USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities 2025–2027 Postdoctoral Fellow

The USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities invites applications for our 2025–2027 cohort of postdoctoral fellows.

The topic for the 2025–2027 cycle will be Sites of Inquiry. We invite applications from scholars whose research focuses on places and spaces of investigation, examination, and exploration, such as the archive, the museum, the library, the university, the field, the laboratory, the clinic, the book, or the body, as well as questions of the politics and geography of knowledge production, transmission, and translation. Approaches to the topic might involve case studies investigating specific places or spaces of inquiry as well as theoretical frameworks.

Each year the Society admits roughly five postdoctoral fellows, who are appointed for two-year terms. The fellows pursue research and teach three courses over four semesters, with one semester for full-time research. They are expected to reside in the Los Angeles area during the academic year and to participate in the scholarly life of the Society, the host department, and the university. The salary for postdoctoral fellows is $70,000 per year plus fringe benefits, with an additional research and travel account of $6,000 per year. For more information about the USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities, visit our website, https://sofh.usc.edu. We recommend that you review our website carefully for eligibility requirements, requested materials, and frequently asked questions. 

The USC Society of Fellows in the Humanities is an interdisciplinary community that supports advanced research by postdoctoral fellows and faculty members, promoting intellectual exchange and interdisciplinary approaches to research and teaching in the humanities and humanistic social sciences. Fellows meet regularly in formal and informal settings to present and discuss advanced scholarly research. Postdoctoral fellows are affiliated with the Society as well as with a USC department of their choice and have faculty mentors in both. Postdoctoral fellows in the humanities engage with each other as well as humanities departments, institutes, and centers at USC and in the broader Los Angeles area.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria: (1) the overall strength of the application, including the applicant’s past achievements; (2) the project’s significance, intellectual merit, and relevance to the research topic; (3) the applicant’s potential to contribute to the intellectual life of the Society of Fellows, their affiliated department, and the community of scholars at USC. 

The application portal for 2025–2027 will close at 5pm PST on Wednesday, November 27, 2024.

To apply for the 2025–2027 cohort, candidates must have received their Ph.D. no earlier than August 1, 2021, and must complete their doctoral degree by the start of the fellowship in August 2025. Scholars who received their doctorates from the University of Southern California are not eligible to apply. Non-U.S. citizens are eligible to apply for this program. Applicants’ research and teaching must be in the humanities and humanistic social sciences.

Applicants should submit:

• A complete application.
• A cover letter (up to three pages single-spaced). The letter should indicate the applicant’s primary field of research and desired departmental affiliation. It should also outline in brief the research the applicant intends to complete at USC and explain how it addresses the research topic Sites of Inquiry. Scholars working across disciplines may indicate the various fields their research addresses and if desired, additional possible departmental affiliations. In addition to the Society of Fellows in the Humanities, the University of Southern California is home to multiple institutes, centers, and programs in the humanities (see https://dornsife.usc.edu/levan-institute/about-the-levan-institute/the-humanities-at-usc/). If an applicant’s research interests align with those of any of these programs, please indicate this in the cover letter. If the dissertation has not been completed, the letter should detail its progress, timeline to completion, and scheduled or proposed defense date should the fellowship be awarded.
• A C.V.
• A writing sample from the dissertation/book project, such as a chapter or article, published or unpublished. The writing sample should be in English, double spaced, and between 20–40 pages excluding notes and bibliography. Please do not submit more than 40 pages.
• If you have completed the Ph.D., please submit a copy of your diploma or documentation of your degree. If you are currently ABD, please submit a letter signed by a department chair, dissertation advisor, director of graduate studies, or other appropriate university administrator certifying that you have made sufficient progress for the Ph.D. to be completed by August 15, 2025.
• The names of two recommenders. Recommenders will be asked to provide a letter of support, which are due at the same time as the application. 

Please submit PDF files. Candidates are responsible for ensuring that all accompanying documents are properly uploaded. Once submitted, applications and documents cannot be changed or updated.

To apply, please use our application portal: https://uscdornsife.usc.edu/societyoffellows/login.cfm

Applications must be submitted via our application portal. Applications sent by email will not be accepted.

For more information, including FAQs and eligibility, please visit our website, https://sofh.usc.edu. Additional questions can be directed to societyoffellows@dornsife.usc.edu.