The School for Advanced Research (SAR) offers residential fellowships for scholars whose research has reached a stage where they need dedicated time, space, and an intellectually collaborative environment to complete a major scholarly project. Based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, SAR supports research across the humanities, social sciences, archaeology, anthropology, history, sociology, and related fields, with particular emphasis on empirically grounded scholarship and work that contributes meaningfully to the understanding of humankind.

The SAR Resident Scholars program is designed for researchers who have completed substantial portions of their research and now require an extended period to transform that research into a dissertation, book manuscript, or another substantial scholarly work.

For the 2026–2027 academic cycle, SAR continues its long-running residential fellowship program, offering opportunities for doctoral candidates, postdoctoral scholars, senior scholars, Native American scholars, and scholars working in related humanities and social science disciplines.

School for Advanced Research Resident Scholars Program

For more than five decades, the School for Advanced Research has provided fellowships to scholars at advanced stages of research and writing. The program is particularly focused on giving researchers the time and intellectual environment necessary to bring substantial projects toward completion.

Unlike opportunities that primarily fund the beginning of a research project, SAR’s Resident Scholar fellowships are intended for scholars who have already undertaken significant research and need concentrated time to complete their dissertations, books, or other major scholarly works.

The program combines:

• Financial support through a fellowship stipend
• Residential accommodation
• An interdisciplinary scholarly community
• Dedicated time for research and writing
• Opportunities for intellectual exchange
• Informal mentoring between senior and junior scholars
• Access to the broader intellectual environment of the School for Advanced Research

SAR explains that proposed projects should generally require nine months to reach substantial completion. In certain circumstances, faculty applicants may be considered for semester-long, 4.5-month fellowships, depending on the availability of fellow apartments.

Who Can Apply?

The Resident Scholars program is intended for scholars working in the humanities, social sciences, archaeology, anthropology, and closely related fields.

Eligibility differs according to the particular fellowship.

Potential applicants include:

• PhD candidates who are preparing to write their dissertations
• Scholars who already hold doctorates and are preparing book manuscripts
• Faculty members seeking a semester-long writing residency
• Senior scholars
• Junior scholars
• Anthropologists with doctoral degrees
• Native American scholars working in the humanities or social sciences
• Native American writers with substantial published work

Applicants should carefully identify which SAR fellowship corresponds to their academic status, discipline, research project, and eligibility.

Major SAR Resident Fellowships

SAR currently lists several fellowship opportunities, although some historically offered fellowships are no longer accepting applications.

1. Weatherhead Fellowship

The Weatherhead Fellowship provides two residential fellowships for scholars.

Eligible applicants include:

• Scholars who hold doctoral degrees and intend to write their books
• PhD candidates who intend to write their dissertations

The fellowship is therefore relevant to both established scholars and doctoral researchers at an advanced stage of their projects.

Applicants should demonstrate that their proposed project is sufficiently developed and that the residency will allow them to make substantial progress toward completion.

2. Paloheimo Fellowship

The Paloheimo Fellowship provides one nine-month residential fellowship.

This fellowship is specifically open to:

• PhD candidates
• Doctoral researchers who plan to write their dissertations

The nine-month residency provides an extended period for concentrated dissertation writing within SAR’s interdisciplinary scholarly environment.

3. Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship

The Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship provides one residential fellowship.

This opportunity has a specific eligibility focus. It is available to:

• Native American scholars at the predoctoral level
• Native American scholars at the postdoctoral level
• Native American scholars working in the humanities
• Native American scholars working in the social sciences
• Native American writers with a substantial body of published work

Because this fellowship has specific eligibility requirements, prospective applicants should determine whether they meet the fellowship’s criteria before preparing an application.

Fellowships That Are No Longer Accepting Applications

SAR also identifies several previous fellowship programs that have now ended.

Mellon Foundation Fellowship

The Mellon Foundation Fellowship previously supported two residential fellowships.

According to SAR, the fellowship sunset in 2024 and is no longer accepting applications.

Wenner-Gren Fellowship

The Wenner-Gren Fellowship previously provided one residential fellowship for anthropologists.

SAR states that this fellowship sunset in 2025 and is no longer accepting applications.

Barbara and Dennis Tedlock Fellowship

The Barbara and Dennis Tedlock Fellowship is different from the general application-based fellowships.

