both before AND after the title of the fellowship.
 * 3) Please include the deadline and a web link to the ad/website; PLEASE follow the format of other entries.
 * 4) For logging comments or updates, please begin your entry with an asterisk (*) to create a bullet point.  Each entry should have a separate line.
 * 5) For substantive comments or updates about status, interaction, etc., please include the date at the beginning of your entry so that users can scan the info quickly for new entries.
 * 6) If you wish to ask a question about a dated log entry, or otherwise indent an entry, use the colon  plus the asterisk to indent and bullet your (Question) entry underneath the relevant log entry.
 * 7) Note that pressing return on your keyboard is not sufficient to create a line break.  You can use list formatting symbols, such as the asterisk or colon listed above, or the number sign (#) to create a numbered list, depending on what formatting you want to use.  You can also manually create a simple hard line break by using   .  Otherwise, you can simply press return twice to create a line break with double spacing.

Fellowship Listings
PLEASE DON'T DELETE ENTRIES FROM THIS PAGE!!! (even with the purpose of 'cleaning up') (x8) (further discussion moved to bottom)

AAUW American Fellowships
(Deadline: 11/15/2007, information)


 * I phoned on 3/22, requesting any available information and was told, "Everyone's calling with that question right now. We'll tell you--whether you get it or not--on April 15th." No answer as to how announcements are made (email or snail) just that it will definitely happen on the 15th.
 * 3/23: Last year, they posted the list of successful applicants on the website. I can't remember if they sent out an email or not.
 * 3/25: last year I found out about mine on 4/15 via that list on the website, and then days later received a letter in the mail.
 * 4/14: Silly and neurotic question: does anyone know when exactly this will be posted? First thing in the AM, or...?
 * 4/14: I second that "silly and neurotic" question, being both silly and neurotic myself. Anyone planning to check the AAUW site at MIDNIGHT tonight?
 * 4/14: Original silly neurotic here: totally (did I mention I'm also a loser?), or at least I plan to. And to the q. below: I'm hoping that once we check the site, the list should be obvious. But who knows? Good luck to us all.
 * 4/14: I find the site a bit confusing. Anyone know *where* on the site the list will be posted?

4/14: I called AAUW this afternoon, and the person I spoke to said that the results would be posted this Wednesday afternoon and that letters would be mailed this week as well. I'm not sure where the results will be posted on the AAUW site, but if you click on "American Fellowships," I think there's another link for "recent recipients."

4/14: Last year, there was a very obvious link (maybe even on the home page?), but they've redesigned the page since then... It wasn't posted until 2 p.m. (!) last year, which meant I was forced to check the page every 12 seconds. Approximately.

4/15: List is up: http://www.aauw.org/education/index.cfm follow link for 2008-09 F&G Selections (it's a PDF). Congrats to all the winners!

4/15: It's not up yet. The only info is from previous years. Thanks for the unnecessary panic the previous post induced. AAUW says they'll post a new link from the Fellowships/Grants page later today. Good luck to all and let's take a deep breath.
 * 4/15: Strangely, it was up earlier--I saw it after seeing the previous post--and then they removed it for some reason. It's now back again. I knew a few hours ago I did not get it. Apparently, they did post it first thing in the morning.

4/15: It is up; the pdf is dated April 15, 2008. Congrats to the winners! http://www.aauw.org/education/fga/fellowships_grants/upload/2008_09-Award-list-for-web.pdf

4/19: Does anyone know if alternates are being notified via snail mail or email? Thanks!

4/22: Alternates are being notified by email and by mail. (The email arrived first on 4/21.)

ACLS Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowship

 * 2/1: To the person looking for info on the predoc fellowship: Last year, the Diss Completion fellowship offer came in mid-April.


 * 3/13/08: Re: the ACLS Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowship, the office has indicated that letters will go out in approximately two weeks by mail.


 * 3/26/08: Received rejection letter for Dissertation Completion Fellowship by mail.


 * 3/27/08: Nothing in the mail today for me -- arghhh!!


 * 3/27/08: Me neither. Does anyone know approx. how many applicants they had this year?


 * On a related wiki, someone wrote that their letter indicated 899 applications for 65 awards


 * 3/27/08: Yikes.


 * 3/27/08: Judging from last year's pre-doc wiki, there's reason to think that winners are e-mailed. Combined with the independently plausible assumption that they e-mail winners at the same time as, or possibly before, they send out the letters, the conclusion is that if you've heard nothing (like me) then you haven't won. Hopefully one of the premises is wrong.


 * 3/27/08: Yep.  Last year ACLS said they gave out 1 Dissertation Completion Award award for every 17.5 apps (or something like that).


 * 3/27/08: Yes, the winners were emailed last year, though the snail-mail letter arrived the same day. (There were 1143 apps last year.)


 * 3/27/08: As a winner if last year's Mellon/ACLS DCF award, I can confirm that the notification came via email (but not until 4/17), followed up with an official award package in the mail. I can also confirm that there were more than 1,100 applicants for 65 awards.


 * 3/27/08: Received an email today that I have been awarded a fellowship.


 * 3/27/08: I can confirm that alternate emails are also going out.


 * 3/27/08: Congratulations to the winners!


 * 3/27/08: After four fellowship rejections, very curious what a successful application looks like....


 * 3/27/08: A successful application looks much like an unsuccessful one, I think. There are lots of things you can do to make your proposal stronger but, in the end, it seems to me that luck plays a big role. Maybe your reader isn't interested in, say, the history of the appletini? Or maybe they were cranky and tired by time they got to your app at the bottom of the pack? Try not to take it too hard (yeah, right, I know) -- but I certainly got many rejection letters before I landed a fellowship. Think of this as good practice for the epic rejection you'll encounter on the job market. (I'm at 25 rejections and counting... well, actually, I stopped counting at 25.)


 * 3/27/08: Thanks for the kind words, made my day!


 * 3/28/08: Congrats to the winners. As an alternate, I am just wondering if there is a specific date by which successful applicants must accept or decline the award. Thanks!


 * As an alternate last year, I heard that I received the award at the very beginning of June, so it can take awhile.


 * 3/28/08: I just want to second what Mr./Ms. 25-Rejections, above, has written. I was selected for this fellowship this year, but it is nearly the ONLY thing I managed to land out of a pile of applications for TT, VAP and postdoc positions. I'm coming from a top-ten R1 and, aside from one flyout for a postdoc, I received rejections for everything to which I applied. This whole process has really imposed upon me the lesson that this is mostly a game of chance rather than logic.


 * I'll second the similarities between a successful and unsuccessful application. I got the award last year with the same application that did not get me anywhere with a bunch of other grants. Last year was my second year of grant writing trials, the first year I came up empty. It may seem like banal advice, but I do believe that with enough applications, your number will eventually come up.

4/03: any other alternates out there? Have your heard anything or received anything in the mail?
 * 4/04: I am also an alternate and have yet to receive anything but the brief email!

4/03: Have any successful applicants received the official award letter (as opposed to the email) yet? Does anyone who won last year remember about how long it took to get the (previously mentioned) official award package? [I haven't yet received mine. I keep checking the mailbox each day with great anticipation, but nothing yet.]
 * 4/03: Because I am a big huge dork, I still have last year's envelope. It's postmarked April 17th, and they sent the email on the 16th.


 * 4/5/08: Am also an alternate and emailed for further information, but unfortunately received no response…yet.
 * Thanks! Let us know if you hear anything, please.


 * 4/10/08: Karen Mathews wrote back and said that she couldn't say how many alternates there were, but that it was a very short list.  Because this is the second year, they aren't able to predict very well the likelihood of alternates receiving the award, but last year they were able to go through quite a bit of their alternate list.  They will mail the official letters hopefully by the end of the week, and typically give awardees three weeks to respond.  Hope this is helpful!


 * I would keep in mind also that last year they notified winners VERY late, over a month after the estimated notification date of "early March." It's likely that many people had already accepted other offers, assuming that they had been rejected. Point being, I would think they would have fewer people turning down the fellowship this year, as they notified in a reasonably timely fashion.


 * Thanks for sharing. How stressful! I guess begging and pleading wouldn't help any.


 * 4/11/08: So if I am reading correctly, we alternates should think that if we hear something maybe it will be in early May? (Three weeks from the end of this week?) I have my fingers crossed for us all!!

A: Some people turned it down last year because they got an honest-to-goodness job. If the school that hired them gave them a light teaching load in the fall, they could probably just finish up and be gainfully employed.
 * I imagine successful alternates should hear something significantly later than early May...She (4/10) said the official letters were going to 'hopefully' be in the mail by the end of the week...which probably means they won't be in the mail until at least end of next week. So, you're looking at at least April 21 before they start winging their way into successful applicants mailboxes.  Anyway, that's my cynical view.  Also, are there significantly better diss. fellowships out there?  I just wonder how likely it is people turn down the Mellon.


 * 4/12/08 Got alternate letter in the mail today. (x4)


 * 4/14/08 Awardee package received. (x2)

ACLS Mellon Early Career Fellowship Program, Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/14/2007, information) Q: Were these e-mails in regard to the dissertation fellowship or the postdoc? A: The Post-doc.
 * 1/25 Received an e-mail from ACLS about possible affiliations with various humanities centers, but no indication was given about the status of the competition. (2)

Q: OK, but what about the RDR postdocs. Anyone out there heard anything at all?!


 * 3/27: Just received an email that my app was successful. (4)


 * Thanks to whomever separated the RDR and Diss Comp threads!


 * 4/01: Does anyone here have any statistics on the average success rates applying for the Recent Doc Recipients Fellowship after receiving the Dissertation Improvement Grant?


 * 4/02 Just confirmed with ACLS office. If you did receive notification by email last week (3/27) for the RDR then you probably did not receive one. Letters going out today. [Did you mean to type, "If you DIDN'T receive notifcation last week..."?]


 * 4/07: Rejection letter received


 * 4/10: Has anyone who got the email notification seen an actual letter yet?


 * 4/11 Nope, just the email clarification that the award could be used in either of the two coming years.


 * 4/14: Sorry to re-ask the previous question, but have none of the awardees or alternates received anything on paper? I was worried that my stuff got lost in the mail...or was eaten by the April 15 tax-man!


 * A: No, nothing on paper yet.


 * Finally got a (alternate) letter in the mail (April 21). (x2)


 * 4/22 rec'd full letter/packet in the mail (intl).

American Academy of Arts and Sciences Visiting Scholars Program
(Deadline: 10/15/2007, information)
 * Q: Does anyone know if they interview before making award decisions? If so, what is the timeline for interviews and annoucements?


 * A: They did not interview last year, and I believe notifications were made in late February/early March.
 * Q: Anyone receive notification yet?
 * A: 3/15 rejection letter received.
 * Q: Did anyone else not receive a rejection letter? Have they made offers yet? (4/1)
 * A: Received and accepted an offer about two weeks ago (4/4)

American Antiquarian Society Post-Dissertation Fellowship
(Deadline: 10/15/2007, information)


 * 11/28 additional material requested

Amherst College, Copeland Fellows on "Violent States"
(Deadline: 03/01/2008)

Any Acknowlegment of application or other news?

