Humanities & Soc Sci Postdocs 2008-2009

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Does anyone know what's going on with all the weird new spaces appearing in postings?

When the wiki became a full wiki there were changes made on a meta level to all pages. They erased info published after a certain date and reformatted everything, sometimes oddly.

There has been some disputing here over deleting of posts. I don't know who did what, I restored a couple of jobs, and just wanted to remind users that if someone deletes an entry, it can be easily restored by clicking 'undo edit' in the history page. Deliberately deleting jobs from the list is uncollegial, but unfortunately the issue strikes most of the job wikis from time to time. We're all in this together, folks. And I'd like to add a quick thanks to all of you too: I'm the person who started this page back in the Summer, so I'm glad to have contributed something useful. - K

• Thanks, K. I agree. I'm the person who has been posting to complain about the recent deleting of entire postdoc listings, which is obviously uncollegial and unethical (the whole point of this wiki is full disclosure in a market where a lack of transparency has reigned for far too long, no?). That discussion was also removed by the deleter, and I finally removed the most recent exchange about the issue because the person who had been outed for deleting the postings for two postdocs with pending due dates declared that he/she had done so in error, and I didn't want the discussion to devolve into accusations and defenses. So, benefit of the doubt, I removed it. I think the point's been taken, and I'm glad that K has reminded us once again how useful this wiki is if it's used openly.

• Something else to add (K again here). A user posted on one of these jobs "I don't appreciate people posting positions before the deadline has passed. This only adds to the number of people who are going to apply, and who may not have known about it otherwise." Previous deletions have also been of jobs with forthcoming deadlines. Dude, sharing information is what it's about! Yes, people find out about jobs from the wiki. I've posted things here before they were due, as have others. This tightfisted attitude, of only putting something on the wiki 15 seconds after the postmark deadline for applications, is seriously not friendly. Everything on here has been advertised elsewhere.
• Hi K, I'm the "seriously not friendly" poster--but wanted to say that I didn't, and wouldn't, delete existing entries, even if I didn't like seeing them here. So I'm not the person who deleted jobs with upcoming deadlines. (There's a difference, I think, between expressing my unpopular opinion, and secretly acting on it.) And please feel free to delete this post when it's old news.
• You don't see some disconnect here between the fact that you like having information available that is of use to you, but would prefer that others not have info that is useful for them? I'm guessing that the person who earlier deleted last year's wiki was of that opinion, too, since last year's wiki provided listings for many postdocs that were again offered this year. Geesh.
• Okay, well, enough chastising of the unsharer. It's a site for sharing info. And now, proceed apace.

Note: These postdocs begin in 2009

Last year's wiki page

Back to Academic Job Search

Suggestions for Syntax, etc.:

1. Please place new fellowship entries in alphabetical order. Note that "University of X" should be alphabetized by U as first sort, and X as second sort within the U listings.
2. Please use 3 equal signs both before AND after the title of the fellowship.
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7. Note that pressing return on your keyboard is not sufficient to create a line break. You can use list formatting symbols, such as the asterisk or colon listed above, or the number sign (#) to create a numbered list, depending on what formatting you want to use. You can also manually create a simple hard line break by using <br>. Otherwise, you can simply press return twice to create a line break with double spacing.
   

Canceled Postdocs

Postdoc searches suspended or cancelled after being advertised

• Villanova U (Lawrence C Gallen Teaching Fellowships) due 1/10 (search cancelled per Villanova's website)

• Brandeis University Kay Postdoctoral Fellowship in Latin American History

12/23 - notified via email: "precipitous decline in endowment investments"

• University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture Postdoctoral Fellowship (per website, no new fellowships due to "increasing financial uncertainty")
• Washington University in St Louis, Mellon Postdoc in Modeling Interdisciplinary Inquiry (notified via email)

• Is this it? Surely there are more.
• Time will tell.

• Syracuse University Humanities Faculty Fellowship, per email 2/19
• Sweet Briar College Honors Teaching Fellowship cancelled by dean 3/9.
• University of Illinois--Chicago, African American Studies
• Yale Library, Beinecke Library postdoc

Fellowship Listings

AAUW American Fellowships

info Deadline 17 November, 2008

Does anyone know when we can expect to hear regarding this fellowship? Thanks!

--the application says April 15th, and looking at last year's wikia page, it seems that that holds true. Good luck!

List of awards is up on website at 9.45 AM EST. Good luck to all. 4/15/09

12:01, EST, here it is: http://www.aauw.org/education/fga/fellowships_grants/upload/2009-10_FellGrantsListingForWebsite.pdf

5/8/09 ; Does anyone know if and when alternates are to be contacted?

According to last year's wiki, the fellowships were announced the same day (4/15) and alternates were notified by email and snail mail about a week later (4/21). They seem to be pretty consistent about scheduling from year to year, but I would contact them to be certain.

5/09/09; I have an alternate letter but I was just wondering if they have a time line for contacting alternates about whether they have received the award or not. And what chances do alternates in for this particular fellowship have for actually getting the award. Any other alternates in a similar situation?

5/20/09: If you received an alternate letter,do not despair. I was an alternate a few years ago; much to my surprise I received a letter in early June stating that I was awarded the fellowship.

ACLS/Mellon Dissertation Completion Fellowship

info Deadline 12 November, 2008

3/3 There was a lot of discussion about this fellowship on last year's wiki. Anyone else apply this year?

• I did, but no word yet.
• Ditto. Best of luck to everyone!
  • Thanks for putting this in here. I emailed to see when they may have a decision and if there is a finalist list. No word yet... Does anyone know their process (i.e. do they do interviews, have finalists etc.) thanks! (3/11)
  • I applied, too, and no word yet. Last year's wiki suggests that applicants were notified in mid-April. I do not believe there is an interview. Best of luck everyone.
  • Last year one winner and one alternate heard by email on 3/27. No interviews, just an announcement out of the blue.
  • My academic field's job-search wiki has been keeping tabs on a couple of popular fellowships, and one person over there reports that s/he has received a snail mail rejection letter. So they may be beginning to trickle in. (3/12)
  • Thanks. Can you tell me which wiki that is? (3/12)
  • Anything else on this? Did anyone else receive a rejection letter (or offer for that matter?) (3-18)
  • i don't think anything has come out on this, at least not to any of the applicants i know. from last year's wiki it looks like a lot of offers/rejections didn't come until april, even mid-april. i emailed them a week ago because i have another offer i'm holding off on accepting till i hear from them, but--surprise surprise--no response. anyone had any luck calling them? i hate this process... (3/18)
    • same here! i emailed because i also have other offers (postdoc) and want to see what to do (i.e. do I ask to defer or madly rush to finish the diss in 3 months...). no response at all, but it does say on the website mid-late march, so i am really hoping it won't be april. i may call next week if i don't hear anything, because i need to get back to others and also have this all settled for sanity's sake. if i do get info, i will post (3-18).
    • My question is if it is possible for you to finish your diss - why did you apply? There are some of us who, like the award stipulates, are at the beginning of writing and absolutely need another year of funding. It's truly unfair that people who are so close to done would be awarded the fellowship and knowingly accept while others who do need an entire year of writing madly can't benefit from the fellowship.