It is awarded annually by invitation to a distinguished senior scholar.

Consequently, it is not presented as an ordinary open application opportunity for prospective applicants.

Fellowship Duration

The standard SAR Resident Scholar fellowship is designed around a nine-month residential period.

SAR states that proposed projects should generally require approximately nine months to bring to substantial completion.

There is also a possibility of a shorter 4.5-month fellowship for faculty members. However, these semester-long fellowships are considered on a case-by-case basis, depending on the availability of fellowship apartments.

This means that applicants should not automatically assume that a shorter residency will be available.

Fellowship Stipends

SAR provides different stipend amounts depending on whether the scholar is classified as a senior or junior scholar.

Senior Scholars

For senior scholars:

• $70,000 for a nine-month fellowship
• $35,000 for a 4.5-month fellowship

Junior Scholars

For junior scholars:

• $50,000 for a nine-month fellowship

These stipends provide substantial financial support during the residential writing period and are intended to give scholars the opportunity to devote significant time to completing their projects.

Residential Requirement

An important feature of the SAR program is that the fellowships are residential.

Fellows are expected to be physically present at SAR for at least 90% of their appointments.

This requirement is important because the program is structured around sustained participation in the SAR scholarly community rather than simply providing remote financial support.

Applicants should therefore ensure that their professional and personal circumstances allow them to spend the required period in residence.

Housing and Office Arrangements

SAR provides campus apartments for each fellow.

However, applicants should be aware of an important logistical detail concerning workspace.

Due to ongoing construction on the SAR campus:

• Campus apartments are provided to fellows.
• Separate offices are not currently available.
• Fellows should therefore expect to work from their residential accommodations or other available spaces rather than receiving an individual separate office.

This is particularly important for researchers who require specialized office or laboratory facilities and should be considered when planning the residency.

Senior and Junior Scholar Interaction

SAR’s residential model encourages interaction between scholars at different stages of their careers.

Senior fellows are expected to provide informal mentoring to junior fellows.

This creates an environment where doctoral researchers and less-established scholars can interact with experienced academics working across different disciplines and research traditions.

The interdisciplinary nature of the community is an important component of the fellowship experience.

Fields and Areas of Research

SAR describes its Resident Scholars program as covering a broad range of the humanities and social sciences.

Resident scholars approach research from fields including:

• Archaeology
• Anthropology
• History
• Sociology
• Humanities
• Social sciences
• Related interdisciplinary fields

SAR has a stated preference for empirically grounded work.

However, the fellowship is not restricted to a single academic discipline or methodological tradition.

The broad disciplinary scope allows applicants to present projects from different intellectual perspectives.

How Applications Are Evaluated

SAR states that applications are evaluated according to two overall criteria.

Criterion 1: Contribution to Scholarship

Reviewers consider whether the proposed project will significantly advance the area of scholarship on which it is focused.

Applicants should therefore clearly explain:

• What the project is about
• What scholarly problem it addresses
• Why the research matters
• What contribution it will make
• How the completed work will advance existing scholarship

The proposal should make the significance of the project understandable from the perspective of the applicant’s chosen field or intellectual approach.

Criterion 2: Accessible Scholarly Writing

SAR also evaluates whether the application and the applicant’s previous published work demonstrate an ability to write in a publicly accessible manner for non-specialists.

This is an important feature of the program.

Applicants are not evaluated solely on specialized academic expertise. Their ability to communicate scholarly ideas beyond a narrow specialist audience is also relevant.

Applicants should therefore pay close attention to the clarity and accessibility of their writing when preparing their materials.

Interdisciplinary Review Process

Because SAR supports scholarship across a particularly broad range of the humanities and social sciences, reviewers are instructed to consider applications from the perspective of the approaches and fields that applicants are seeking to advance.

SAR states that reviewers will not privilege their own personal scholarly preferences, including preferences related to:

• Discipline
• Subfield
• Research method
• Theory
• Professional perspective

Instead, reviewers aim to evaluate each proposal from the intellectual perspective adopted by the applicant.

This approach is particularly relevant to interdisciplinary researchers whose projects may not fit neatly into a single academic category.

Application Deadline

The SAR Resident Scholars application cycle follows an annual schedule.