3/18: Phone interview (arranged by email)

Would you mind revealing your field?

04/10: Offer accepted

Arche' Intuitions and Philosophical Methodology Fellowships
(Deadline: 2/15/08, information)

Brandeis University Digital Humanities Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)


 * The "Film and Media Studies" page reports that campus visits have been scheduled.
 * received rejection letter late Dec/early Jan
 * Offer made and accepted (2/18)

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline (first round): 10/15/2007, information)


 * 01/18 - received invitation via email to submit a second-stage application.

Brown University Cogut Humanities Center Visiting Fellows
(Deadline 2/15/2008)
 * Ack. email just said 'you will only hear from us again if you make the shortlist' - anyone have any timeline info?
 * 2/28 email saying "we are giving your dossier close consideration" and they will contact again in March (5 notifications)
 * Any news here?
 * 3/12 email confirming shortlist
 * Q: Did you email them asking them to confirm that you are on the shortlist? Was this email different from the previous "we are giving your dossier close consideration" email back in February?
 * 3/14 Although I'm not the 3/12 or 2/28 poster, I received 2/28 email saying "we are giving your dossier close consideration" and yesterday received email explaining that I was on a short list and requesting missing reference (argh!) be sent in. Perhaps 2/28 email recipients are a short list? Was told that committee will meet next week to go through short list.
 * 3/25 Anyone heard anything? (3)
 * 3/31 Still nothing. Sigh.
 * 4/1 Just got an email rejection - I was on the short list. (2)
 * 4/1 Notice that I am an alternate - e-mail said that funding was short this year and that there may be more positions available in the future. (3)
 * 4/2 I was never on the shortist, but received an extremely courteous and generous email rejection - probably nicest one I've ever had. (2) My thoughts exactly.
 * 4/4 Alternates, do any of you know when they might contact us again? or when is the deadline for the selected candidates to accept the offer?

Brown University Pembroke Center Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 12/7/2007, information)

Can someone confirm this?
 * 12/19 Writing sample requested. Deadline for WS 01/04/08
 * 02/07 Offer made (2; yes, for the postdoc)
 * For the post-doc? I thought they weren't letting people know about the post-doc until early March.
 * To the 2/7 poster(s): Do you know if the offers have been accepted? Thanks.
 * I got the information about the March date from the Pembroke website.
 * One offer accepted (02/11)
 * 2/19 received rejection letter (4)
 * Offer accepted (02/23)

Brown University Watson Center Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 3/17/2008, )


 * 3/27 Letters requested from my recommenders.
 * 4/2 Any info out there about the timeline?
 * 4/23 Has anyone heard anything else here?
 * 4/23 A: Nothing yet...

Caltech Postdoctoral Instructorship in Twentieth-Century American Literature
(Deadline: 3/31/2008)

Carnegie Mellon Fellowship in the Arts and Society
(Deadline 1/18/08)


 * 3/21: Rejection letter.  Sigh.

Carolina Postdoctoral Program for Faculty Diversity
(Deadline 1/3/08)
 * 1/31/08 - receipt of acknowledgement that application complete
 * 2/13/08 - Note: This is a duplicate entry for this position.  There are more postings relating to this position further down -- under "University of North Carolina..."

Clare College, Cambridge Junior Research Fellowship

 * according to their website, longlisting will take place on 28 January. If you don't get an email that day requesting further materials, you're out. (expect snail mail rejection to follow in next couple of weeks)
 * those on the longlist have been telephoned

Columbia University Committee on Global Thought
(Deadline: 1/15/08) - Has anyone been contacted to schedule interviews? A: I haven't heard anything.
 * 2/1 - Received email that interviews will be conducted in mid-March, and final decisions made at the end of March.
 * 2/29 Was told that they would be contacting candidates for interviews and conducting interviews during the week of March 10th.
 * I heard that the committee met Monday, and I'd expect that they would have contacted successful candidates for interviews by now. Can anyone confirm? (3/5)
 * 3/13: Any news?
 * 3/18 (different person here) seriously... any news at all?! I'm not really a fan of appletinis but I'll have a glass of single-malt scotch in your honor even if you've just gotten an interview, or news, or whatever.
 * 3/18: (different different person) no news, and i hear this week is spring break at columbia.
 * 3/18: it is indeed spring break. since this was advertised internationally and includes non-humanities folks, i could imagine whoever they contacted may not be on this website.
 * 3/20: email rejection--snail-mail rejection promised, as well.
 * 3/20: email rejection letter is exceptionally annoying. "While the Committee has not settled on the list of Fellows for the 2008-2009 academic year, it is fair to say that if you haven’t been contacted yet you are not one of the finalists."
 * Agreed...very annoying and then also wait for the wonderful rejection letter to be mailed!
 * Ditto. Scotch it is then...
 * Rejection letter 4/10. They couldn't wait until 4/20?

Columbia University Society of Fellows in the Humanities
(Deadline: 10/8/2007, information)

Log


 * 10/29 - received confirmation acknowledging receipt of application
 * 12/14 - Interview Scheduled via phone
 * 12/19 - The Philosophy Wiki shows an on-campus interview invitation. Drats.
 * 1/25 - Interviews occurring (heard from faculty advisor of an interviewee)
 * 1/31 - Offers made by phone (3 offers total)
 * 2/6  - Appeltinis for all!
 * 3/4  - Do they ever bother to send out rejections?
 * Seriously. They have the balls to charge money to apply, but can't be bothered to send notes of receipt (send your own postcard!) or of rejection. Thank ye gods for the wiki. And congratulations to the three fellows!

Cornell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in British Modernism
(deadline 3/3/2008) Any news about this, anyone? Any idea when they will decide?
 * A There was also a Cornell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Comparative Literature, due the same day. I suppose we're talking about two different postdocs, then? I've received no acknowledgment yet for this latter competition.


 * A Yeah, I did see the Comp Lit postdoc ad too and was confused at first, but they are two different postdocs, with, I think, two different SCs. I wonder whether they'll just make an offer, or whether they'll request further materials, interview, etc. first.  Neither announcement (for Comp Lit or English Mellon) gave any idea of a timeline or procedure for their decision.  Good luck to you, comparatist, and do post if you get any news from them at all, as will I.  Hopefully others in the know will do the same.  Good luck, all.

Best of luck to you too!
 * A (from the comparatist) Thanks, British Modernist! I will definitely keep you posted, since I have a feeling that the timelines will be fairly similar, despite the different search committees. My understanding of spring postdoc searches is that they are conducted quickly and usually without an interview. The CL committee asked for a fairly extensive dossier: ws, course proposals, recs up front, etc., so I'm assuming they're going to make the decision based on these materials. And they're still in session through the end of this week (til March 15), at which point they'll break for only a week. So I would imagine something has to happen by then.


 * A: Any new news, anyone? The suspense is killing me.
 * A: I hear they contacted some of their job finalists about the postdoc to ask whether they wanted their applications considered for that too.
 * A: Yes, I'm not sure how many of the people who applied for the 20th c Asst Prof position they contacted, though, or whether they've made any decision about them or the applicants to the postdoc as yet.
 * A: I'm one of the ones they contacted, and I've heard nothing yet. Any word to others?
 * A: I'm another they contacted, and same here. (I wonder how many of us there were?)
 * A: I'm yet a third they contacted & I've also heard nothing yet.
 * A: So we're at least 3, and at most 20 (?) contacted, I figure, but that's just pointless guesswork.
 * Here's a 4th. (No word.)
 * And who knows how many applied to the postdoc. Advance wishes for a very happy appletini to the lucky Britmo offered this postdoc, whenever it is offered...
 * --Third here again-- [aaah, I meant "Second"! sorry "Third," didn't mean to impersonate you!] To the other 3 contacted: just curious, did you interview for the asst. prof. job, or just make it to the penultimate stage?  (The latter would apply to me.)
 * "One of the ones" here. I did not interview for the job.  In fact, they did not contact me at all until they wrote me the email about whether I'd like them to consider me for the postdoc. So I don't really know whether "penultimate stage" even applies in my case.  I also know people who did get requests for a wealth of further materials, but whom they didn't contact about the postdoc.   I imagine appletini time will come soon enough, though.  Good luck. Curious, though...did you other 3 contacted get to interview or penultimate stage?
 * Well "one of ones", they must have been pretty into you in some interesting way if they kept you in mind for the postdoc... Odd, but I'm intrigued. Maybe you're the darkhorse here.
 * #4 Standing by. Penultimate stage, wealth of materials, contacted for post-doc, really want it . . . But, yeah, good luck and appletini to you all.  They won't keep us waiting forever (unless the Mellon Foundation is suddenly broke).
 * another one of the ones here. ditto for me, #4, on all counts.  their letter to department chairs for the open application process states that they "hope to...make an appointment by the end of the month," meaning March.
 * hey all, did any other wikians (beyond the four above) contacted for the postdoc get to the MLA interview stage?
 * --3-- #2 here: #4 and ditto, so you did not (or did) interview? (To clarify, I did not -- lasted just to the "send us ur diss" phase, which I assume was the final one before interviews.)
 * looks so far like no one contacted, that is currently on the wiki anyway, had an interview.
 * looks so far like no one contacted, that is currently on the wiki anyway, has heard anything at all. I hope they decide soon.  Appletini wishes to all.
 * Comp Lit's made an offer (see below). Anybody hear from English?
 * Do we begin to wonder whether there are two different positions at all?
 * I don't think so. There were two different announcements, with two diff sets of materials requested, probably a different search committee (any departmental overlap notwithstanding) etc . I guess English is just taking longer to decide.  I sent an email inquiry about timeline about a week ago, but never heard back.  I'm assuming they're all busy and working to come to a decision...
 * Well, clearly they have a stellar group of candidates to chose among. Speaks well for us all.  (I'll never get it . . . )
 * From the comparatist below (who was also, in fact, the comparatist above): Chins up, modernists. There were probably a lot more applicants for your position, and so it's taking longer. You all sound fabulous, and I can't wait to meet the lucky recipient who will be my colleague (from what I've gathered, the faculty seminar includes all of the post-doc folk from the various departments). Good luck, everyone!
 * Rejection received via email.
 * Hello again, comparatist and neo-Cornellian. Britmos, yes, the wise and chosen comparatist is right.  I've just had news that due to the "large and enthusiastic" response to the advertisement, the committee's got a lot of applications to read.  They plan to make a decision by the 18th.  So yes, chins up, and we can all relax and avoid the wiki until then (sweet relief).  And again congrats to the outstanding comparatist who landed a nice gig.  In infinite (though perhaps vain) hope that we may soon be future colleagues, whether at Cornell or elsewhere, I extend the warmest of wiki wishes.
 * Rejection email (2)
 * When did e-mail rejections come? Have others received them? And do we know whether an offer has been made?
 * Mine came yesterday, 4/18. It did say that they'd made a decision.
 * Thanks--& drat!!
 * superdrat. But I've still not received any rejection.  Anyone else still waiting to hear about rejection?
 * Well, is someone out there secretly drinking an appletini? Or have they still not made a final decision about those not yet rejected?  Still wondering, in that sad, desperate way we wiki wonderers all wonder when we wonder on the wiki.
 * Is there anybody else out there who has yet to hear a yea or a nay from Cornell?
 * I also have yet to hear yea or nay.