FYI - I could use another year to write, very badly, actually. However, circumstances are such that I cannot remain a graduate student if I do not get full funding.  If this means taking a TT job and still needing to write while teaching, it is what I will need to do.  If it means getting a postdoc and doing the same, this is how it is for me.  So, while it would be my first choice to have the luxury of writing for another year with a fellowship, it may not be possible.  I understand this process is frustrating and competition is awful.  You might, however, want to consider directing your criticism and frustrations towards the process to the powers that be, rather than taking it out on another grad student who is just, like yourself, trying to get by. You really do not know the circumstances or the shoes of someone else, especially when it is in this kind of anonymous forum.  So, lets keep this as a space for supporting one another as we all try to get through this awful process, rather than a space for making assumptions and judgments -- as if that could help you out!

• • so i finally got an email back from them, and got an offer--the person who wrote said the letters (presumably snail mail) went out today, offer letter mentioned 900 apps for 65 fellowships. i emailed the admin asst directly (rather than the fellowships@ address)--if you're desperate & can't wait for snail pace mail, try that. best luck to everyone else! (3/18
    • -- Congrats! I emailed them this morning. No response yet, but it was only a few hours ago. Thanks for the info! (3-20)
  • I don't know if this helps-- but I got the award two years ago and they emailed me on 4/17.
    • just got the snail mail award letter. good luck everyone! (3.20)
    • This might be the wrong place to ask... but has anyone heard yet about the Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients (RDR) Award for this year? This is the competition for a second year of funding for previous Dissertation Completion Fellowship Awardees.
    • See down below--it is listed separately.
• I am currently overseas and still awaiting a letter. Could people post their approximate geographic location (East/West Coast, Midwest, etc.) when they report to the list? Thanks a lot, best of luck to those still waiting and congratulations to the recipients! (3/21)
• placed on alternate list. letter says "you have been placed on a short list of alternates for an award." 893 "eligible" applications were received, according to the letter. (3/21, Northeast)
• rejection letter received via snail mail (3/21, California)
• Thats funny. I am in California, but haven't gotten anything... Hmmm (3/21)
• Did all recipients get an email first? I have not received anything via mail or email.... And I wrote them... Bad news?? (3/21)
• I just got an award letter in the mail, no emails were sent. 3/22
• I'm in the southwest, still waiting. 3/23
• In the southeast, alternate letter. 3/23 Any idea how many alternates are on the "short list"? No email, just the letter.
• I am in the south west. Just emailed the administrative assistant directly and received a quick reply: rejected.
• midwest, award letter received via snail mail.( 3/23)
• For those of you who were awarded fellowships, when do you have to let them know if you are going to accept or decline the award? Thanks, I received an alternate letter in the southeast on 3/23. (3/24)
• the acceptance form must be returned by April 10 (3/24)
• Has anyone else out there still not received word? I have not received a letter of any sort and the administrative assistant is not replying to my emails. (3/24, Northeast)
• No letter yet for me either. In the Northeast. (3/24)
• Still waiting in the Northeast too. (3/24)
• Echoing above posting: anyone have any ideas re: number of alternates? How many are on here? (x2) (3/25)
• Another alternate here, I'm in the northeast. I think there are either 4 or 5 of us alternates on here, including myself. Sigh. 3/25
• Is anyone else still waiting to hear? I emailed the administrator and program manager and have not heard anything in reply. I am located in the North East. Are the results officially released or are some others still in the dark. 3/27
• I'm still waiting to hear and I'm also in the Northeast. Emailed the administrative asst on 3/27 and no reply so far.
• I'm another alternate, got my letter last week around 3/23. My classmate got an award, and has until 4/10 to decide. She seemed to think based on last year's postdoc wiki that the alternate list is short, that people on that list do get awards. That wiki reports that some alternates were notified of awards in early May. (3/31 Northeast)
• Thanks for the update! Good luck to all the alternates!
• Does anyone know if (and how) you can request your reviewer report? Someone who applied last year mentioned that to me, but I can't find any record of it on the site..

• • • • • • • Just email and ask the administrator. It was very interesting to get the feedback. What I learned was that this was NOT a good match for me at all. What was critiqued was precisely what others have liked a lot (I got a job and a few postdoc offers and was told my application stood out for the same reasons the ACLS reviewers ripped it apart). Just goes to show that it really is about a good match and is a lesson in what I have been told time and time again: after a certain point, a lot of this is both arbitrary and political. With different reviewers with different priorities and politics, radically different results are yielded. Congrats to the winners and good luck to everyone else... 4/01/09
            • Thank you very much for this post, and congratulations on your job and postdoc offers! Do you mind telling us the vague outline of what you learned, for future applicants?
• 4/05/09 Midwest. Hi. I have not heard anything and it is 4/5/09. I wrote them a week ago and so far there has been no reply. This is nerve wreaking!!!!! Are there people out there in the same situation? Follow-up...reading last years discussion on this fellowship... if we have not received anything yet we were most likely rejected :(

• • • • Did you check your SPAM mail box? Someone reported that the ACLS mails kept going there. I think both those who received it and got rejected heard, so I don't know if no word is necessarily bad news. Did you email the administrator instead of the generic email address? Good luck!