Deadline: The first Monday of November

Applications submitted by the first Monday of November are considered for a residency beginning on September 1 of the following year.

Awards are announced annually in March.

For example, an application submitted by the first Monday of November in one application cycle is considered for a residency beginning the following September.

Applicants should verify the exact calendar date for the relevant application year when preparing their application, because the date of the first Monday in November changes from year to year.

When Are Awards Announced?

SAR states that fellowship awards are announced annually in March.

Successful applicants can therefore expect the selection process to conclude several months before the September residency begins.

This schedule gives selected fellows time to make arrangements for relocation, housing-related logistics, professional commitments, and preparation for their period of residence.

What Kind of Project Is Suitable?

The SAR fellowship is particularly suited to projects that are already substantially developed and now require dedicated time for completion.

Examples of potentially suitable projects include:

• A dissertation nearing its writing stage
• A book manuscript based on completed research
• A major scholarly monograph
• An advanced humanities research project
• An anthropology project moving from research toward manuscript completion
• An archaeology project requiring concentrated writing and synthesis
• A history or sociology manuscript based on substantial completed research

The program is not primarily designed as a short-term introductory research grant.

Applicants should be able to demonstrate that the proposed period at SAR will make a meaningful difference in bringing the project toward substantial completion.

Why the Writing Stage Matters

One of the defining characteristics of the SAR Resident Scholars program is its emphasis on the transition from research to a finished scholarly product.

Researchers often complete fieldwork, archival research, interviews, data collection, or other forms of investigation but then face the challenge of turning that material into a coherent dissertation or book.

SAR’s residential model is designed to provide an extended period in which scholars can focus on that final stage.

The fellowship can therefore be particularly relevant to researchers who need:

1. Dedicated writing time
2. An interruption from normal teaching or professional responsibilities
3. An interdisciplinary intellectual environment
4. Feedback and discussion with other scholars
5. Time to organize extensive research materials
6. An opportunity to complete a dissertation or manuscript

Eligibility by Fellowship

The eligibility structure can be summarized as follows:

Geographic Eligibility

The information provided by SAR does not identify a general restriction to applicants from a particular country or continent for the Weatherhead or Paloheimo fellowships.

The program is international in scholarly scope, and eligibility is primarily described in terms of:

• Academic status
• Doctoral status
• Research field
• Stage of the project
• Fellowship-specific requirements

The Katrin H. Lamon Fellowship has a specific eligibility requirement concerning Native American scholars and writers.

Applicants from outside the United States should therefore examine the official application requirements carefully, particularly regarding residency, immigration, and any administrative requirements associated with spending the fellowship period in the United States.

Qualifications Applicants Should Demonstrate

Although eligibility varies by fellowship, a competitive application should be able to demonstrate several important characteristics.

Advanced Research

The proposed project should be sufficiently advanced that a nine-month residency can bring it toward substantial completion.

Clear Scholarly Contribution

Applicants should explain how their project advances knowledge in its particular field.

Strong Writing Ability

Because SAR specifically evaluates applicants’ ability to communicate with non-specialists, the application should be clear, accessible, and well structured.

Appropriate Academic Stage

Applicants must meet the academic requirements of the specific fellowship.

For example, doctoral candidates may be eligible for certain fellowships, while other opportunities are designed for scholars who already hold doctorates.

Ability to Participate in Residence

Fellows are expected to spend at least 90% of their appointment in residence.

Applicants should therefore be prepared to relocate to Santa Fe, New Mexico, for the fellowship period.

Location of the Fellowship

The School for Advanced Research is located at:

660 Garcia Street
Santa Fe, NM 87505
United States

Santa Fe serves as the residential setting for the fellowship program.

The location provides fellows with the opportunity to work within SAR’s scholarly community while spending an extended period focused on their research and writing.

What Applicants Should Consider Before Applying

Before submitting an application, prospective fellows should consider several practical and academic questions:

1. Is the project sufficiently advanced?

SAR is looking for projects that can make substantial progress during the fellowship period.

2. Can the project realistically reach substantial completion?

Applicants should have a realistic writing and research plan for the nine-month residency.

3. Does the project fit the humanities or social sciences?

SAR’s Resident Scholar program is centered on these broad academic areas and related disciplines.