Cornell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Comparative LIterature
(Deadline 3/3) Anyone have any news about this postdoc?
 * see above for general discussion and speculations concerning timeline. ..
 * A: I received a confirmation of receipt from the English Dept, shortly after submitting my app, but nothing at all from the CompLit. Has anyone heard anything from CompLit?
 * A: nothing so far...
 * A: same here. not even an acknowledgment of receipt.
 * A: (4/7) Offer made and in the process of being formally accepted.
 * A Congratulations to you! Could you say whether you received the offer via email or phone?
 * A: Thanks very much. It was by phone.

Cornell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in United States History

 * 4/1 Has anybody heard anything from them? Any idea on deadlines?


 * 4/12: I also applied, have not received an acknowledgment either
 * 4/23 No acknowledgment. Any news on this front?
 * 4/23 still no word; they are moving slowly, but I hear this happens often with postdoc hires.

Dartmouth Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities and Social Sciences
(Deadline: 11/15/2007, information)


 * 1/25 received rejection letter via mail (2)


 * 2/06 those who didn't receive a rejection letter last week (possibly finalists)did you hear from them yet?


 * 2/06 I have not (California) (4). Anybody know what is going on?


 * 2/11 campus invitation - declined, sadly

Downing College, Cambridge Research Fellowship

 * 1/21 - received rejection letter

Duke University Writing Program Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/2/2007, information)


 * 11/5 - received letter acknowledging receipt of application
 * 12/3 - received rejection letter by mail 12/3, 12/4, 12/5, 12/10
 * 12/18 - on campus interview schedule for January via phone (3)
 * 2/23 - initial offers were extended earlier this month; has anyone declined, or anyone planning to?
 * 2/24 - I know of one person off the wait list. Don't know why a position opened, though.
 * 2/26 - Was the person off wait list contacted by phone or email?
 * 3/4 - I've heard of another off the WL, by phone
 * 3/25 - I am at Duke and just saw an announcement that there are two new openings in this program for folks who are interested in applying at this late date
 * 4/14 ack of app
 * 4/17 acknowledgment of application by snail mail

Duke Franklin Humanities Institute Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 1/18/2008) -Rejection received by email, 3/24

-(3/28) Is this for the Hardt/Wiegman seminar or one of their other fellowships?

--3/28 I think it is for the Hardy/Wiegamn seminar. I live 5 mins from Duke and haven't heard anything yet.

-- 4/15 -- It's amazing to me that they haven't announced anything yet.

Duke Fellowship in Transnational Sexualities
(Deadline: 11/15/2007)


 * Has anyone heard anything?
 * Told there was a delay and now they are reviewing the applications (email inquiry 2/13)

European College of Liberal Arts Postdoctoral Fellowships
(Deadline 1/5/2008)
 * Has anyone heard anything?
 * 2/8 - Reply: Zilch.
 * 2/8 - Reply: They have contacted their long list to determine interest.
 * 3/19 - Rejection via email.
 * 3/19 - Ditto

Fox Humanities Center, Emory University, Postdoctoral Fellowships
(Deadline 2/28/2008) A: I sent 3 (I don't have more than that!). Further Q. - wonder how many apps they have?
 * Q: Postdoc apps are an odd genre. Curious if others sent more than the requested 3 letters (I sent 3).

One slightly disturbing thing about the application for this was that they seemed to expect me to send my project proposal to three people and have them write a recommendation letter specifically for this fellowship. I didn't bother; it seemed like a big imposition. I just had three letters sent from my credentials file as usual. A: I wouldn't call that 'disturbing'. It is not uncommon for post-docs/fellowships to ask for that (some even have a form for recommenders to complete!). And some recommenders I know like to write tailored letters for each application rather than a generic one for the file. A: If my recommenders had to write a separate letter for every single pdoc I applied for, they would have no time to write monographs. Thank goodness job ads don't ask for such a thing. No one would get anything else done.


 * Has anyone received acknowledgment? (3/7) A: No (3/7) A: No (3/12)


 * Question: the website says they will announce mid-April...but I haven't gotten an acknowledgement. Has anyone had an interview or know anything about what's going on?
 * A: Nothing here (3/18) (ditto 3/19) Ditto 3/24...are they doing interviews??
 * A: I CALLED and talked to the administrative assistant. FYI, they do not do interviews! So, we just wait to find out if we're among the lucky few!
 * Thanks for calling and sharing the info!
 * I was offered one yesterday by phone (and will accept).
 * 5/17 Q. Has anyone received a rejection?

Georgia Tech Brittain Fellow
(Deadline 2/15/2008)
 * 2/19 - Received letter acknowledgment of application
 * 2/28 - Ditto
 * 3/25 - Request for phone interview (via e-mail)
 * 3/25 - Got the same email (I'm estimating that there's about 10 of us -- good luck on your respective interviews)
 * 3/30 - I second that. Good luck to everyone!

Note-to applicants: this is an excellent postdoc, but tons of work (teaching is 3/3). If you receive a phone interview, be sure to offer an explanation as to how you would use computers to teach entry-level composition courses. The program is more than just writing instruction, it considers all aspects of communication within a technology-infused curriculum. Good luck!
 * 4/1 - I emailed asking about my application and was told mine was still under consideration, because they "continue to learn about available positions until fairly late in the academic year." I guess that means I'm a reserve candidate in case they lose some current fellows to permanent jobs. :)
 * Q: Did you already have your interview?
 * A: I have not had mine yet...you?
 * A: Yes, I have. Hopefully there's movement on the waiting list, good luck!
 * Q: How long ago did you have your interview?- just wondering if time is running out (4/4)
 * A: I had mine last week. The first round of interviews should be over now, and I'm assuming they're moving on to the second round sometime soon, or when other positions open up.
 * A: My interview was last week also, although I was told it may take weeks, if not months, for offers to be made even to first round candidates. But good luck to you! Hang in there! (4/6)
 * 4/8 - Request for phone interview.
 * 4/15 - Offer received via Fed Ex
 * 4/22 - Email request for phone interview.

Grinnell College, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Peace and Conflict Studies
(Deadline: 2/1/2008, information)
 * 2/1 email acknowledgment of receipt.
 * 2/13 received email scheduling phone interviews
 * 2/29 call for campus visit

Hamilton College Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows

 * 3/2 email acknowledgment of receipt.
 * 3/7 any better info on timeline? My ack. email just said they would start going through the apps in the next 'couple of weeks'.
 * 3/7 I got the same email, no further info
 * 3/17 - applications are currently being reviewed by the relevant departments; they hope to have a short-list by the end of the month and invite finalists to campus mid-April. There were 228 applications for the 2 fellowships.
 * 3/26 Thanks. Anyone heard anything more? (been shortlisted?)
 * 3/29 Received an email on 3/25 from relevant dept asking for more materials (diss abstract and referee contact info.)
 * 3/29 Which dept? (the Dean's office sent out the ack. email; are individual subject depts doing the shortlisting?)
 * 4/09 Talked to a Dean's office secretary, she says that the list is in the works and they will send out notifications in the coming week.
 * 4/09 Thanks for sharing! Does this mean those of us who have heard nothing since the acknowledgment still have a chance? (or just those like the 3/29 poster who have been asked for further materials?)
 * 4/10 I wish I knew for sure. :-) However, since they said they'll be inviting people to campus in mid-April and today is only April 10, I think there is still a chance for those who haven't heard since the acknowledgment. Also, from the little I know about this process, some depts. are more communicative about further information, others are less so, so the fact that you haven't heard from a particular department may not be an indication that they didn't select you. Good luck!
 * 4/11 Rejection email received (2)
 * 4/11 Those who received rejection e-mails -- you received them today, right? My e-mail system has been doing strange things and I lost a couple of unread messages yesterday, so I am just wondering. Thank you for the info.
 * 4/15 They are still sending out rejection e-mails, apparently. (2)

Harvard Center for the Environment Fellows
(Deadline: 1/15/08)

2/14 Received rejection by email, after request for update

Harvard Expository Writing Program Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/9/2007, information)


 * 11/20 Request for additional material
 * 12/17 Scheduled MLA interview
 * 1/7  Request to schedule non-conference interview.
 * 1/28 Received snail-mail rejection (in Chicago)
 * 2/12 Has anyone heard a peep from Expos in the past few weeks? I haven't heard anything since I sent in my additional material. There's no info on the Composition and Rhetoric wiki either.
 * 2/12 Interviews (both conference and Cambridge) have been conducted. Candidates should be notified in the next two weeks.
 * 2/14 Offer made by phone
 * 2/15 Congratulations!
 * 2/23 Any idea how many offers have been extended/accepted? Is there a kind of wait-list situation here?
 * 3/11 I got a letter today (dated 3/4) telling me I'm in the "second round" and my application is still "active." Anyone have any idea what that means? I was never interviewed.
 * 3/12 For the post above, did you ever get a rejection letter?
 * To 3/12: are you asking me (I'm the 3/11 poster)? This was the first I'd heard from Expos since I sent in my writing sample in November.
 * 3/24 got letter dated 3/4 telling me i'm also in second round and application still active, while expos determines its hiring needs through the spring. Anyone out there have any idea how many spots they look to fill in spring and how many they keep in 'second round' active status?

Harvard Fairbank Center An Wang Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 2/1/2008,)
 * 2/1/2008 Emailed confirmation of application
 * 3/23/2008 Anyone knows whether there have been interviews scheduled or acceptance made? Thanks.
 * 3/23/2008 Good luck, everyone!

Harvard History and Literature Program Fellows
(Deadline 2/1/2008, information)


 * anyone have any more info (link to an advertisement?) on this? The form linked above doesn't say anything about eligibility etc
 * A: I do not have more info on this appointment. I did get an acknowledgment that my application has been received.
 * Received acknowledgment by email in the form of Affirmative Action questionnaire
 * 2/11 Ack. postcard received (in UK)
 * 2/28 Interview scheduled (2)
 * Are you in history or literature ?
 * I'm in literature
 * 3/2 - has anyone in history been contacted for an interview?
 * emailed to ask about timeline, as going overseas on research shortly, and will be in & out of email contact. Received reply 3/10: 'hiring committee is currently reviewing applications and we will be in touch with you in the near future if you are selected for an interview'. Um, thanks. That's really cleared things up.
 * This must be rolling. I received an interview request last week (3/3) for literature.
 * Was told there were very few history spots open for this one.
 * Told by whom? Thanks for any info.
 * 4/7 Received rejection letter (2)
 * 4/11 Received offer (history).
 * 4/12 Received offer (literature).