• An alternate in the North East. Presumably, alternates who have since been awarded have stopped checking this page for information but, just in case, are there any alternates out there who have since been moved from the "short list" to, well, the awarded list?
• An alternate in the NE who posted earlier. I haven't heard anything. I'm guessing they would send out any alternate award offers after the April 10th deadline, but I haven't checked with the office or anything.
• Alternate in SE, no news yet.
• Alternate from CA. also no news.
• Alternate in NE who previously posted. No news here either. Anyone else planning on calling next week?
• Yup, if I don't hear anything by the end of next week I will contact them.
• CA alternate again. I called and talked to someone, who said that, at the earliest, an alternate could hear something by the end of week, i.e. 17 april-ish. she also said that finalizing alternates can sometimes be a drawn-out process, as they have to work down a ranked list and wait for responses. i asked whether they release an alternate's rank and she said no.
• Thanks, California.
• Alternate in PA. Thanks for all of this information; I was going to call next week. CA Alternate: did you get the sense that the list was already ranked? Or do they offer the fellowship to, for example, an English dept PhD candidate if another English dept PhD candidate declines?
• ca alternate. Yes, the list is already ranked, and everything i was told led me to believe that it is ranked according to person, not person + academic dept.
• Thank you, CA alternate. Best wishes to you and all of the other alternates.
• Alternate in NE (another Pennsylvanian, to be exact). My thanks too, CA alternate, for sharing. Good luck to everyone!!
• Thanks so much, CA (a NJ alternate here). Did they happen to mention whether they would contact via email or snailmail? (I'm out of town this week). Good luck to everyone!
• ca alternate. i'm out of the country myself and mentioned this to her; she asked how best i could be contacted, and i said email. but i'm not sure if this is the general practice when it comes to informing alternates. one would think that it would be, as otherwise the process could become so drawn out, but i dont know for certain.
• Thanks again CA, good luck!
• Anyone heard anything yet? This is driving me crazy! Hopefully at least one of us hears something today...
• No from Alternate in PA. I called and left a message for the contact person at ACLS on Wednesday to ask some questions and have yet to get a call back.
• Oh well, at least that suggests things may still be up in the air. (Alternate in NJ, haven't heard anything).
• Another NJ Alternate - no news.
• Same in SE. Nothing.
• 2nd PA alternate. Nothing here either.
• this is ca alternate: no news here either.
• I'm another alternate (in the Northeast) with no news to report.
• One of the NJ alternates. I emailed this morning and found out that I was sent a snailmail award letter last Friday (which I have not yet received). I don't know anything else, like where I was on the alternate rankings, how many awards were declined, etc. I really hope that the other people who have been posting on this list also get good news. I will be accepting right away, but the deadline they gave me was 5 May.
• A CA alternate posting for the first time: After sending an email to ACLS, I also received word that an acceptance letter was mailed Friday. I too will be accepting. Good luck to the remaining alternates! (4/20)
• who did you email?
• One of the PA alternates here. I called last Thursday and talked to Cindy Mueller, and waned to share a couple pieces of info: 1. I got the very distinct impression that fewer people declined than normal, and so I'm going to guess that some of us alternates will not get an award. 2. We are ranked within groups of disciplines, not individually. I don't know how many groups there are or how many alternates are within a group. Thus, you can be ranked #1 in your group and not get an award while someone ranked, say, 3rd in their group might get one. It just depends on which awardees turn it down. Good luck to all.
• to those alternates who got it: congratulations! and: what fields are you guys in?
• a NJ alternate: History. Thanks to the person/people in my discipline group who declined!
• CA alternate: Geography.
• this is the first ca alternate. are these posts for real? i just called and they told me that no such notices of awards had been sent out. ???
• Alternate in PA (not the one who called last week). I just called as well and spoke with Cindy Mueller. She said that awards had been offered to 'some' of the alternates and she's waiting to hear back from these individuals. I got the sense that it was indeed a small group who declined initially. The whole process should be wrapped up in the next couple of weeks and I imagine that few alternates will be getting off the list. *Quick note: We are not allowed to accept money from any other source, even if a small stipend or grant, while holding the ACLS.
• to the CA alternate, I'm sorry -- I can't think what their reasoning possibly could have been for telling you award letters were not sent out. Mine was dated April 17th. Unless there is some crazy conspiracy going on, it's legit.
• Alternate in the SE. Just got offered an award, which I already accepted. The deadline for reply was May 11, though. Good luck to any of those who are still waiting!
• May 5-got an email yesterday saying that all of the awards had been given out.
• Thanks for letting us know this. Was this email sent in response to an email you sent or a general email sent to the alternates?
• May 7 -- got a letter in the mail that all the awards are awarded.

All Souls College, Oxford University

([1] Deadline September 19, 2008)

• Long "short list" to be drawn up on or by November 1, 2008
• Short list completed and sent by email (11/3)

American Academy of Arts and Sciences

(info Deadline 17 October 2008)

1/2 Any info?

1/5 I had this fellowship in the past and did not hear anything until later in the spring.

2/12 - Anyone know when this is decided?

3/4 - I think there were a few posts here that were deleted... I think three folks received rejection letters at the end of Feb.

3/16 - Anyone heard anything further?

Offer made

Bristol University, The Vice-Chancellor’s Centenary Post-Doctoral Fellowship

([2] Deadline 30 January 2009)

• Long "short list" was drawn up on 12 Feb 09; deadline for work sample is 25 Feb.
• Interviews due on 6 Mar 09.
• Interviews are now on Friday 20th March. Shortlisting is taking place on Monday 9th. This was the word from their administrator.

British Academy Postdoctoral Fellowships

(info Deadline 15 October 2008)

• Anyone heard anything? I believe successful (ie through to next round applicants) hear first, by email, and the unsuccessful just get letters in the post. (13 Jan)
• How many people here applied for this? (just want to know if I'm talking to myself posting here...) (1/16)
• I applied too- you're not talking to yourself.
• Just called them. Announcements will be made early next week. (1/16)
• If you (or someone you know) gets an email, please post here to put the rest of us out of our misery!
• Any news? (10.30 AM, Monday 1/19). Nothing here.
• Telephoned the Britac, and they are still waiting for some assessors to get back to them today (I don't know which subject). They will start sending emails tomorrow (not sure if this will be pushed back if last assessments haven't arrived). (1/19)
• Nothing here (TENTERHOOKS!!!) (1/20, noon GMT)
• Same here (Sigh) (1/20)
• Going insane (16.45 GMT) (1/20)
• I'm thinking no news by now is bad news. Awaiting rejection letter!
• Zippo. Oh well.. on with life (1/20)
• And... still nothing (noon GMT, 1/21)
• Cracked and rang them. They told me over the phone. I'm out. (1/21)
• Cheer up, all. 1) The judging panel is probably made up of fossilized academics. 2) If you're really passionate about your work, nothing can stop you from working on your project anyway. (1/21)
• Notification by mail that I was out of the running (1/23). They politely added that I had an "A" grade application...but you needed an "A+." The flattery is nice at least. (But it appears they plan to give about 45 awards and have invited "less than 20%" of the original field of 707 to submit second round applications...i.e., there were a lot of A+s....)
• I've still heard nothing, by mail or email (1/26)

• Pick up the phone and ask them.
• Just called- they told me that they've only just got some of the assessors reports back today, and also that I too am out (with an "A" grade application too).
• Anyone know if they've contacted the winners? (nothing yet on the website). I'm curious to see who got them. (5/28)

Brown University, Postdoctoral Fellowship in the International Humanities (Anthropology, Population Studies, and Cogut Center for the Humanities

• Deadline: Feb 06.