4. Can you meet the residency requirement?

Fellows must be in residence for at least 90% of their appointments.

5. Can you write for non-specialists?

The ability to communicate scholarship clearly to a broader audience is explicitly part of SAR’s evaluation criteria.

6. Which fellowship matches your status?

Applicants should distinguish among Weatherhead, Paloheimo, Lamon, and other opportunities rather than assuming that every fellowship has identical eligibility requirements.

Application Process

Interested researchers should use SAR’s official application system to review the current requirements and submit their applications.

The process generally requires applicants to present their scholarly project and demonstrate why the proposed residential period is appropriate for bringing that project toward completion.

Applicants should make sure that their application clearly communicates:

• Their academic background
• Their research project
• The stage of their research
• The scholarly contribution of the project
• Their proposed writing or completion goals
• Their suitability for the particular fellowship
• Their ability to participate in the residential program

The official SAR application system should always be consulted for the precise application materials and requirements applicable to the current cycle.

Important Facts at a Glance

Institution: School for Advanced Research (SAR)

Location: Santa Fe, New Mexico, United States

Opportunity: Resident Scholars Program

Category: Fellowship

Typical duration: Nine months

Short-term faculty option: 4.5 months, considered case-by-case

Senior scholar stipend: $70,000 for nine months

Senior scholar 4.5-month stipend: $35,000

Junior scholar stipend: $50,000 for nine months

Housing: Campus apartment provided

Separate office: Not available due to ongoing campus construction

Residency requirement: At least 90% of the appointment

Application deadline: First Monday of November

Residency begins: September 1 of the following year

Awards announced: March

Major fields: Anthropology, archaeology, history, sociology, humanities, social sciences, and related fields

Research preference: Empirically grounded work

Main application criteria: Scholarly contribution and accessible writing for non-specialists

Application platform: SAR’s official application system

Who Should Consider Applying?

The SAR Resident Scholars program may be relevant to researchers who have moved beyond the initial stages of research and now need sustained time to produce a major scholarly work.

Potential applicants include doctoral candidates approaching dissertation writing, scholars with completed PhDs preparing book manuscripts, faculty members seeking a concentrated writing residency, and eligible Native American scholars or writers applying through the Lamon Fellowship.

The opportunity can be particularly relevant to researchers whose projects cross traditional disciplinary boundaries because SAR explicitly operates across a broad range of humanities and social science fields.

READY TO APPLY?

Conclusion

The School for Advanced Research Resident Scholars program provides an extended residential environment for scholars who are ready to turn advanced research into substantial scholarly work. Through its fellowship programs, SAR supports doctoral candidates, postdoctoral and senior scholars, and eligible Native American scholars and writers, depending on the specific fellowship.

The program combines significant financial support with residential accommodation and an interdisciplinary scholarly community. Standard fellowships are structured around nine months of residence, while certain faculty applicants may be considered for a 4.5-month fellowship.

A central feature of the program is its focus on projects that can make substantial progress during the residency. SAR evaluates applications not only according to the scholarly significance of the proposed work but also according to the applicant’s ability to communicate effectively with non-specialist audiences.

Applicants interested in the program should pay particular attention to the first Monday of November application deadline, the 90% residency requirement, fellowship-specific eligibility criteria, and the expectation that the proposed project is sufficiently advanced to benefit substantially from the residential writing period.

For the most accurate and current application requirements, prospective applicants should consult the official School for Advanced Research application materials before submitting their application.

Click HERE for more information about the School for Advanced Research Resident Scholars 2026–2027

Separate Opportunity Information

Category: Fellowship

Who qualifies:

• PhD candidates preparing dissertations, for eligible fellowships
• Doctorate-holding scholars preparing books, for eligible fellowships
• Faculty members may be considered for 4.5-month fellowships on a case-by-case basis
• Native American predoctoral and postdoctoral scholars in the humanities or social sciences for the Lamon Fellowship
• Native American writers with a substantial body of published work for the Lamon Fellowship
• Distinguished senior scholars may be eligible for the invitation-only Tedlock Fellowship

Geographic eligibility: The supplied SAR information does not state a general country or continent restriction for the main fellowships. Applicants should verify current international/residency requirements in the official application materials.

Discover more global Fellowship opportunities on Opportunities for Youth (OFY) HERE.