Harvard Humanities Center
(Deadline: 1/15/2008, information)


 * Decisions will be made by February 22nd
 * 2/22 - Rejection email received (4)--from Homi Bhabha. That was exciting for, like, one second.
 * A letter from Homi Bhabha. That's gotta be worth $60.
 * 2/22 - Alternates selected and will be notified by March 4
 * Does this mean alternates have not gotten rejection emails? Also, has anyone gotten accepted?  From what fields?
 * 3/5 Any acceptances? Anyone else not get accepted and not get rejected by now?
 * 3/7 No acceptance, no rejection
 * 3/18 ???? Any news anybody?
 * 3/24 They made two offers, both were accepted. Alternates informed two weeks ago that there were no more spots. All correspondence thus far via email.
 * 3/24 Just wondering--did they report how many applications they got? I'm curious as to how many appletinis they're drinking.  A letter from Homi Bhabha would be much better if it were free.  The fee they charged was just outlandish and they should be ashamed.

Harvard International and Area Studies Fellowship
(Deadline: 10/12/2007, information)


 * 10/27 - received acknowledgment of complete application packet.
 * 11/14 - received rejection via email.

Harvard Newcomen Postdoc
(Deadline: 10/1/2007, information)

Harvard Program in Ethics and Health
(Deadline: 12/10/2007, information)

Harvard Society of Fellows
Deadline: 9/7/2007 (Nomination), information)

Log


 * 10/10 - received email confirming application had been received
 * 10/26 - interviews occurring.
 * 11/13 - The Philosophy Wiki notes someone claiming to have been short-listed
 * 12/9 - Offer Made
 * 12/11 - received rejection letter received via mail.

John Hopkins University Writing Program Lecturer
(Deadline 1/2/2008)


 * 2/11 interview request


 * 3/9: grapevine report of job offer

Johns Hopkins Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Comparative Literature
(Deadline 4/15/2008,

The ad for this position has been up for almost a month now, anybody heard anything? They ask for: letter of interest, a full curriculum vitae, three letters of recommendation and an academic statement that includes research and teaching proposals. Anybody been asked to submit a writing sample yet?


 * I've heard nothing yet; but since the deadline was 15 April, I'm guessing they won't be asking for any additional materials until they've had a chance to give the applications an initial screening, probably in late April/early May.

Lawrence University, Fellow in the Liberal Arts and Sciences
(Deadline: 1/28/2008, information)


 * 1/14 - Received USPS acknowledgement of application.


 * 2/2: They have a complete hiring timeline posted on their website. Finally, an organized and efficient search committee!
 * timeline


 * 2/24 - Contacted via email for a phone interview with the Department of Gender Studies


 * 2/25 - Congratulations!


 * 2/27 - Why no other information besides Gender Studies? According to the timeline, the offers for campus interviews should go out this Friday, so people must be getting phone IVs, correct? Or perhaps the folks who have received the phone IVs aren't on the wiki?
 * A: 2/27 - Maybe other departments aren't doing phone interviews? Nothing on the timeline says they will.


 * 2/29 - Email notification of finalist status in Gender Studies--name forwarded to Fellows Committee for campus interview consideration.


 * 3/7: Has anyone else heard anything? Any rejection letters?


 * 3/11: Nothing (for the gender studies position). Somehow this seems even more rude than usual coming from an institution where they took the time to tell applicants that they would hear by  now.  Hopefully we will all remember this feeling when we are the ones hiring...


 * 3/11: They are at least a week behind because the Provost was out of town last week and couldn't issue approvals for fly-outs. As far as I understand, those who are finalists for the Gender Studies position have already been contacted.


 * 3/14: Campus interview scheduled for Gender Studies position


 * 3/17: Has anyone else heard? (So much for their timeline.)


 * 3/28: Received rejection letter by mail (history position)

Lucy Cavendish, Cambridge. Sutasoma Fellowship

 * 8/2 - Has anybody heard from them yet? It might be too early still - any info on when they plan to shortlist? Thanks!
 * 19/2 - No info yet. I think they said early March in the application materials. Any news?
 * 21/2 - No, none yet... Anyone else heard?
 * 22/2 - They've started to send out rejections so I assume they've short-listed.
 * 25/2 - Yep, they have. I got an email rejection today :(

National Academy of Education/Spencer Postdoctoral Fellowship

 * 12/15 - Received acknowledgement of application.
 * I saw in the Newsletter that the selection committee met on Jan 18th. Anyone heard anything yet?  Also, is it only the semifinalists who will receive any notification?
 * 2/5/08 - Called to find out when semifinalists would be notified. They said letters will go out in the next few days.
 * 2/13/08 - Ok, so I appear to be the only person on the planet updating the NAE/Spencer section, but I thought I'd post anyway that I received my rejection today via snail-mail.

National Humanities Center
(Deadline: 10/15/2007, information)

2/19 - reserve candidate email notification
 * 2/22 - rejection letter received via mail

National University of Singapore postdoctoral fellowships
(Deadline: 12/31/2007, information)


 * receipt of application email 12/27
 * has anyone heard anything? The original ad said they would tell us the outcome 'by February'
 * 2/19 Received offer by email
 * 2/20 Received snail mail rejection in UK (letter dated 2/16)

Newhouse Center for the Humanities at Wellesley, Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 12.10.07, )
 * Has anyone heard back from them yet? On their site they say that awards will be announced on March 1, but I thought maybe some early announcements had gone out?   Thanks.

Should we really expect to hear on a Saturday?
 * Anybody heard yet?
 * I haven't...
 * offer made (03/05)
 * 3.5: received rejection letter for a 2006-2007 fellowship. I'm guessing they mean 2008-2009?
 * was the rejection snail mail or email?
 * it was sent by post, dated 2.27
 * 3/6 received rejection letter (east coast)
 * 3/12 received postcard apologizing for misdating the fellowship (2006-2007) in the rejection letter (!)

Northwestern University, African American/African diasporic postdoc
(Deadline: 1/18/2008)


 * 3/17 rejection letter

Northwestern University, Mellon Postdoctoral fellowship, linguistics
(Deadline: 12/1/07, information) faculty were still discussing as of 2nd week of February offer has been made
 * Has anyone heard anything?

Northwestern University, Science in Human Culture Program
(Deadline: 1/15/2008, information)

3/28 rejection upon inquiry
 * 1/31 receipt of application email

4/2 rejection received by e-mail

Notre Dame, Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, )


 * 2/21 email notice that I am one of 3 unranked alternates a few weeks ago. Recipients of awards have until Feb 28 to accept or decline. Anyone turned one of these down so far?
 * offer accepted (from offer made in Jan)
 * 3/14 from the alternate list or from the early Feb. offers? I'm one of the 3 alternates, told I'd hear something by early March.  But, as far as I can tell, early March has just about wound down.  Any info out there?
 * 3/21 offer made to alternate.

NYU, Africana Studies Postdoc
(Deadline: 4/2/2008)
 * Has anyone received confirmation?

NYU, Center for Study of Gender and Sexuality
(Deadline: 4/1/2008, information)


 * CSGS does not seem to have an announcement on their site. My info sez deadline is 1/15 -- can anyone confirm 4/1 is the deadline?
 * My info also says 01/15; I haven't seen the 04/01 deadline anywhere, and it does seem a bit late, doesn't it? Better to apply by 01/15, IMHO.
 * if you go to the website, click on "visiting scholars" and then click on "how to apply to be a visiting scholar" it says the deadline is 4/1.
 * Aha, confusion resolved. I was thinking of this one: Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow for the Department of Social and Cultural Analysis, The Gender and Sexuality Studies Program.  I'll put up a new entry.

NYU, Gender and Sexuality Studies Program Fellow/Asst. Prof., Dept. of Social and Cultural Analysis
(Deadline: 1/15/2008, information)
 * 3/7/2008: Phone interview scheduled and letters of recommendation requested.

NYU, Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity
(Deadline: 3/3/2008, information)
 * website promises notification by April
 * 4/2 anyone know any specifics on this one? a timeline for notification? any news?
 * 4/18 rejection received via email

NYU Writing Program
(Deadline 2/22)

''Anyone heard anything? (4/7)'' Committee is meeting this week (4/7)

Any news? (4/16)

Penn Humanities Forum Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 10/15/2007, information)


 * 12/21 - received rejection ltr via mail (3)
 * 12/19 - received offer by phone

Penn McNeil Center for Early American Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)


 * 12/17 - AHA Interview Request
 * 1/23 - received rejection letter by mail

Penn McNeil Center for Early American Studies Predoctoral Fellowships

 * 4/14 - Has anyone heard from these guys?

Penn Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/2/2007, information)

A: I called the office yesterday (2/7) and the woman I spoke with believed that all of the offers had been made. When I suggested that the rejections would be forthcoming, she seemed to think it may take a bit more time. She said there were 300 applicants.
 * 12/20 - Was told they are meeting to discuss applications in early-mid January.
 * 1/24 - Offer made
 * 2/8- Has anyone else received an offer or a rejection?
 * 2/14 - I was told I was an alternate by my advisor, who keeps in touch with faculty in one of Penn's departments. I wonder if offers have been made AND accepted at this time. Any info, anyone?
 * 3/5 - A woman in the office told me on the phone that offers have been made and accepted.
 * 4/4 - Snail mail rejection received. 200+ applications for four fellowships.

Princeton Anschutz Distinguished Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/15/2007, information)


 * 11/15 Email receipt of application
 * 1/11 Letter of rejection received

Princeton Society of Fellows
(Deadline: 10/9/2007, information)


 * 11/3 - received postcard acknowledging application
 * 12/7 - heard individual departments have been forwarded applications.
 * 1/9 - received interview invitation by email
 * 1/14 - rejection received in mail (4)
 * 2/15 - offers made
 * 2/19: are you sure that offers were made on 2/15? last interviews were that afternoon, so did the committee REALLY meet and offer that very day?
 * 2/19: same question; were decisions made before interviews were held?
 * 2/19: ditto, and might I ask what disciplines offerees are in?
 * 2/19: You might ask, but something tells me there's not going to be much more information forthcoming here.  Perhaps all one can do is wait for the inevitable snail-mail rejection letter.
 * 2/19: Rejection received by email.  Seems the news of offers on 2/15 was correct.  Appletinis, everyone - make it a double!
 * 2/20 - the committee meeting, in which the decisions were made, was held in the late afternoon of 2/15.
 * 2/21- rejection finally arrives via email. bummer.

