ISM Fellows

Description

The Yale Institute of Sacred Music seeks a group of Fellows from around the world to join its community of scholars and practitioners. Scholars, religious leaders, and artists whose work is in or is moving to the fields of sacred music, liturgical/ritual studies, or religion and the arts are invited to apply. Scholars in the humanities or the social or natural sciences, whose work is directly related to these areas, are also encouraged to apply. Fellows will have the opportunity to pursue their scholarly or artistic projects within a vibrant, interdisciplinary community, and they may have the option to teach. Fellows will be chosen for the quality and significance of their work. The Institute maintains a commitment to living religious communities and seeks diversity of every kind, including race, gender, and religion.

Eligibility

The quality, significance, and focus of the work fellows propose to do during the residency are of paramount importance in the selection process. Each fellow will undertake a substantive and original project that relates to the mission of the Institute. This could be original scholarship, an art exhibition, a musical composition, or work of creative writing, etc. ISM Fellows work in a variety of academic and artistic disciplines, including but not limited to anthropology, architecture, art history, composition, creative writing, ethnomusicology, film studies, languages and literatures, liturgical studies, musicology, religion and literature, religious studies, ritual studies, sociology, theatre studies, and theology.

The ISM Fellowship is open to applicants at all career stages. An applicant should typically hold the terminal degree in her or his field, although exceptions to this rule may be made in some artistic disciplines. The work applicants propose to pursue must support the mission of the Institute, and fellows are expected to work primarily on this project during their year in residence.

Fellowship types

Fellowships are generally in two forms:

Senior fellows

Candidates are eligible to apply as senior fellows if they are employed as regular full-time faculty or if they have more than six years of related experience following the doctorate. These fellowships are typically one-year long, though shorter residencies (e.g. one term) are possible in special circumstances. Teaching is an option for senior fellows.

Post-doctoral associates

Candidates are eligible to apply as post-doctoral associates if they have fewer than six years of related experience following the doctorate and are not yet employed as full-time regular faculty. These fellowships are typically one-year long, though in rare circumstances, fellowships may be granted for two or even three years. Teaching is required for post-doctoral associates.

Clustered Applications

The Institute welcomes applications from a cluster of qualified individuals who wish to work on a common project. Each person must complete a separate application and note in the appropriate place that he or she is part of a cluster. The same guidelines apply in every other way.

Terms and conditions

The fellowship year normally lasts from August 20 to May 15. Fellowships may also be given in either Fall or Spring, though applicants who are available for the entire year are strongly favored. All fellows are expected to be free of commitments that would prevent them from devoting themselves full time to the work outlined in their proposal and to live in residence within ten miles of the Yale campus.

Senior Fellows:

Stipends for senior fellowships are typically half of the fellow’s regular annual salary up to $52,000 per year. For Fellows from American universities or colleges, Yale will typically pay the stipend directly to the institution. Yale does not provide health benefits except in the case of independent or international scholars. Senior fellows receive additional compensation for teaching a course.

Post-doctoral associates:

Stipends for Post-doctoral associates range between $42,000 and $50,000 (depending on teaching duties) including health benefits.

General:

Fellows are expected to live within a 10-mile radius of campus. In most cases, the Institute provides additional grants toward housing for the fellowship year. Fellows may apply for research funds, and the Institute will reimburse reasonable moving expenses.

Fellows commit themselves to meet weekly in the ISM Colloquium, then with their cohort at weekly Fellows lunches, and they are asked to share their work in at least one public presentation per semester. One presentation during the year will be a public lecture, while the other may be work-in-progress shared in the smaller, less formal gathering of fellows.

Courses taught need not be newly created for Yale, but may be one previously taught by the applicant at other academic institutions. Courses are proposed as part of the application and are reviewed by the appropriate department or school. Fellows may also be invited to lecture in classes taught by Yale faculty throughout the year.

Teaching

Senior fellows are urged and post-doctoral associates are expected to teach. Courses are proposed as part of the application process and are reviewed by the relevant department. Senior fellows normally may not teach more than one course for the year. Post-doctoral associates may teach no more than one course per term.

Yale is an affirmative action/equal opportunity employer. Yale values diversity in its faculty, staff, and students and especially encourages applications from women and underrepresented minorities.

Application Process | Request Information
Telephone: (203) 432.3187