• (02/10) Received request for letters, supplemental materials (x3)

• Any updates?

• Wrote to ask about progress, informed top three selected 3/10

• Offer extended and accepted. (3/23)

ls a fellowship through Comparative Literature ("Mediterreanean Studies") deadline: 2/10. Request for writing sample made (2/20).

Brown University, Political Theory Project Postdoctoral Research Associate Fellowship

([3] Deadline November 10, 2008)

• Received an email (12/2), it states that there were 165 applicants for 6-7 postdoctoral fellowships and applications will be processed rapidly.

Anyone know about their expected timeline or hear anything?! (1/21)

near final word: 170 applicants for 5 positions. Dept. admin says offers have been made (as of 1/22) and search will be closed shortly.

Brown University Pembroke Center Postdoc, Markets and Bodies

• Deadline: December 10

Has anyone heard back from them?

request for further materials via email(1/5) me too! (1/5) does anyone know how many people they tend to narrow it down to at this stage?

• • if I haven't been asked for further materials, does this mean that I am out of the running?

I believe so.

• • I suppose still no final word to anyone either way?
  • Still anxiously waiting (2/4)

Nothing here as well (2/5)

• I hear it's still another week away or so.
• I've just been told it will be another 10-14 days (2/13)
  • would you mind sharing how you found this out? any more details? (thanks in advance...)
    • Called the admin person.
• It seems recent postings about rejections having been received via mail got deleted, so I'm just noting that. These were rejections received by people who had not been contacted for further materials (just reporting, hopefully accurately). (3/5)--correct, and may i add that their rejection letters were unnecessarily ungenerously worded.
  • oh that sucks. no one deserves that.
  • They are making offers this week (3/19)
  • what does it mean? this is only a slightly informative, but highly stressful, thing to hear. would you kindly please please tell us more? did you get an offer? when? does "they are making offers" mean they have made offers already, or does it mean that they planned to do it, or what?
  • To clarify, I got an offer this week (on tues). That is how I know they are making offers. That's all I know.
    • Thank you SO much, this is really very helpful. Would you mind sharing one more thing? I wonder how much time they gave you to decide. (Many, many thanks in advance... It would just give me/us an idea of when the search might actually end, and how much longer there's still hope for alternates. And, since there are several of these positions, this isn't tied to your individual decision.)
    • You're welcome.  I had to decline the fellowship because I had already accepted something else, so I actually don't know how much time they're giving people to decide.

Brown University, Watson Institute, Post-doc/ Project Director, Eisenhower Research Project

([4] Deadline December 15, 2008)

• (12/28) email notification that I'm on shortlist, scheduling phone interviews.
• (2/4) email rejection of shortlisted candidate--award made and accepted, apparently (very big sigh...).

(2/4) another email rejection of shortlisted candidate... (x2-and congrats to the postdoc. This will be an important project.)

Brown University, Mellon Postdoc

([5] Deadline January 23, 2009)

• There are two fellowships administered by department. This year it's Modern Culture and Media and a collaboration between Africana Studies and the Committee on Science and Technology Studies.
  • Only deadline listed is for the Modern Culture and Media fellowship, not sure what's up with the other one.
  • "Africana Studies and the Committee on Science and Technology Studies will be seeking candidates with a background in the relationship between the construction and naturalization of racial and/or ethnic categories and modern scientific knowledge production with a focus on the fields of biology and medicine."
• Email ack of application says process will be completed in April (MCM).
• Any idea how many MCM fellowships there are? Just one?
  • Yes, I'm pretty sure there's just one.
• have another offer and have to decide soon, so i called the MCM to check on the process. they said the committee is still finalizing the short list, and will have the process completed in 'mid-april.' (3.24) Did they mention if they'd be doing interviews?
• offer made
• do you know who the offer was made to?

Cambridge University Library, Munby Fellowship

(info Deadline September 5, 2008)

• No interviews
• THE LINK IS BROKEN
• Link was taken down when the deadline passed.

Carnegie Mellon University, Junior and Senior Fellowships in "Global Connections, Global Responsibilities"

([6] Deadline: December 1, 2008)

• ack. via email (mid-November)
• Email to schedule phone interview (12/15)
• Has anyone actually received a rejection letter? Or does limbo=rejection? (2/17)

No. The fellowship has been offered, but not accepted yet. Hence, the limbo.

• Received email announcing that fellowships have not been offered yet. Review process is still underway. (4/08)

Case Western Reserve University, Post Doctoral Fellowship, African-American Studies

(info Deadline: March 17, 2009)

• ack. via email 3/17

i think they'll be contacting people next week, in the meantime does anyone have any inside info? rejection letter received 5/8

Charlotte W. Newcombe Doctoral Dissertation Fellowships

(info Deadline: November 14, 2008)

• Received email (3/4) announcing selection as finalist. Top 15% of around 500 applications selected as finalists; 29 fellows to be selected in early April. Results to be sent by the second week of April.

• Rejection email received (4/6).
• was a finalist, ditto on the 4/6 rejection email.  Just curious: are there alternates for the Newcombe?  If we got a rejection on 4/6, is it impossible to be an alternate?
• That's a nice thought, but I think they would've mentioned that like ACLS does. Then again, it makes sense for them to have some backups.

Chateaubriand Fellowships

(Deadline: December 15th, 2008)

- Has anyone heard from these guys? The FAQ website says the selection committee meets in late February with notifications via email in the beginning of March, and it's well beyond that... (3/24). 

-the notified winners a couple of weeks ago 4/15;

Christ Church, Merton and St. John's Junior Research Fellowships, Oxford.

(info Deadline: 12 noon, 8th December 2008)

• acknowledged by e-mail (12/11)

Q1: Were you contacted by a specific College? I've not received an acknowledgement.

• acknowledged by e-mail (12/11) (it came from Christ Church)
• thanks. I figured it was a college thing: my application was to St. John's. In the meanwhile, I contacted them and they confirmed receipt. Very polite!

Any news? Last year they started sending out emails around 1/11. (1/14)

• Nothing here. (1/14) x3

Anyone heard anything yet? (1/20)

• Nothing here (1/20)
• Nothing here either - waiting for St Johns; (1/22) x2
• Nothing from Christ Church either (1/22)

I haven't had an acknowledgement even from Merton -I am in the bury head in sand school of thought.

• Request for written work from Christ Church (1/27)
• Was the request made by email? Anybody heard from St Johns? (1/27)

Yes, the request from Christ Church was made by email.

• Nothing from St. John's here. (1/27)
• Anyone know how long the shortlist for written work is at ChCh, St Johns, or Merton?
• Still nothing from St Johns? Nothing here (1/29, 12:15 UK) x2 (1/29, 9:30 EST US)
• Rejection letter from St. Johns received via snail mail(31 Jan 10:30am UK)

According to the letter, they have now shortlisted for interview.

