Dumbarton Oaks is a research institute, museum, and historic garden in Washington, DC, affiliated with Harvard University. It supports research and learning internationally in Byzantine, Garden and Landscape, and Pre-Columbian Studies through its fellowship programs, publications, scholarly meetings, and exhibitions.
The Postgraduate Fellowships are for recent Harvard College graduates who wish to develop and apply their research and professional skills while gaining experience, building a portfolio of successful projects, and contributing to the humanities. These Fellowships emphasize the development of foundational and specific technical skills that enhance the career readiness and employability of liberal arts graduates.
Postgraduate Fellowships are one-year appointments (potentially renewable for a second and final year). They carry a stipend of $40,000/annum; a medical insurance contribution from Dumbarton Oaks; and a modest research allowance. We offer daily lunch to all fellows in our Refectory. Postgraduate Fellows are responsible for their own housing. Fellowship Opportunities for the 2019–2020 academic year will be posted in the spring of 2019. Find out more information on 2019–2020 Humanities Fellowships here.
Candidates who have received a Harvard undergraduate degree within the past 3 years are eligible to apply. Dumbarton Oaks is an Equal Opportunity Employer (EOE).
Current Fellows
Alona Bach, Postgraduate Curatorial Fellow
Alona Bach studied history of science and dramatic arts at Harvard College, after which she pursued an MPhil in history and philosophy of science at the University of Cambridge. Her academic work focuses on cultural histories of technology and the intersections of science and performance. As a curatorial fellow at Dumbarton Oaks, Bach juggles a myriad of roles related to the Juggling the Middle Ages exhibit, including curation, public programming, web design, and maintaining the project’s archive.
Elizabeth Muñoz Huber, Postgraduate Digital Media Fellow
Elizabeth Muñoz Huber studied history and literature from Harvard College, working particularly in Latinx studies and critical gender and race theory. She then pursued a series of short-term appointments where her work ranged from conducting research on the Peabody Essex Museum’s American women artists to teaching an elective US history class in Xi’an, China, to pursuing her own philosophy research at St. Olaf College (and other less glamorous work). Her work as the digital media fellow focuses on building bridges between the research and collections of Dumbarton Oaks and the public through a variety of multimedia projects. In addition to helping manage their Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook platforms, Muñoz Huber edits videos, designs flyers and signs, takes photographs, and visualizes data.
Julia Ostmann, Postgraduate Writing and Reporting Fellow
Julia Ostmann studied the history of science at Harvard College and received an MPhil in history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. She has written about Kew Gardens fungi, psychiatric history, museum skeletons, and more for institutions like the Harvard Divinity School, The Rumpus, the Museum of Zoology Cambridge, and the Wellcome Trust. Previously she worked for Emmy-winning National Geographic television show Cosmos. Besides growing the Dumbarton Oaks audience (and crafting dubiously witty puns) on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook, Ostmann interviews researchers and writes web and newsletter content—sharing far beyond the garden gates the exciting discoveries happening at Dumbarton Oaks.
India Patel, Postgraduate Public Programming and Outreach Fellow
India Patel graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in history and literature, with a focus on modern Britain and its empire. At Dumbarton Oaks, she works on innovative educational programming based on the Pre-Columbian and Byzantine museum collections, special exhibitions, and the garden. Patel helps to develop partnerships with local nonprofit organizations and schools, strengthening the relationship between Dumbarton Oaks and the wider DC community.
Andrea Schoenberg, Postgraduate Performance Measurement and Evaluation Fellow
Andrea Schoenberg graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in sociology. In addition to her academic pursuits, she served as a member of the Harvard Art Museums Student Board throughout her college career. Schoenberg is responsible for data collection and analysis for Dumbarton Oaks. This includes designing metrics to evaluate the success of the institution’s scholarly programming and public engagement, tracking and synthesizing trends in research fellowships for all three areas of study, and innovating ways to gather input from visitors to the museum.
Samuel Shapiro, Postgraduate Curatorial Fellow
Samuel Shapiro graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a joint degree in history of art and architecture and social anthropology, writing his senior thesis on the contemporary American artist Michael Asher and the history and practice of deaccessioning. Outside of the classroom, he served as a Student Guide and Curatorial Intern at the Harvard Art Museums. At Dumbarton Oaks, Shapiro works with the museum team on the upcoming exhibitions Written in Knots: Undeciphered Accounts of Andean Life (spring 2019) and Ornament: Fragments of Byzantine Fashion (fall 2019).
