by Sarah Bender
Carnegie Mellon University Libraries and the Hunt Institute for Botanical Documentation are pleased to announce four fellowships to support original research and creative work in CMU’s rare and distinctive collections, hosted jointly by the Posner Center for Special Collections and Hunt Institute. Fellowship applications are now open, and close on January 11, 2026.
Open to graduate students, scholars, artists, digital humanists, designers, and makers, fellowships support a 2–4 week residency during the 2025–2026 academic year (including summer 2026). Fellows receive access to materials held by both collections, including rare books, archival materials, early technologies, and botanical art, as well as a $3,500 stipend.
“With space available in the newly renovated Posner Center, we’re excited to welcome researchers not only comfortably, but in style,” said Sam Lemley, Curator of Special Collections. “Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Posner Foundation of Pittsburgh, we can now engage the scholarly community on a much larger scale. By offering these fellowships annually, we hope to build out a national cohort of researchers and artists whose work is strengthened by time spent in the Posner Center, the Hunt Institute, and across CMU Libraries’ collections.”
Projects may be historical or contemporary in focus, research-based or practice-based, traditional or experimental. Especially welcome are projects that bring new perspectives to the collections or that place rare materials in dialogue with broader cultural, bibliographical, scientific, and ecological questions.
Two Posner Fellowships for Research and Creative Practice support original, collection-based projects in any discipline, including research, creative practice, or hybrid forms of inquiry. Fellows are invited to draw on materials held in the Posner Center, defining their own topics or drawing on collection strengths, including: the history of science and technology; cryptography, computation, and artificial intelligence; and book history and bibliography.
“What excites me most about these fellowships is the rare research opportunities they open up across so many disciplines — from traditional scholarly inquiry to experimental, practice-based work,” Special Collections Coordinator Catherine Blauvelt said. “Our collections invite questions that cross fields and methods, and we’re eager to support fellows as they bring those conversations to life.”
Two Hunt Institute Fellowships, one for Research and one for Creative Practice, will be awarded. Projects may explore themes such as the history of botany and plant science, botanical illustration, bibliography, horticulture, or the environmental humanities.
“We look forward to opening our doors to new audiences through these fellowships and adding new layers of scholarship and interpretation to our collections,” said Senior Curator of Art and Research Scholar Carrie Roy. “These fellowships give researchers and artists a chance to work closely with the primary sources that have shaped our understanding of plant sciences for centuries, and we are thrilled to see the ways that rich source material is reimagined and integrated into new projects.”
Fellows receive the opportunity to share their work through a public-facing format, including a small exhibition, digital project, video, or reactive work, or an informal lunchtime or evening talk, workshop, or class visit.
More details, including information about applications and housing options, can be found on the fellowship webpage. Applicants with questions about the fellowships are encouraged to contact the program team at libraryfellowships@cmu.edu.