• Same here. (31 Jan/ 1pm)
• Do you think that applies to Merton too? Does anyone know how this system works -are we in a pool for all 3 colleges or is only the college allocated for our subject considering us?

• In the 'further particulars', it says: "Shortlisting, interviewing and appointing procedures will be conducted separately by each

College after the allocation of applications has been agreed".

• Were short-listed candidates (at St. John's) also sent snail-mail letters, or contacted by other means?

Churchill, Trinity Hall, Murray Edwards (ex-New Hall) and Fitzwilliam Colleges JRFs, Cambridge.

Deadline: 23 November 2008

• Shortlist should be asked for more material in mid-January.
• According to website, shortlisted candidates will be informed 'by 13th January'.
• Any news? (1/12)
• Nothing here. (1/12) Maybe tomorrow?
• Arg. The application website says we will hear by the 13th, but the ack. email said 'after the 14th'. (1/13)
• E-mail request for written work(1/13)
• Anyone had a rejection? (they sent rejections last year). (1/13, 15.47 GMT)
• No contact whatsoever here: don't rejections usually follow the requests for materials from short-listed candidates? (1/13)
• Well, yes, and being an online system I expected an automated 'not you' email this afternoon. The rejections last year were email.
• Did you all receive ack emails after submitting?
• I did not.
• To the candidate who had a request for written work: Did you receive the request from a particular college? Are you in the humanities, social sciences, sciences, etc?
• No, not by a particular college. I'm in the humanities (Asian and Oriental Studies category)
• Still nothing here, (1/14, noon GMT) (x2)
• To the candidate who received an ack. email stating short-listed candidates will be contacted 'after the 14th': was this from a particular college? (1/14)
• Sorry, the ack. email I got was actually the one we all should have received, when first registering with the system. It said 'Thank you for registering with the Joint Application Scheme for Junior Research Fellowships application system. Your Login details are (etc.)....If you are selected to submit written work, we will contact you after 14 January 2009.' Having seen the system work before, I believe applicants are not contacted by different colleges for written work, as it is all assessed centrally. Only if you get to the top of the list (on the basis of the written work) and are considered for an interview by Trinity Hall (the others don't interview), you'd be contacted by them. Otherwise you (if you are very lucky!) will just get offered a Fellowship in writing. It might not be from the college you put as your first choice.

Nothing here either.

• Rejection email (1/14 humanities)x3
• Anyone else not heard a word?
• Try checking your spam filter. The reject email came from jrf@chu.cam.ac.uk. If you still don't have anything, you could write to that address and ask.

Clare College, University of Cambridge.

(Deadline: 15 December 2008)

• Shortlist to be drawn up by January 27th.

Anyone heard? (Jan 27th)

Nothing yet. I'll be sure to post if I do. x4 Email that I wasn't shortlisted 1/29 x7

Colgate University, Mellon Post-Doc in Rhetoric and Public Speaking

(Deadline February 2)

• Letter ack. receipt of materials...also said the process of coming up with a short list will take several weeks. Anyone else applying for this one?
• Phone interviews scheduled as of 2/19 (x2)
• Can you tell me how you found out this information?
• Campus interviews completed as of 3/12
• Did anyone get hired yet?

Colgate University, Peace and Conflict Studies

(Deadline, February 6)

• Anyone applying for this?

Letter acknowledging receipt of application (2/9)

Did anyone else not get ack. letter? yes. [x2 - I was wondering if the acknowledgement was for the other Colgate postdoc.] Yeah, I haven't gotten an ack. letter either-- other postdoc sounds plausible. To the original poster: which Colgate postdoc was the ack. for?

• My ack. letter arrived today (2/16) (I just got mine-- 2/20) (still nothing 2/20)
• any news anyone? it's been a while...
• nope (3/11)
• Received rejection letter stating that they'd picked someone (4/2)

Columbia University Society of Fellows in the Humanities

(info Deadline October 6, 2008)

• 10/16 received self-stamped postcard acknowledging the application is complete.

• 11/03 $30 charge on my credit card bill. it's that martini time of year in morningside heights.

• 11/06 I didn't get a postcard - didn't include one - but they charged me so I know they got it! :) Did the ack. postcard give any details on timeline?
• Interviews will be scheduled in December for January, with final decisions announced before March 1, 2009
• Last year interviewees were contacted from Dec. 14 to Dec. 20 or so, for interviews scheduled in mid-to-late-January.
• If we don't hear anything by the 20th should we assume our candidacy is no longer valid?
• They say on the website that if you have not been contacted by Jan. 1 then you can assume candidacy is no longer valid, Dec. 20th or so might be just as realistic though . . .
• call for interview (12/12)x2
• Does anybody know if this means that all those to be interviewed have already been called? Or is there a possibility that the scheduling of interviews takes place over the course of several days?
• I heard from a former fellow that it was done over several days, by field, and that the fellows do the first sort, pre-short listing and before the interview calls are made; at least that is how it was done in the past. So it could be that more calls will go out next week? Anyone know how they are doing it this year?
• Would those who were called mind saying what field they're in so that I can know whether I still have a chance? Thanks!
• Any more news? (12/16)

No news. Which may not mean good news. waiting for the 20th

• Does anyone know how many people they typically interview?
• I asked, but they didn't say. (12/17)
• They say they have the most democratic process imaginable for this fellowship -- So I guess if we do not make it, we can assume that we were genuinely considered. Three more days and then it is time sigh (wistfully) Also, congrats to the interviewee. Good going. I hope you make the cut and thanks for keeping us informed.
• Time to sigh, I guess. Congrats to interviewees! x2
• Doesn't $30 at least cover postage for a rejection letter?
• I never received a rejection letter last year, nor was the stamped postcard I included ever returned. C'est la vie.
• Did anyone who interviewed ask when we woudl hear? (1/26) A: They did not mention anything about a date to me and I did not get any response so far (1/26)
• Any news anybody? (1/29)
• I still haven't heard anything (1/29)
• They said they will be able to make offers during the first week of February.
• Thanks for this update. Very much appreciated.
• offer made by phone (1/30) (x2)
• ound of applause for the winner!! Congratulations.
  
• have the winners been announced?

Columbia University, Earth Institute Postdoc Fellows

• Deadline: December 1st, 2008
• Have anybody heard about the Earth Institute Fellows?
• Have anybody heard from the Earth Institute about the Fellows 2009?

Columbia University, Committee for Global Thought Postdoctoral Fellowship

• 1/7, notification advanced to next round. Those advanced to third round will be notified at the end of Jan.