Princeton Writing Program
(Deadline: 2/1/2008)


 * 2/4 - received acknowledgment by mail - review starts mid-Feb.; notification by 4/15
 * 3/7 - anyone heard anything further? (interview requests?)
 * 3/7 - I've heard nothing. I applied last year and I can't remember exactly how long it took to hear back from them, but it was a mail rejection letter, which, one imagines, would take somewhat longer to generate and arrive than an e-mail.
 * 3/17 - Received rejection letter. Says over 300 applications received.
 * 3/17 - ditto (in UK), letter dated 3/5

Rice University, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities
(Deadline: 12/10/2007, information)


 * 1/25 received email notification of semi-finalist status (2)
 * 2/13 any updates?
 * 2/14 none since semi-finalist notification.
 * 2/15 Email rejection. Too many applicants
 * 2/15 To the person above who got the email rejection: had you also received notice of semi-finalist status?
 * 2/17 Strange. I didn't get the semi-finalist email and haven't gotten an email rejection letter either.  Anyone else heard nothing?
 * 2/18 I'm in the same boat. No rejection letter, no semi-finalist email, and no initial acknowledgment email either (5).
 * 2/18 (same poster as 2/17) Did some people people get acknowledgment emails?
 * 2/18 The January notification indicated they narrowed the applicants to 20 from an initial 400.
 * 2/19 I also received no notifications, not rejection, not anything
 * 2/19 Same here - no notification/rejections etc
 * 2/19 So, could someone who has received a rejection answer the question of 2/15? Did you also receive one of the semi-finalist emails?
 * 2/19 I was not a semi-finalist, and received email rejection 2/18.
 * 2/21 Hmmmm...I've still heard nothing. (3)
 * 2/21 Me too, nothing. I can only assume (sigh...) that since a lot of people seem to have heard nothing, and sinceken them one week to make their way half-way through the alphabet (presumably, around 200 rejection email addresses), I can only conclude that they've graduated from appletinis to some much harder stuff...
 * 2/22 No, my last name begins with B, and I just got the email rejection, so who knows how they're doing it.
 * 2/22 Last name (R); rejection letter received today.
 * 2/22 Heard through the grapevine that finalists were interviewed earlier this week.
 * 2/25 It would be great if we could limit our input on this thread to actual information--that is, information received from Rice. This is all stressful enough without the addition of unconfirmed "grapevine" hearsay, however well-intended such hearsay might be.
 * 2/25 confirmed that they interviewed last week. they may interview a few more this week.
 * 2/28 rejection email - was told they tried to send it out previously and didn't resend this to me until I contacted them to inquire what was up. apparently other emails didnt get through either. congrats to the fellows.

Rice University, Center for Women, Gender and Sexuality
(Deadline: 11/30/2007, information)


 * 1/09 receipt of application email back on 11/20/07
 * 1/29 Spoke to someone in the office who said that the committee is only about half way through the apps and that it will likely take another month (rather than a couple weeks or so) to get through and make the decision.
 * 2/6 Spoke to a new person in the office today (who seemed to know more than the person with whom I spoke on 1/29). She stated that the committee met to make final decisions last night and that those receiving interviews should be notified soon. She said that everyone who applied should know their status before the end of the month.
 * 2/6 Phone interview scheduled by email.
 * 2/26 Congratulations! Any updates?
 * 2/26 offers made, acceptance expected
 * 3/07 Anyone receive a rejection? Have the offers been officially accepted?
 * 3/11 I received an email rejection two weeks ago, as did a friend of mine.
 * 3/11 That's strange - I didn't receive my rejection yet. I wonder if there was a mistake with the notices. (2)--Same here.
 * 3/11 There is something odd going on...I just contacted CSWGS at Rice and was told that their search for the two CSWGS Postdoc positions just concluded this morning and rejection letters will go out tomorrow (03/12). There must be some confusion here on the wiki. Would the 2/6, 2/26 and 3/11 posters please clarify if they were contacted specifically for the CSWGS Postdoc?
 * 3/11 I also contacted them - regrettably. They gave me the same information, including that they have not sent any letters out.  I think that the person who posted the information above was referring to a different post-doc.  That's the danger of these kind of informal sites, there is no way to know whether you can trust the information!
 * 3/17 Rejection via snail mail.

Rubicon Fellowship in the Netherlands
(Deadline: 12/06/2007)
 * Any updates on this, particularly the strand for foreign researchers visiting the Netherlands?


 * Rejection via email (03-20-08). Said it was provisional pending snail mail letter, but we think differently ;-)

Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis (Vernacular Epistemologies)
(Deadline: 12/15/2007, information) Q: Let me ask this: did you all get a letter acknowledging your application when you first sent it in? I may have slipped through the cracks...
 * Anyone gotten news about the Rutgers postdoc?
 * 1/24 - I haven't heard a thing.
 * Rejection letter received 3/6
 * 3/7: Ditto the above, but it was a nice one.
 * 3/11: Hm. Nothing yet here. Anyone heard anything about a timeline, interviews, etc.?
 * 3/14 - From comments here, I get the impression that nobody got an acknowledgment. I didn't and haven't received a rejection (the inquiry of 3-11 is mine).
 * 3/16 - Darn. Rejection finally came (I'm the poster of 3/11 and 3/14). Congrats to whomever got this.

Rutgers Center for Cultural Analysis (New Media Literacies, Gutenberg to Google)
(Deadline: 1/4/2008, information)
 * 2/1 - received offer by email
 * 2/4 - notified that I was an alternate (via email)

Rutgers Center for Race and Ethnicity (New Brunswick) postdoc in race and gender studies
(Deadline: 1/31/2008)

Rutgers English Dept. PostDoc in African American Lit.
(Deadline: 2/15/08) A: I was told that decisions would be made by March 10. A: I posted that info. about March 10 (as sent them an email asking and received an email reply saying that decisions would be made by March 10), but have not yet heard anything! So, maybe that wasn't the actual notification day, but, instead, the committee simply met on the 10th (?). A: It's Sunday 3/16, and I still haven't heard anything either way. (3/18, still nothing). It's Thursday (3/20) and still nothing; is it safe to say the person they've selected just isn't checking in on the wiki? Wish Rutgers would send out rejection letters, then.
 * Q: Does anyone know the timeline for this fellowship?
 * Q: Did anyone hear anything yet? Was 3/10 actual notificaiton day?
 * So, has anyone received news, award or rejections (3/13)?
 * (3/24) Any news?

(3/28)--They sent out an offer on Friday. Not to me. A: Oh, sorry, should have made that clear. It was to an acquaintance of mine. Q: Thanks for clarification. Can you say if your acquaintance accepted offer? Is there still a chance for any of us?
 * Q: Not to be rude, but how can you be sure an offer was sent out if it wasn't sent to you?

Rutgers Geraldine R. Dodge Postdoc
(Deadline 2/28)

- Any word? (4/7) - Called the office last week and they said they would decide by the end of this month (4/7) - Received rejection letter (4/21)

Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture
(Deadline: ??/??/????, information)

St. Catharine's College, Cambridge, JRF
(Deadline: 11/30/2007)
 * People who made the longlist were notified around December, I believe.
 * Anyone heard from the St. Catharine's people?
 * I was told by a senior Fellow that they had 500+ applicants. Longlisted candidates were asked for writing samples (not me); they will not be contacting the unsuccessful. No idea where things stand for the long/short list.

St. Joseph's University, David H. Burton Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline 2/1/08)


 * 02/07 - Received email to set-up telephone interview.
 * 02/18 - Participated in telephone interview. The interviewers were very pleasant. They plan to select a fellow by mid-March 2008. Good luck to others pursuing this postdoc.
 * 02/28 - Received and accepted offer.

Stanford Asia Pacific Research Center Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: various, information)

Stanford Center for the Study of the American West Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 3/31/08, information)

Stanford Humanities Fellows
(Deadline: 12/3/2007, information)


 * Q: 1/25 - any news?
 * A: Not really, but I heard that they had 600+ applications.
 * A: 2/8: 16 finalists notified. The 6 offers will be made after a meeting on February 22nd
 * A: 2/23: The top 6 candidates have received offers.
 * Received emailed rejection letter addressed to "Dear Applicant." In the text, it stated, "But you may be pleased to know that yours was among the very top of the applications that were reviewed both by our departments and by our selection committee."  I find this hard to believe given the lack of use of my name.
 * 2/28: Actually, mine didn't say that, though it was also addressed to "Applicant" -- which, by coincidence, is my middle name -- so they really did like your application. Go have yourself an appletini!
 * 2/28: ditto on the one just above. My letter today was just a PFO with no mention of my being all that and a bag of chips. Doesn't pay the bills, but cheers anyway.

Stanford IHUM Fellows
(Deadline: 3/7/2008, information)


 * Note: the deadline for the fellowship has been pushed back to Fri. March 7, 2008.


 * Q: Anyone have a clue why?
 * A: Discussion of this issue appears on the "history" page accessed above


 * Q: 3/24: I haven't heard anything...are they doing interviews for this?


 * A: Web-site says: "Phone interviews for semi-finalists will be conducted after April 1, 2008. Campus visits for finalists will be arranged during April and early May. Decisions are expected to be announced by mid-May."


 * A: Discussion about anxiety, stress related to waiting and the application process are accessible via the "history" page above.


 * Q: Is there anyone on here who has been through the IHUM process before?
 * A: Three of my friends have: phone interviews and then on campus interviews.


 * Q: Could you squeeze them for tips on interview questions? I wonder what they ask, since it seems harder than a regular job interview (ie you're not really being hired for your own research per se, and you're not teaching a course of your own design, so they probably don't waste time with the usual questions that let you talk about what you know.  Instead you have to gesture rather broadly, I imagine, at your pedagogy, general teaching techniques you'd use for a set of core courses which on the whole may or may not particularly reflect all or even many of your interests. sounds like a bit of a challenge.


 * Contacted via email for phone interview 4/11. Notification of Semi-Finalist Status. Email mentioned that there were over 450 applicants this year.


 * Congrats! Q: Does anyone have a sense of whether this is it for the rest of us, or if the process is rolling?


 * Was the message delivered on 4/11 a general notification? Or did it come from one of the faculty, addressed to a possible TA for a particular course?  In other words, is it possible that others will hear good news this week?  Or is it more likely that everyone who's made the cut has already been notified?
 * A: Email was not from a faculty member, but from the Associate Vice Provost of Undergraduate Education.


 * Thanks for the information, and to all who've been willing to share what they know. Congratulations and good luck to those who made the first cut.


 * I had my phone interview today and learned that decisions are being made on a rolling basis. Not everyone has been notified yet.  Good luck everyone! 4/14


 * I can confirm that I received e-mail notification of semi-finalist status today, 4/14, so don't give up hope yet! Best of luck - can anyone comment on what the questions at the phone interview were like?


 * Yeah. Reliable hearsay person here again. I just heard again from my inside source that they have only contacted a small number of finalists so far and that this process will likely continue through next week. Good luck, everybody! (4/16)


 * Many many thanks to all for the info!


 * I talked with the IHUM admin. today and found out that people will continued to be contacted for phone interviews through the end of next week. Looks like we have another 10 days of anxiety.  Good luck to all!


 * Oh drat. A fun ten days.  I hope they contact all of us.


 * I can also say that they're moving quickly once they contact someone; I advanced from semi-finalist to finalist status today and campus visit is being scheduled shortly.


 * Regarding questions - there's a focus on pedagogical methods, logically enough, and on interdisciplinarity.


