Our planet faces unprecedented and interrelated crises of climate change, biodiversity loss, and the growing threat of infectious disease. Nationally, the United States is also confronting our complicated history and legacy of race and racism. As the largest museum, education, and research complex — with 21 museums, numerous research centers, and the National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute — the Smithsonian’s vast collections, exhibits, current and historical data sets, and in-house expertise provide a unique opportunity to inform interdisciplinary approaches and solutions to many of these challenges.
The Smithsonian aims to advance solutions that fill us with optimism for our planet and all species that call our planet home through a new initiative, Our Shared Future: Life on a Sustainable Planet. As part of this initiative, the Smithsonian is launching three new in-residence fellowship programs: the Smithsonian Climate Change Postdoctoral Fellowship, Smithsonian Environmental Justice Fellowship, and the Resilience and Sustainability Science Postdoctoral Fellowship. Each program will support a cohort of 2-5 fellows for a period of two years. Fellows will receive a stipend to conduct independent research that utilizes Smithsonian resources (e.g., data, facilities, expertise). Fellows are especially encouraged to apply if they have research projects that have the potential to produce rapid results and impact.
Climate Change, Environmental Justice, and Resilience and Sustainability Fellows will form a cohort that will participate in hybrid training related to leadership skill development, science communication, policy engagement, effective transdisciplinary research techniques, and inclusive approaches to research and equitable outcomes. This cohort-based training will support fellows in connecting their research to action. The Smithsonian will support travel for participation in the cohort-based training.
Deadline: August 31, 2023. Applications are now open.
Notification Date: Fall 2023.
Eligibility: See detailed program descriptions. No employee or contractor of the Smithsonian Institution may hold a Smithsonian fellowship during the time of his/her employment or contract, nor may an award be offered to any person who has been employed by or under contract to the Institution in the previous year, without the prior approval of the Office of Academic Appointments and Internships.
Eligible Locations: The use of Smithsonian collections, data, labs, and resources is a central component of this fellowship. The research location should align with the scope of the research project, and fellows are expected to spend a significant amount of time in residency.
Term: 24 months (in residence); 36 months for Ocean Nexus-STRI fellows.
Stipend: Recipients will receive a stipend of $62,000 per year. Stipends are prorated for periods of less than 24 months. A research allowance is also available. Please see details specific to each program.
Criteria for Selection: Applications are evaluated, and fellows are selected by scholars in appropriate fields on the basis of the proposal’s merit, the applicant’s ability to carry out the proposed research and study, the likelihood that the research could be completed in the requested time, and the extent to which the Smithsonian, through its resources, could contribute to the proposed research.
Contact: Office of Academic Appointments and Internships, E-mail: FellowsSI@si.edu.
The Smithsonian Fellowship Program does not discriminate on grounds of race, creed, sex, age, marital status, condition of handicap, or national origin of any applicant. No employee or contractor of the Smithsonian Institution may hold a Smithsonian fellowship during the time of his/her employment or contract, nor may an award be offered to any person who has been employed by or under contract to the Institution in the previous year, without the prior approval of the Office of Academic Appointments and Internships.
