Applications are currently closed.
The Flora Clancy Memorial Fund supports an eight-week residential summer fellowship for scholars to pursue research in the field of Maya studies. The fellowship contributes to our understanding of precolonial and early colonial Maya culture. We welcome disciplinary and interdisciplinary research projects on Maya art history, archaeology, history, writing, or languages, which would benefit from the use of the Dumbarton Oaks library resources and collections. Recipients are expected to be in residence at Dumbarton Oaks and to devote themselves full-time to their projects without undertaking other major activities or research at other institutions.
Scholars on any level of advancement beyond the first year of graduate study (post-Licenciatura) who are academically based in Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras, or El Salvador may apply. Applicants who are members of the Indigenous community are particularly invited to apply.
Terms
Summer Fellowships will be awarded for the summer term (June 10 to August 2, 2024). Support includes a maintenance allowance of $300 per week; housing; office space; lunch on weekdays; and the health insurance contribution from Dumbarton Oaks. Dumbarton Oaks has partnered with a travel agency to arrange and pre-pay for fellows’ air or rail travel, in accordance with the Dumbarton Oaks Travel Policy, if support cannot be obtained from other sources (such as a Fulbright travel grant). Reimbursement of J1 visa fees is also provided for Fellows, but not for dependents. Fellows may hold other grants with the knowledge and permission of both the grantors and Dumbarton Oaks.
Please note that three years must elapse between the end of a Fellowship term and appointment to a Summer Fellowship; likewise, three years must elapse between the end of a Summer Fellowship and appointment to a Fellowship.
Applications
Please read and follow the online instructions. Applications, to be written in English, must be submitted electronically to Embark by November 1. Two (2) letters of recommendation are required for all applicants and are also due November 1 via the Embark system. Letters of recommendation may be submitted in Spanish. Late applications will not be accepted. Awards will be announced by March and must be accepted by the end of the month. External committees of scholars decide the awards. Individuals currently affiliated with Dumbarton Oaks are not eligible for the fellowship and project grant programs. For further inquiries, please review Frequently Asked Questions for Fellowship Applicants or contact FellowshipPrograms@doaks.org.
Visas
For non-US citizens, Dumbarton Oaks provides J-1 visas for the term of the Fellowship appointment, as part of our US Department of State–designated Exchange Visitor Program. Please be advised that scholars who have been in the United States with J status within the past 12 months may not qualify for a Dumbarton Oaks J-1 visa unless they were in the United States for a total time of less than six months. These individuals and all other non-US citizens are strongly urged to check their prospective visa status for the requested period of the fellowship prior to submitting an application.
Flora Clancy Memorial Fund
The Flora Clancy Memorial Fund was established thanks to the generous gift of Abby and David Rumsey. The fund honors Flora Simmons Clancy who was Professor of Art History at the University of New Mexico and dedicated her academic life to the study of Maya art and architecture. Her publications included: Treasures of an Ancient Civilization (1985); Sculpture in the Ancient Maya Plaza (1999); and The Monuments of Piedras Negras, An Ancient Mayan City (2009). She came to Dumbarton Oaks as a Junior Fellow (1978–79) and as a fellow (1986–87), and particularly wished her connection with Dumbarton Oaks to be celebrated.
Image: Polychrome Maya vessel. Pre-Columbian Collection, PC.B.560.67, Dumbarton Oaks. Photograph by Justin Kerr (K4339)