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 graduating seniors and 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 weekday lunch to all fellows in our Refectory. Postgraduate Fellows are responsible for their own housing. The Fellowship year begins in early September 2020.
Eligibility: 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).
Application: Interested applicants should send a cover letter, résumé, and an unofficial transcript (preferably as one PDF document) to FellowshipPrograms@doaks.org by June 1. Two letters of recommendation to be sent by recommenders directly to FellowshipPrograms@doaks.org are also due June 1. Shortlisted candidates may be asked to submit work samples and will be contacted for phone interview.
Current Fellows
Leib Celnik, Postgraduate Fellow in Botanical Art
Leib Celnik studied the history of science and the history of art and architecture at Harvard, and received his MPhil in history and philosophy of science from the University of Cambridge. At Dumbarton Oaks, he is working with the Rare Book Collection to develop an exhibition of paintings by the British botanical artist Margaret Mee (1909–88). Celnik will help design and deliver public programming associated with the exhibit, improve the documentation of the online exhibit of Mee’s work, and support collaborations with other cultural organizations.
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.
Ned Sanger, Postgraduate Fellow in Medieval Literature
Ned Sanger graduated from Harvard College in 2019, where he studied classics and linguistics, wrote a senior thesis about Roman curse tablets, and spent quite a lot of time working on plays and musicals around campus. At Dumbarton Oaks, he helps with the research and editing needed to get some forthcoming projects in medieval studies ready for publication, including one volume for the Dumbarton Oaks Medieval Library and another for Harvard Studies in Medieval Latin.
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.
Former Fellows
Alona Bach
Postgraduate Curatorial Fellow, 2017–2019
Lane Baker
Postgraduate Research Fellow, Ephemera, 2016–2018
Anne Marie Creighton
Postgraduate Library Research Fellow, 2014–2015
Rebecca Frankel
Postgraduate Research Fellow in Medieval Latin, 2015–2017
Joseph Glynias
Postgraduate Research Fellow in Byzantine Studies, 2014–2015
Spencer Lenfield
Postgraduate Media Fellow, 2015–2017
Kathryn McCawley
Postgraduate Curatorial Fellow, 2017–2018
Nathalie Miraval
Postgraduate Research Fellow, Communications and Outreach, 2016–2018
India Patel
Postgraduate Public Programming and Outreach Fellow, 2018–2019
Myagmarsuren Purev-Ochir
Postgraduate Digital Media Fellow, 2017–2018
Jessica Salley
Postgraduate Research Fellow in Communications and Public Outreach, 2014–2016
Samuel Shapiro
Postgraduate Curatorial Fellow, 2018–2019
Bailey Trela
Postgraduate Research Fellow, Writing and Reporting, 2016–2018