• anyone hear about interviews yet? 1/28

• Yes - email offering interviews received 27/1

• Have there been additional interview invitations? I was told that not all subcommittees had finished the review process.

• When were you told not all subcommittees had finished the review process? And did you hear which ones hadn't? I am assuming it must probably all be finished by now, but since you didn't date your post...

• I was told that there were delays at the end of January. This meant that not having heard from them by the end of January should not be taken to mean that the application was no longer considered. It is Feb 15, and I have not heard anything at all. I am wondering whether there has been any other movement besides the interview offers of 27/1 or so. Has anybody received a rejection? Anything?

• I was told that the subcommittee that would consider my application had not yet met. I'm in the social sciences, if that helps. The administrator said that if I hadn't heard by March 31st I should consider my application as no longer active 2/17.

• Thanks, that helps. I also inquired today and received a similar response. Also in social sciences (2/18).

• Wow, they're really taking their time! I three am in social science. But so far as I understood, the fellowships were organized thematically: "Secularism and Diversity," "Global Governance," and "Poverty and Inequality." Are the committees not similarly organized? Or do are there separate committees for each disciplinary cluster ("social science," "law," "humanities," etc.) each of which considers candidates for all three themes??

• insights anyone?

3/5 rejection emails sent out earlier this week

Connecticut College, CISLA, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Study of Islam

([7] Deadline: November 1, 2008)

• 12/16 - rejection e-mail received
• 1/6 - rejection e-mail received
• 1/20- interviews scheduled for Feb
• Filled - per website

Connecticut College, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Race and Ethnicity

http://www.conncoll.edu/ (Deadline: 15 November 2008)

• Any News?
• Will interview in February
• Any other news? When will they contact people?
• Emailed them. They say more apps than expected. They'll have a short list in two weeks (1/28)
• I was contacted to say I made a short list--I assume that means they will schedule interviews soon (2/19)
• Were you contacted by email? (2/20)
• No, by phone.
• Good Luck...Anyone else here anything (2/26)
• received email rejection (4/8)
• I never got anything from them. I am assuming the winners have been selected. Is this correct? (4/13)
• I, too haven't heard anything, and I'm an alum....(4/16)

Consortium for Faculty Diversity in Liberal Arts Colleges

• Did anyone out there apply for this one? I'm curious if anyone heard from any colleges. (12/17)

• I applied, but I haven't heard anything. (12/17)

• There is not one moment when you hear about these. Could happen between now and March/April. Depends on the individual school.

• Thanks for clarifying this... Would schools contact us for existing job postings? I'm just unclear on how it works.

• The school (dean) will contact you independently, typically after a department has expressed interest in having you as a fellow. You deal directly with the school.
• I was contacted for a phone interview by one of the schools last week. So they're starting to call people out but I don't know about the end date for preliminary interviews.
• Has any one else been contacted? (1/15) Just curious as I haven't heard anything
• I was contacted for a phone interview by one of the schools this weekend (1/17).
• Are these usually phone interviews or fly-outs? If they do fly-outs do they bring out 3 people like a tenure-track job? And is it a 1 or 2 yr appointment generally?
• Fly-outs. You can check on the website for the consortium- seems some fellows spend 1 yr at the school, and some spend two. (1/28)
• Any recent movement related to this? (3/16)
• Got an email from a college beginning of March, wanted to fly me out for an interview - was very very excited! week later, got the word that the college was not doing the cfd next year, budget issues. man it hurt. (3/20) good luck to the others out there.

Cornell Hirsch Postdoctoral Associate in Archaeology

([8] Deadline: May 1, 2009)

Cornell Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

(info Deadline: November 1, 2008)

• Three Fellowships: History, German, and Near Eastern Studies
• Also one in French (deadline Jan 30) Any news on the French search? Yes. 
  • Phone interview scheduled on 3/2
  • Offer extended, 3/5
• Has anyone received an acknowledgment on the history one? (2/23)
• 3/13- Still no word on the history one? (the deadline was February 1)
• Rejection notification on 3/20
• Too bad. Was that from the history search, or one of the others? (was it email or snail mail?) (3/23)
• Winners have been listed here: http://www.arts.cornell.edu/sochum/fellows_09_10.html
• Finally received snail mail rejection letter (in history). It congratulated me for working in 'an exciting field' - but was addressed to 'Dear Applicant'. (4/2)

Cornell Mellon English/Feminist, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Mellon Postdoc

Deadline: March 6, 2009

• English/FGSS: Was asked to send dosser on 3/2 and told that decision would be made no earlier than late March. (3/5)

• Dossier request (3/9)

• My guess is that they're asking for dossiers from all applicants to save some time. My dossier request came on the day they received my application.
• Did not receive dossier request. Guess that means game over?
• Are you sure they got your application by the deadline?
• yup. sent it late february, i believe.
• Has anyone heard anything beyond dossier request? (3/26)
• I haven't; my acknowledgment email said that a decision would be reached in early April. (3/27)
• Has anyone received an interview or offer? I have not heard back :( (4/7)
• Not a word--a little nerve-wracking. But they've only had the applications for a month, and it IS still "early April"! (4/7)
• How is it nerve wracking? The odds of any one person getting any specific postdoc are ridiculously low. Some of these postdocs draw 800 applications, so unless I hear otherwise, I just assume that applying for any postdoc is a shot in the dark.
• That is probably a useful approach yet I sympathize with the previous post that the whole process is, nonetheless, nerve-wracking, esp. if facing unemployment.
• Did everyone out there receive a dossier request? And has anyone received an official rejection?
• I did receive a dossier request and have not received an official rejection. (4/9)
• I did not receive a dossier request, but I think that might have been because I included contact info for my dossier service with the application... (4/9)
• I received a dossier request and included contact info. for my service on my CV (4/10).
• received rejection via email (4/15)
• Still nothing here (4/16)
• Rejection via email (4/20)
• received rejection via email (4/16)
• Has anyone out there heard anything more? (4/18)
• Selected Applicants were informed last week. Just called the department. (4/20)

Cornell Mellon Foundation "History Across the Disciplines" Anthropology Postdoc

(info Deadline: February 1, 2009) There may be others hosted in other departments. Any information on this program?

request for letters (x4)

does anyone know if what they have is a short list (e.g., 3 candidates) or a long short list (e.g., 10 candidates)?

anyone know what the timeline might look like?  I had letters requested but haven't heard anything else (3/24)

i'm wondering the same. if they requested letters nearly three weeks ago then they must have their short list. and it seems those candidates would have been contacted by now (3/25)

I called and was told that they are in the process of making decisions, and will notify everyone within the next few weeks. (3/25)

Offer extended (3/27)

Congratulations!  Would you mind posting here if/once you've accepted?  Always good to know when doors are definitively closed.