 * Q: So we have 2 semi-finalist interviews so far (1 progressed to finalist). How many more on here who haven't heard anything? (12)


 * A: I just added myself to the 'heard nothing' tally, but it seems a little pointless: with over 500 applicants, there will be literally several hundred who have heard nothing at this stage. A: True, but its more a curiosity about circulation.


 * HI all. I was just wondering whether anyone knew exactly HOW they're rolling (by field, etc?).  That is, could those of you with interviews say what fields/depts you are in?  Thanks for any info you can give.


 * "5" and original anxiety dream guy here, but what is the point of counting? We might as well require a survey asking people to "log on" as 1 of the hundreds who applied for this thing? I guess that would be useful to know if it were just the same 5 anxiety ridden people driving this group therapy, but then it wouldn't be so therapeutic, would it?


 * Um. With so few people posting I don't want to out myself by giving a field, but in any case I think they may be rolling by some other method (not alphabetical, though.) They did say that some courses tend to be larger and need more fellows than others, so I suspect that if your first choice was one of the new or less popular courses, they may not have gotten to you yet.


 * So if one were to out oneself as being in English, say, or Comparative Literature, would one be right to assume that those courses which one might be suited to teach are among the most popular and with the highest enrollment and thus the first they're trying to fill with fellows?

Q: Has anyone heard anything in the last week? Besides the lucky one who was made a finalist?
 * They didn't actually tell me which courses were most popular, but that certainly sounds like a reasonable guess??? OTOH, there are a lot of science students at Stanford, so who knows?
 * So do you get the impression they're proceeding on a course-by-course basis? I guess that's what the question about field was getting at.
 * A: That was certainly my vague impression, although given that there are both fall and winter-spring courses, I don't know exactly how the rubric would work. Mostly, I wouldn't stress at the moment, and would consider yourself to still be an active candidate.
 * A: nothing here. But I am proud to announce having graduated from anxiety dreams to apathy.
 * Yeah. "W" once stood for "wiki" and now for "Whatev."  I don't know what "S" stands for, but I can think of a lot of things other than "Stanford."  Take heart, people, I mean, their mascot is a TREE...


 * I find it hard to believe that they're still contacting semi-finalists for telephone interviews when they've decided to bring some people on campus and we're approaching the end of April. But I, too, find myself caring less and less.


 * One job offered, teaching Ancient Empires and Laws & Orders, to the finalist who posted earlier. As encouragement to the rest of you, I can say that they said they were still very much mid-process, and in particular hadn't contacted anyone yet for the World History of Science sort of courses (humans & machines, etc...) So if that's what you happen to do, I would very much maintain hope; I don't know regarding the other ones. I did really like the people there and the other things I heard about the job. Best of luck!

Stanford Program in Writing and Rhetoric
(Deadline: 11/16/2007, information)


 * 12/6 - received phone interview
 * 1/31 - received rejection

St John's, Christ Church and Merton JRFs, Oxford
(Deadline: 12/14/2007)

3/6/2008: Merton completed JRF search last Monday
 * 1/11 - Request for materials for Merton.
 * Q: Did anyone get prompted by Christ Church?
 * 02/06/2008: rejection received by email from Christ Church - 179 applicants
 * 02/06/2008: invitation to interview by Christ Church
 * 02/13/2008: rejection via snail mail from Merton
 * 02/15/2008: Merton is down to their short list; I got dropped after long list.

Temple Center for Humanities External Fellowship
(Deadline: 1/21/2008)


 * 1/25 - received email confirming receipt of application.
 * Successful applicant will be notified by March 7.
 * 3/10 - Has anyone been notified?
 * 3/11 - received email confirming I am not a finalist.

Trinity College, Oxford, JRF
(Deadline: 1/11/2007)
 * 1/23: email request for writing sample
 * 2/19: Snail mail rejection letter.

Tulane Teaching Postdoc
(no deadline) Postdoctoral Teaching Fellow [2987] The University Writing Program at Tulane seeks to appoint a number of post-doctoral teaching fellows for Fall 2008. Field open, but Ph.D. in any humanities discipline required before term begins. Strongest candidates will have experience teaching composition and an interest in service-learning commensurate with Tulane’s role in the cultural revival of New Orleans. Teaching load: three courses per semester, generally writing courses that are focused on a theme of the teacher’s choice. Additional duties include active participation in ongoing discussions of pedagogy. One year contract that, pending successful, annual review, can be renewed through a terminal fifth year. Salary: $35,000, plus benefits. For more information on the University Writing Program at Tulane, please visit www.tulane.edu/~writing/.
 * any further info? Is this the Greenleaf Latin American Fellowship?
 * No, this is the one posted last week on MLA JIL (and last year for that matter, essentially they are looking for folks to teach comp.)
 * Can somebody please provide a link or a job description for this, thanks
 * This is from ade.org:

Please submit a letter-of-application and a CV with the names of three references electronically to engpos1@tulane.edu. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until all positions filled. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply. Tulane University is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer.


 * 4/8 - Received offer.
 * 4/14 four offers were made on 4/8. Offer received, do you have PhD, curious?
 * A: Yes, just defended a few months ago

University of British Columbia, Killam Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)


 * 12/6 - received rejection letter
 * 12/22 - heard through the grapevine that individual depts have selected their candidates. It's down to ~50 candidates
 * 2/2  - heard second hand that offers have been made
 * 3/17 - Has anyone received a rejection letter from these folks?

University of British Columbia, Department of History, Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)
 * Looks like date has changed, deadline now February?
 * Has anyone received an acknowledgment? (2/25)
 * Nope (2/26)
 * Just got ack. today via email (2/25)


 * Ack. email said they would appoint in March. Has anyone been contacted for interview/further material?
 * Nope, nothing. (3/17)


 * Any updates? I've heard zip since ack. email (3/24)
 * Snail mail rejection received 3/28

Unversity of California Los Angeles Institute of American Cultures
(Deadline 1/11/2008)

There are four of these, one each in African American, American Indian, Asian American, and Chicano Studies. Any news?

Unversity of California Los Angeles Mellon Postdoctoral Program "Cultures in Transnational Perspective"
(Deadline 2/1/2008)

offer made via email 3/7

University of California Los Angeles Mellon Postdoctoral Position in Jewish American Literature
(Deadline 2/1/2008) 2/21 Offer made and accepted

University of California Los Angeles Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, "The Atlantic Imagination in the Age of Romanticism"
(Deadline 3/1/2008)

University of California Los Angeles Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, "Technologies of the Text"
(Deadline: 2/1/2008, information)

University of California Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/15/07, information)


 * Awards will be announced on March 1, 2008. (heard by email after asking)

-I heard some lucky fellows are being contacted already. Why no posts? (2/8) - Received phone call last week but waited for award letter to arrive (2/19) -congratulations! May I ask what field? (2/26) Thanks! field: History


 * email rejection 2/26 (2)

-Are applicants from different fields notified at different times? (3/4)

University of Chicago Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Digital History
(Deadline: applications reviewed as received, information)

University of Chicago Society of Fellows in the Lib Arts
(Deadline: 10/15/2007, information)


 * 10/20 - Received email confirmation that my application was complete
 * 12/7 - Received e-mail request for writing samples (12/7) (4)
 * Humanities (2)


 * 1/9  - Received email asking for writing samples (Social Sciences)
 * 1/28 - Received e-mail notification of on-campus interview (Humanities) (2)
 * 2/5 - Received e-mail notification of on campus interview
 * Q: for the 2/5 posting, humanities or social sciences?


 * A: in the humanities, interview to take place in Feb.
 * 2/9 - Received e-mail notification of being "an alternate for an on-campus interview" (Humanities)
 * I think that's pretty rude, telling someone s/he is an alternate. What, so you can just wait around, hoping that the main players falter or pass the ticket? Not classy at all.
 * 2/13: Sounds like Chicago is hedging its bets. Perhaps, this means that one or more of the interviewees has multiple postdocs in play and they shared that with Chicago. So, this could be good news for the "alternate." I hope so!  i'm going to turn down my interview (i got a tt). ..
 * 2/14: It seems like all the info here is coming from the Humanities...the writing sample request for Western Civ/Social Sciences was a month later than that of Humanities, so by that measure, maybe the Social Sciences requests for interviews won't be made until early March? Does that sound right, or has anybody heard anything different?
 * 2/15: received email invitation to on-campus interview (social sciences, 2)
 * 2/16, Q: Any news on Western Civ? (Is anyone else waiting to hear?)


 * 2/28: The 2/13 poster was correct; I was the 2/9 alternate, and I was just contacted for an interview next week.
 * Congrats! Any other alternates out there been contacted?


 * 3/6: Offer received for Humanities Postdoc
 * 3/6: Received notice of being an alternate, Humanities (2)
 * Question: is this an alternate for interview or for an offer?
 * A: Offer.
 * A: Yes, for an offer.


 * 3/14: Social Science SC has met and ranked candidates.
 * 3/21: offer accepted for Humanities position
 * Q: Congrats.  Did they give you a deadline for this decision, or did you just choose to respond at this point?
 * A: Thanks. They asked for a response by the end of next week.


 * 4/2 - Offer received, Humanities (I was one of the 3/6 alternates)


 * 4/8: Has anyone from Social Sciences received an offer?
 * Congrats 4/2 person. Any word on whether there are additional humanities slots remaining to be filled?
 * As far as I know, all the Humanities slots have been filled, though there remains some slim possibility that another slot will open up, should a current fellow accept an offer elsewhere.

University of Georgia, Franklin Fellowship (theater and film department)
(Deadline March 7 information)

University of Georgia, Franklin Fellowship (history department)
(Deadline 4/3/08)
 * 3/28 - email acknowledgment, said they would start reading apps during the coming week.
 * 4/22 - Q. Has anyone heard anything?

University of Miami Virtue Postdoc
(Deadline: 11/5/2007, information)


 * I see that one APA interview has been scheduled. Any others?

University of Michigan CAAS Dubois Mandela Rodney Fellowship
(Deadline: 12/01/2007, information) 2/23: offer made by mail (declined 3/03)
 * 3/17 rejection letter received, mentioned that an offer had been made and accepted

University of Michigan Society of Fellows
(Deadline: 10/1/2007, information)


 * 1/24 - Rejection by email after I emailed them. Email said there are 35 finalists out of 432 applicants
 * 1/25 - offer made by phone in anthropology
 * 1/25 - offer made
 * 1/28 - rejection letter received via mail (3)
 * 2/13 - Congratulations to our colleagues.

University of Michigan Sweetland Writing Center
(Deadline: ??/??/????, information)


 * 12/10 - received rejection letter

University of Minnesota Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)

notifications next week (2/25) still nothing, anyone else? (3/17) 3/18 Emailed to inquire and director responded that decision was made and rejections were sent via email (I hadn't received my rejection, but should have been)
 * has anyone heard anything yet?