Was the offer accepted? And, also, did they bring finalists to campus for interviews or just skip that stage? (3/28)

No interview.

Offer accepted (3/29).

Cornell Society for the Humanities Fellowship

(info Deadline: October 1, 2008)

• Rejection letter, 12/12
• "Networks" "Connections", anybody notice every postdoc topic this year sounds like a dating service?
• One can only hope.
• Yeah, like "Pressures on the Human"!
• LMAO, that's what happens after the "dating service" postdoc.

Corpus Christi College, University of Cambridge

(Deadline September 24, 2008)

• Has anyone heard from them?
• Rejection email received with apologies for long delay.

Council on Library and Information Resources Fellowships

( info, Deadline November 14, 2008)

Any news? 3/17

Phone interviews were conducted in January.  Was told individual institutions will contact for further interviews in March.

Dartmouth College, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship, Leslie Center

([9] Deadline: October 15, 2008)

• 11/13 Has anyone heard anything?
• 11/14 Nope
• 11/20 Rejection via mail (2)
• Q: Any word on # of applicants or timeline?
• A: Rejection Letter dated 11/4, postmarked 11/18. No timeline or # of applicants listed. Congratulations to those still under consideration and/or receiving fellowships.
• 11/26 Anyone received any positive news?
• Looking at the Wiki for last year's search, and it seems to run into February. So I guess it might still be quite a while before we know anything definitive?

(http://academicjobs.wikia.com/wiki/Humanities_postdocs_2007-2008#Dartmouth_Mellon_Postdoctoral_Fellowship_in_the_Humanities_and_Social_Sciences)

• I was a finalist last year and I had to wait till mid March to get a rejection email. But this year's application

deadline was much earlier than last year's so...

• Interesting. So was there an interview stage then last year, or did they just let you know somehow that you were a finalist?
• By mid february I sent an email to them asking how things stand and I received a reply saying while I am not one of the

candidates they'll bring to campus, I made it to their final selection round and so they will keep my dossier "active". Then mid-March I asked again and they said the offers were made and accepted. In short, yes there was an interview stage but probably for a small number of interviewees.

• Rejection snail mail letter received on 12/1, dated 11/19
• Any news?

• Have yet to receive rejection or good news of any kind as of 12/4. I assume others are in the same boat? yes, same boat (×5) (12/4)

• I heard that semi-finalists have already been notified. Can anyone confirm?

• Still no contact, either positive or negative, as of 12/9 (x9).

• How annoying. I'm beginning to think my application materials were used as kindling for ye olde Christmas bonfire.

• You're not alone. I've had that same feeling for awhile now.
• Actually, I'd assume it's a good thing if you haven't heard anything, because this probably means you haven't been rejected and are still in contention.

• Does anyone know how many fellowships are offered? the website says one, no?
• 12/10 Rejection letter received, dated 12/3. I was beginning to worry there for a minute! (x2)

• A thought just occurred to me: do you think Dartmouth could have prevented all this agonizing/ notoriety with a simple postcard or confirmation email? Or does all of our postings give the postdoc free advertising? ;) [BTW, I still haven't heard a damn thing.]

• 12/12 still not a word good or bad from Dartmouth. Others?

• Nope. But hope springs eternal...

• Contacted the administrator who said the finalists have been chosen and will be reached this week. Others will receive rejection letters in the mail.
• Did they say how many finalists? I wonder if this week means Monday. -Three finalists.

• rejection letter (12/15) (x2-and they even spelled my name wrong in the letter.Nice added touch.)
• re: three finalists. do you know if they have all been notified? the wording was exactly "the finalists will be reached this week"
• no letter, no call (12/16) (x10)

• Anyone received the email yet?

• no letter, no call, no email (12/17) (x6)

• "reached this week" apparently means saturday at the 11th hour.

• You gotta admit, all this waiting with little information might be part of some bizarre psychological experiment....

• This is the person who contacted the administrator: I suggest that someone else among the "no letter no call" group emails her to ask if the finalists have been contacted yet... She gets back pretty quickly.

Rejection letter. Dated 12/15, received 12/18 (East Coast). Best of luck to the finalists. x3

• I want my rejection letter! Why not send them all at once? I agree with the psychological experiment theory, bet they follow the Wiki!

Do you think it might have something to do with when the applications were received? I haven't heard a thing as of yet (though my mail hasn't come today), but according to my spreadsheet that tracks such things, I sent my application in very close to the deadline. Is this the case for others who haven't heard yet?

• Rejection Letter, dated 12/15, received 12/19 (Midwest). Alas, I am now let out of the spaceship. For what it's worth, my application was submitted close to the deadline as well. (x4)

I still haven't heard any news one way or the other (East Coast). Has anyone actually been told yet that they *are* a finalist?

• All quiet on the West Coast.

• Whoever the three finalists turn out to be, I hope at least one uses this wiki! Otherwise it could be a while before everybody's tension is relieved...

• MAN DOWN! 12/20 rejection ltr received on west coast. Good luck to you all.
• Well, the suspense is over for me at least -- rejection on 12/22! Plus they misspelled my name in the letter, just to add that extra personal touch... oh well, good luck to everyone who's still in contention, and happy holidays!
• With the insane staggered notification of unsuccessful candidates, the misspelled names, and the random gaffes reported on other wikis about Dartmouth searches, this place is beginning to seem pretty bootleg...
• Offer made (2/16/09)

Dartmouth College, DIckey Center Visiting Fellows (Arctic Studies, War & Peace Studies, Global Health Initiative)

([10] Deadline: February 15, 2009)

Received nice rejection email (3/26)

Davidson College, Mellon Postdoc

Just added this and my computer skills aren't up to the task of adding a link (deadline was Jan. 15). Any info?

• nothing here (2/13)
• nothing yet (3/10), anyone know anything?
• similar conversation taking place on history jobs wiki - no word there either (3/15)
• (3/18) Request for interview (by email). Sounds like interviews will be taking place this week and next.
• (4/14) Very nice rejection email. Offer has been made and accepted.

Duke University, Franklin Humanities Institute

Deadline, 1/12

• Anything new?
• Well, no, considering that the deadline just passed 2 days ago...
• Email confirmation of receipt of application received 1/22. Decisions announced by March 1.
• x3, March 1st is a quick turnaround. So no interviews I guess for this one?
• My guess would be no (as to interviews). Anyone know anything solid (how many might be awarded, fields, number apps rec'd, any of that sort of thing)? A: the website says up to 3 fellows, but I don't have any inside info on # of apps.
• Offer made via email 2/18
• Has anyone accepted? 1 decline
• Out of curisoty, what field(s) were offer(s) made in?
• Offer made by phone 3/4 to an alternate
• Email rejection received (3/12)

Duke University, Provost's Postdoctoral Program

Deadline: January 23

• get lost letter received via email (3/12)
• what happened with this? were there offers?