University of Minnesota Quadrant Postdoc Fellowship
(Deadline: 1/4/08)


 * 1/7 snailmail materials confirmation


 * 2/25 Rejection by snailmail--received 30+ applications

University of North Carolina Postdoc Program for Faculty Diversity
(Deadline: 1/3/2008)


 * 1/7 Confirmation that complete application had been received. Promised final decision no later than 2/29


 * 1/10 Received an exception email detailing their review process and timeline. Decisions to be communicated by 2/29. Wow! Imagine if everyone took as much pride in their work as the Carolina folks!  Incredible.


 * 2/25 Sigh...Received a rejection email today. But, UNC handled communications and managed the process in an incredibly considerate manner.


 * 2/25 rejection by email

University of North Carolina Center for the Study of the American South
(Deadline: 1/17/08)


 * Received lovely note via USPS confirming that application had been received, 1/24.
 * Does anyone have a sense of their timeline? (3/3)
 * I have no idea what the timeline is. According to the center's website, they hosted two conferences last week.  Perhaps the staff has been slowed down by their work on the conferences.  (3/7)
 * offers have been made (3/9)
 * Snail mail rejection letter received. (3/17)
 * Heard through the grapevine it is Benjamin Wise Rice U PhD 08 (3/27)

University of Rochester, Frederick Douglass Institute African American Studies postdoc
(Deadline: 1/31/2008)


 * This is supposed to be announced March 1. Any word?
 * I am also waiting on this but haven't heard yea or nay

University of Texas Austin Postdoctoral Fellowship (English)
(Deadline: 12/1/07, link no longer on dept. website or ad list)

Offer made. ** Congratulations! Did you accept it?
 * 12/18 - received email acknowledging application
 * 1/29 - received email notice of being on waiting list of 9
 * 2/5 WS request. Decisions to be made in early March (4)
 * 2/23 Received rejection letter via regular mail
 * Has anyone who submitted a WS heard anything yet?
 * 3/9 I haven't heard anything yet. ** Me neither.

University of South Carolina-Columbia, postdoctoral fellowship in Southern Studies
(Deadline: 2/15/2008)
 * Anyone have a sense of their timeline? (3/12)

-Interview scheduled. (3/18)

University of Southern California, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in British and Irish history
(Deadline: 3/31/2008, http://college.usc.edu/history/ibis/fellowship/)

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies, Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 2/15/2008, information)
 * 2/4 Acknowledgment email
 * Anyone have an idea of timeline here?
 * I don't know, but I received an email that expressed interest and requested that I demonstrate that I can defend by 30 June 2008. (2/22)
 * 2/22 Just received an e-mail saying that the decision-making process is underway and that they want to send announcements in the first week of March.
 * Were they responding to an inquiry from you about the timeline? Was there any previous contact? (2/23)
 * I was the poster 2/4, with acknowledgment email. I have not received the 2/22 timeline update.
 * 2/23 The e-mail I got about the early March announcements was in response to an inquiry (which I sent as a result of seeing the previous entry)--sorry if I caused a scare. The only non-solicited e-mail I've received was an acknowledgement that my application was complete.
 * 03/04: Word is that the announcement will indeed be this week. Anybody know how many final candidates are in the mix?
 * 03/06: Ughh. Just got rejected by email. Turns out there were 27 finalists. Damn.
 * 03/06: Same here. So close...argh!
 * 03/06: I'm really sorry. Were you previously notified you were a finalist?  I ask because they expressed strong interest in my project, but didn't tell me I was a finalist.  I still haven't heard anything.
 * 03/06: I haven't heard anything either. The initial confirmation thanked me for my 'outstanding proposal' but I don't know if that counts as 'expressing strong interest'...
 * 03/06: Thanks for your reply. No, the confirmation email was not the strong interest that I was referring to.  I just received a rejection email.
 * 03/06: email rejection; I was not (at least to my knowledge) a finalist. And I hadn't been notified of any strong interest. I only got an ack. email thanking me for my "outstanding proposal and CV." Congrats to the four fellows who landed this gig - it looks like a great new center!
 * 03/06: ditto. Good luck winners!
 * 03/08: Did anybody else think the Administrator who dealt with the emails was a little too enthusiastic and positive in her responses? Looks like she called everybody's initial proposal "outstanding" and when I communicated with her after that she really made it sound like I had the fellowship in the bag-- "the committee will be very excited that you are still available". Is that a Texas thing or something?
 * 3/08 No idea if it's a Texas thing. Similar messages got my hopes up too. The rejection though addressed me as 'Professor'... I've just finished my PhD and I'm unemployed.
 * 3/8: Reply. I'm PhD student finishing up at UT and the director of the Institute is on of my committee.  I can say without hesitation that although she is a kind woman, she does not exaggerate when she reviews students' work.  If many of you heard that your work was "outstanding", then, I'd suggest you accept the compliment. I am sure it is...unfortunately, there aren't enough fellowships to go around for great scholars. Oh, ya, it is a "Texas thing"...we are genuinely warm, nice people. (This concludes my advertisement for the State of Texas Dept. of Tourism.)
 * 3/9: I didn't hear anything about my proposal being "outstanding"- and frankly, I think my proposal is really outstanding... so, yeah, accept the compliment.
 * 3/9: Like the first 3/8 poster I thought the administrator was way too enthusiastic (I got a very similar e-mail to 3/8 except in my case I was told the committee would be "thrilled" that I was still available). It came off as a bit unprofessional at the time, and even more so after I was rejected! Also, note that the admin and the director of the Institute are two completely different people, so this shouldn't reflect on the director of the Institute.

University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Institute, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 1/4/2008, information)


 * Q: Did anyone receive a confirmation after e-mailing their materials?
 * A1: nothing here. (ditto on 1/10, and I emailed my app on Dec 26, but classes only restarted 1/7)
 * A2: I emailed my application Dec 7, and recieved an email a few days later saying it had been recieved and promsing to notify me when my dossier was complete. But as of Jan 10 this promised confirmation still hasn't come.
 * 2/7: calls for shortlist
 * Any rejections? Any final decisions?
 * At least one of the candidates isn't visiting until late next week. There are six candidates altogether, for 3 slots.
 * 3/12: offer made
 * 4/1: Snail mail rejection rec'd (dated 3/20). 150 applications for 3 fellowships. Winners will be announced on the website in the next few weeks.

University of Virginia, Woodson Institute
(Deadline: 12/01/2007, information)
 * received rejection letter 3/15

University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture Postdoc
(Deadline: 1/15/2008)

emailed acknowledgment 1/31

offers have been made and accepted. rejection letters should soon arrive. (3/1)

University of Washington Writing Center
(Deadline: ??/??/????, information)

Valparaiso University 3 Lilly Fellowships in the Humanities and Arts
(Deadline: 12/18/2007, information)


 * 12/6, 12/18 application acknowledged


 * 1/4, Received polite rejection email.

Vassar College, Mellon Postdoc in Peace and Justice Studies
(Deadline: 2/25/08, http://www.simplyhired.com/job-id/ixbbgsmqvx/andrew-w-jobs/)
 * Does anyone have any info on the timeline here?
 * 4/1/08: Rejections to non short-listed candidates: We are currently interviewing a short list of candidates and hope to have completed the search by the second week in April.
 * Anyone know about the Mellon Postdoc through Vassar's Science, Technology, and Society program?

Washington Univ in St. Louis Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship Program
(Deadline: 12/1/2007, information)

Commentary
 * 11/12 - Their website indicates they have two fellows hired for '06-'08.
 * 11/16 - No one was hired in 2007.

Log 2/29 - offer made and accepted (2/28)
 * 11/21 - received email confirming application was complete
 * 2/1  - received rejection letter via mail.
 * 2/4 - are there other people around who haven't received rejection letters for the Wash U. postdoc?
 * 2/5 - got rej letter today
 * 2/6 - me too and the inquiry of 2/4 was mine.
 * 2/13- I haven't received a rejection letter yet. Is anybody else in this situation?  (3)
 * 2/13 - I also have no rejection. I assume that everyone who got the mid-Jan email about still being interested is on the short-list and will be contacted for phone interviews.  This is just supposition, however.
 * 2/13 - The mid-January email looked a lot like one I got last year from another post-doc, which had whittled the pool down from a large number to a small one (say, 20). I suspect Wash U is now deliberating over just such a smaller candidate pool, which takes time.  I don't think those who got the mid-January letter should assume they'll be contacted for interviews, but only that you've made the short list (how short, no one can say).
 * 2/17 - Phone interview scheduled by phone
 * 2/25 - Anyone else? No, and I got one of the "still interested?" e-mails in Jan.
 * 3/15 - Have final decisions gone out regarding this position? Is anyone still waiting to hear?
 * 3/20--both fellowships have been offered and accepted.

Washington University in St. Louis Post Doc in Queer Studies
(Deadline 10/15/07, posted on MLA joblist
 * - is there a website?

Washington University in St. Louis Post Doc in AFAS
(Deadline 1/15/08), information)
 * rejection letter received 3/21

Wellesley College Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Cinema and Media Studies
(Deadline: 2/5/2008)

Wesleyan University Center for the Americas Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 12/4/2007, information)
 * Two fellowships: one in Latin American studies, one in Native American Studies
 * 1/31 Received email acknowledgment of application (2)
 * 2/15 Know of one person with interview scheduled for LatAm position
 * 3/20 LatAm position filled
 * 4/18 Received letter of rejection on Native American Studies position

Wesleyan University Center for the Humanities Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)


 * 12/13 - phone interview scheduled
 * 12/20 - campus interview scheduled

Williams Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline: 11/1/2007, information)


 * 12/9 - on campus interview scheduled

Yale Agrarian Studies
(Deadline 1/4/08)


 * 1/31 - received rejection letter by mail
 * 3/6 - received rejection from second round

Yale Post-Doc in British Studies
(Deadline 3/21/08, )


 * Received email acknowledgement of application, 3/24.

Yale Whitney Humanities Center Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship
(Deadline 2/1/08)
 * 2/22 Anyone get an acknowledgment? I am wondering what timeline is.
 * A: No, no acknowledgement here. Anyone else?
 * A: I know of one offer made and accepted.
 * Q: Seriously?? that seems just too quick... (sure it was this postdoc, which only closed three weeks ago?) 2/22
 * A. I'm fairly certain it's the same one.
 * Q: I agree, this turn-around time seems impossible. Person posting info, can you say if the person you heard of had a campus interview with them in the space of those 3 weeks, or was campus visit bypassed? Thank you for posting.
 * I was the poster of 2/22, I emailed to enquire, and got reply (2/26) that the three posts have been offered and accepted. (Maybe they assess applications on a rolling basis as they arrive - from the opening date of Jan 1 - rather than waiting for deadline?)
 * Thank you very much for the info. (it is a shame they were too busy to acknowledge applications)
 * Rejection letter dated 2/22 reads, committee "has extended offers...and the candidates have accepted."
 * One went to an inside candidate, and only by the grace of his advisor. so for the rejectees: don't feel so badly, since unfair nepotism was at play, and not the quality and promise of your work.
 * There are way too many qualified candidates for all of these positions; there's no need for being petty and attacking those who are fortunate enough to get these competitive spots. Grow up.
 * No, you grow up. This is important information. Kudos to the person who shared it; it was already obvious to all of us that something was awry, since the speed at which they made their decisions suggested they had essentially made up their minds before the 2/1 application deadline.
 * Yes, thank you to the person above. I am the one who shared the inside information, and I did not do it to be petty. In fact, when I say "unfair nepotism" was involved I do not mean to imply that the successful candidate in question is not a good scholar. I speak instead to the decision that his advisor made. And I did want to point out that this is what happened (something widely acknowledged and known in the department in question here at Yale) because I saw from the responses above that the timeline was just not adding up. This is perhaps why, and I really did want to console the candidates who felt uneasy and uncertain about the way in which the search was being conducted, and to definitely assure them that there were obviously other factors at play.  To those of you who did not receive this fellowship, I wish you all the best with your future applications and endeavors.

Debate/Comments
Q: Is there a pre-doc page for this year (2007-2008)?

'''***Thanks to whomever consolidated and cleaned up the post-doc pages. You're a superstar!***'''

Yes, thank you!!

Absolutely, thank you!!

Kudos

Q: Hey 141.155.9.210: Thanks so much for cleaning up so many of the postings! Is there any chance you could go through the rest of the fellowship listings and clean up all the useless jibber-jabber on those, too?

Response to notice not to delete entries: I call bullcrap. The entries that were removed were a waste of space and made using this wiki far more difficult. Why do we need entries about buying apple-tinis under the Columbia postdoc listing? No actually useful information was removed; no actual postdocs were removed. Is there any justification whatsoever for leaving such completely useless information? If we're going to bitch about something, why not bitch about the fact that so many folks can't follow the suggested syntax to make the page readable and quickly scannable?

A: I'm sorry, but no. Your perception of those entries as "a waste of space" doesn't justify your deletions. It's really not so hard to scan through a couple of lines, is it? Also, don't be so nasty and rude. Seriously.

A: Useful info. was deleted, such as the fact that the Princeton SOF received 950 applications.

A: The conversation that goes on in these entries is an important part of the wiki for many of us. Please be flexible and don't impose your ideas onto everyone else. This is a very dehumanizing process and the appletini post reminded me that we're all people, in this together. (That is just one of several examples, which I'm using because the curser brought it up.) Who are you to declare a conversation between several people "useless information."

Dear Wikitas, I would like to offer a few suggestions:  • First, since there seems to be a near-consensus -- excluding, of course, 141.155.9.210 and Mr. Bullcrap -- that entries should not be deleted, even if they are deemed "useless jibber-jabber," please don't make any further deletions. And, 141.155.9.210, I respectfully request that you undo your deletions from the past week. I have started to do this, but since there have been so many intermediate edits, it's actually quite time consuming to restore these entries. • Next, it seems fine to me to re-format others' entries -- adding indents, bullets, spelling out abbreviations, etc. -- to make them more scannable. But, re-wording someone's entry because you don't like their word order (or whatever) is downright controlling. Also, creepy. Please stop. • Lastly, I suggest that this entire discussion be moved to the discussion page (or possibly even, gasp, deleted??) after this issue is resolved. I've had enough, and I suspect you all have, too. • Oh, and no more nastiness, please. If you don't like this page, well, don't use it. I would also like to thank all of you who conscientiously (and sometimes, humorously) contribute to this page. As the above poster noted, this is a dehumanizing (and, I'd add, wretched) process. This forum, for me at least, somehow takes the edge off. My sincere congratulations to those of you who have already had success, and best of luck to the rest. xoxo, hysterian

Reply to All: Since I have been dehumanizingly referred to as "Mr. Bullcrap" and "the curser", I will reply in the hope that I can appear human again. First, I am sorry that my initial note was taken to be so insulting. I do apologize for that; this process has been at least as harsh for me as for anyone, and perhaps I let that infect my comments. On reflection, my words were harsher than they seemed (to me) at the time; "jibber-jabber" was a failed attempt at humor. And I do understand the value of such comments; you are correct to point out that they are not useless.

But in some (mild) defense:
 * (1) I originally was the one who combined the wikihost and wikia pages; I sub-divided "commentary" and "log" for several postdocs for which there was a clear difference, so that one could easily find updates about the postdoc app status vs. engaging in commentary about the postdoc, the fee, etc. I was very careful to preserve all comments when I did so.  I divided because in some cases (Columbia was just one example) it was quite difficult (more than just a couple of lines - more like 50 it seems) to find up-to-date info.  (Look at last year's postdoc page for something difficult to read!)  However, at the time, I found it useful to see/hear comments, as well.  But as time went on, more than one or two folks ignored the division, and posted wherever was easiest.  Watching this continue, after I tried to make the page more user-friendly, was frustrating.
 * (2) I also provided the syntax suggestions at the top, mostly because the wikihost formatting syntax was quite different than wikia. But more and more people ignored this as well, increasing my frustration.  Combine these two issues, and certain entries were getting pretty messy.
 * (3) I assume the "anti-curser" suggested that I was imposing my views because he or she believed that I had also deleted all the comments, and wasn't suggesting that I shouldn't even express my view at all. However, I didn't delete the comments (although I was in favor of it); but when I expressed my initial request that the job be finished (see the Q: above), the first batch had already been done for a couple of days, so I figured it was acceptable that it be done. I guess there should have been more discussion in advance, but I assumed (incorrectly) that there were no objections, since nobody complained about the first batch of changes.
 * (4) Leaving aside my rude claim that many of the comments were useless, I wonder (in a way similar to Hysterian, perhaps, since he or she refers to this as a forum) whether there is a more effective way of dividing information/details between the Wiki page and a related user forum, such that the Wiki can contain only genuine updates on the application process/progress, while a related forum could allow for questions from anyone to ask for updates, or to comment on worries they have (such as the increasingly common practice of charging job market entrants (who are generally poor) an application fee of $20-$60). Wikihost, for example, has a discussion page for just this sort of purpose.  There is a discussion tab at the top of this page, too, but I haven't used it, so don't know how effective/usable it is.  On the other hand, I recognize that some might prefer to be asking questions about specific postdocs right under the entry, since some people might not be inclined to check two places rather than one.  But that is how things get so messy.  And it's not clear to me that such information needs to be retained (in at least many cases) with the postdoc listing as opposed to just having a discussion forum.  For example, if someone asks for an update, why shouldn't a respondent just delete the question and state the status update?  (That's a real question - I'm not intending it as rhetorical.)

I take it that our goal should be to maximize the usability of this while working together to do so. I apologize insofar as I failed on both counts, esp. the latter.

More in the category of worthless comments: In the immortal words of Rodney King, "Can't we all just get a long?" You guys and gals are great! This whole discussion is further evidence of just how much academics, and I include myself in this group, need to be in therapy and taking our medications as directed. Hang in there everyone. It's rough out here. I've applied for about 35+ jobs and postdocs -- and have had only one nibble. This who process is dehumanizing...and it makes us say and do things that are completely out of character for ourselves. Saludos amigos.


 * Idea: I would recommend that we just tally any info in abbreviated form on the main page and reserve discussion threads for a "discussion page," so that those who want a sleek list of dates and "interview scheduled" can scan and get that information and those who want to include more information and banter about it can do that, too.

Idea for a sleek tally: include date and news: eg. "4/1 shortlist (second hand)" Leave out "any news" assuming news is posted when received. Info to include: shortlist, interview scheduled, on campus visit, rejection letter (via email/ via snailmail).

Reserve information about insider candidates, nepotism, shifted deadlines for discussion page...

DELETED ENTRIES

Damn. Someone deleted some of the information I posted on the North Carolina Diversity Postdoc.

Another deleted entry from last year's list is: Dumbarton Oaks.

There is a fellowship missing - Franklin Fellowship at U of Georgia - theater and film department. I am not hip enough to make the posting - anyone up for it?
 * Done and done. p.s. you are totally hip enough.
 * Thanks but just to prove you wrong... I didn't know hwo to make it say information instead of the link...

Any information about the Yale gender/sexuality postdoc? I don't see it listed here. A: I don't have any info, try adding it to the main list A: Do you mean the LGBT Studies 2-year, non-tenure track job? They are conducting on-campus interviews right now for this job. (3/28) A: offer received, 4/9!

Suggestion/ question: would people agree that we should change (at least for next year's wiki) the name of this wiki to "humanities and social sciences postdocs" (or at least, "humanities and humanistic social sciences")? Many of the postdocs are overlapping and there are obviously plenty of anthropologists, etc. here.

Has anyone heard from UC Berkeley's Chancellor's Postdoc? (3/25)

Has anyone heard from the UCSB Women's Studies Dissertation Fellowship? (3/26)


 * A: Guys (gals?), these questions ('Has anyone heard from x?') are what the main list is for! Add the postdocs you are interested in to the list. People who may have info are very unlikely to scroll down here and see your query.


 * Hi All. I know the primary stated purpose of this page is to provide information. However, it also provides a pretty darn good community support structure through this whole mess. We even have our own currency of appletinis (even though the original referent is gone). I know people are still going through and "cleaning up" some of the entries, but is there a point at which the community aspects should also remain in primary documentation, especially considering that this new wiki lets users jump directly to entries of interest?

Question about the ethics/ etiquette/ politics of rejecting a position already accepted (please reply):
 * let's say someone who accepted a position or postdoc some time ago gets a better (perhaps considerably better) offer from another institution. Are there any generally held ideas about this kind of thing within academia?  Does that person have a responsibility to the first institution?  Does it scar their reputation if they take the second position?  What thoughts about this are there on the list?  The dates for all these postdocs are so staggered over the course of the year that this must be a semi-common issue.  What's the wisdom of the wiki here?  Thanks.
 * A: From what I have seen, ditching a postdoc, or resigning one early, in order to take up a T-T is generally par for the course. Everyone recognises that the T-T is the long-term goal, and if such an opportunity comes up, you would take it. Post-docs also tend to have reserve lists, and less problems about returning to the 'pool' if someone drops out. If, on the other hand, you are talking about ditching a T-T you committed to several months ago, yes this may annoy people. It is more difficult to return to the pool, and very likely too late/too costly to run another whole search. Put it another way, an institution/dept can get along fine without a post-doc, but they are going to be seriously in the lurch if someone with a teaching post drops out. In the long run of your career, if the second offer is That Much better, you should take it. Of course one wants to do the right thing morally, but we all know in humanities that if you turn down a good offer, there is no guarantee you'll get another. The best solution may be to ask if More Desirable offer can be deferred for 12 months so you can put in a year where you have committed yourself. Otherwise, if you want to renege on your commitment to institution 1, for God's sake don't sit on the desicision. Do it ASAP. Like NOW. Give them a chance to find a VAP. The person who pulls out in April is not hated like the person who pulls out in July.

Postdoc Resources
UC Berkeley Postdoc Resource Page

Require subscriptions (usually available through university library):

IRIS (Illinois Research Information Service)

Community of Science (COS) Funding Opportunities

SPIN Search, InfoEd International

Others:

Link to Last Year's Postdoc Wikihost Page