Duke University, Samuel DuBois Cook Postdoctoral Fellowship

(Deadline: 1/7)

• confirmation email (1/15)--(committee meets in early Feb; finalist notified 2nd week in March)
• any word yet? (3/22)
• Nothing here.  But maybe the finalists have been notified?  (3/26)
• Hmm...maybe so. They were supposed to announce two weeks ago, though these decisions sometimes take longer than anticipated. (3/26)
• buzz off letter received 4/1

Duke University, Thompson Writing Program

(info Deadline: October 31, 2008)

• 11/14 - received confirmation with race/gender monitoring form. Timeline is notification of search status by mid-December (x3)
• any news so far? (12/8)
• Nothing, but it isn't mid-Dec. yet . . . (12/9)
• Anybody was contacted for further supporting materials (12/12)? Since I haven't been contacted for further materials, I assume that I didn't make the initial screening :(
• And the axe falls via snail mail today. (12/12)
• Has anyone else not received the axe but not been contacted either? (12/13) (5)
• Yes, but I've yet to get my West Coast snail mail back
• That makes two (12/13) (3); I'm in the mid-west, and I haven't heard anything one way or the other. (4) - and I'm in NC; on East Coast (5).

• Got my rejection today (12/13) in a letter dated 12/8. (I'm representing the Mid-west).

• • Same letter received in Midwest (12/15).
• Has anyone heard anything other than rejection or silence?

• silence (x6)
• End of Silence -- got the rejection today via snail mail (12/15): "We were delighted to receive over 360 applications for our positions this year..."

Rejection on West Coast 12/15, Rejection East Coast 12/15

• Has anyone received any positive news???

• Yes - phone invitation for campus visit in January. 12/15. (3)

• Anyone have any idea of how many positions are open? 12/15
• Not as such, but I was told there were 6 days available, one candidate per day... so, six of us? Does anyone know how many jobs they offer per year? 12/15 (On the job ads in 2008-2009, it said "5 openings". Did you get contacted by them for more materials before scheduling campus visit today (12/15)?)
• Nope, they offered on what I sent them. They're asking for a lot of new stuff for the interview, tho'.
• Their website says, "We expect to offer about six new TWP Fellowships in 2007-08." But that was for last year...
• No rejection, no call, got ack letter soon after applying so I know they have my app. (12/15) (me too, I guess my rejection letter is on its way-receive rejection letter 12/16)
• ^^^^or they might still be making calls and/or deciding on a final list. Last year's entry says something about a waitlist?
• Likely a wait list. Nothing here either as of 12/15.
• 12/15 East Coast rejection letter snail mail
• 12/17 No letter, no phone call. West coast. [Update--got the rejection letter today, 12-22]
• 12/17 Same. No letter, no requests for more materials, no interviews (West Coast) (3) international (2) East coast (3)
• 12/19 F-ck off letter received (West Coast)
• Any news?

Where did they advertise this? I didn't see it in the MLA list.

• Have offers been made? Any news from those candidates who were scheduled to interview in January?
• 2/10 Offers have been made

Duke University, Women's Studies, Visual Culture Postdoc

I spoke to someone in the office who said that the process was a bit backed up and they would be trying to narrow down the search to a list of candidates over the next few weeks. Over 130 applicants.

3/7: Rejection letter received (fwiw: the letter states that they are offering two positions).

• Was the rejection hard copy or email? (3/9)
• Hard copy received today. (3/9)   x 4
• offers apparently made and acceptd (3/20)

Emmanuel College, Cambridge University, JRF

(info Deadline: October 9, 2008)

• original info said shortlist would be contacted 18th November, anyone heard anything?

Haven't heard anything either. That probably means we weren't short-listed...

• yes, shortlist of 39 candidates was contacted by email on 18th November
• Any offers made yet? (1/15)

Emory University, Fox Center for Humanistic Inquiry

• Deadline: Feb 23
• I think it's actually 2/26
• Note: No interview process.
• Note: Must have Ph.D in hand by Feb 23 to apply.
• Received ack. email 2/5; 2/23
• Any guesses when we'll hear anything? Looks like last year they made an offer around April 15, they seem to have taken down this year's competition info from the website. (4/5)
• Rejection letter received snail mail, 4/7 (x2)
• Wait-list letter; offers look to have been made and accepted 4/17

Emory University, Transforming Community Project, Atlanta, GA, USA

Info ([11] Application Review Begins: December 15, 2008)]

The Transforming Community Project (TCP) at Emory University invites applications for its Community Research Post-Graduate Fellowship. The fellowship is a 1-year appointment beginning February 2009, with a possibility of renewal. Eligible candidates will have completed a terminal degree (PhD, MD, JD, MFA, MBA, etc.) by December 31, 2008. The field of academic specialization is open; applicants from all disciplines are welcome and encouraged to apply.

• Just curious, who got this one?

Frederick Douglas Institute (AF/AM)

• Offer Extended (3/19)
• Rejection via snail mail (4/11)

Freiburg Institute of Advanced Study

(info Deadline August 1, 2008)

Georgetown University, Tocqueville Origins of American Democracy fellowship

(ad Review of apps begins immediately: advertised 4/7/2009)

Georgia Tech, Brittain Fellowship Program

(Deadline January 15, 2009)

• Info about deadline...Jan 15 wasn't a deadline. It was a "start looking at apps date."

• Receipt of application notification Feb. 6

• Has anybody heard anything about decisions yet?

• Acknowledgement letter said something to the effect that they would likely be conducting interviews "into the summer," so I'd bet we're not going to hear anything for a while.

• Last year's wiki shows that some people got calls for interviews about a month after the deadline (though the process lasted into the summer) so I thought maybe some people had heard something already. Applications were due a month later last year, though, so the timeline might be different.

• I imagine the process does get drawn out, considering that they probably end up having offers fall through. 26,000 to teach 6 courses is not going to be very many people's financial preference, any way you cut it.

• Are you sure it is $26,000? I thought I read somewhere that it is $35,000.

• Just got an email asking to set up a phone interview, and confirming salary as about $27,000 (Date ??)

• That's right, around 27K. Yes, you would *think* 35K would be reasonable, but you must have been reading about some other postdoc!
• Just got off phone with them... no idea how well/poorly I did. How is everybody else feeling? Any offers yet? (03/09)

• Same here. I have no idea how I did. From last year's wiki it looks like the earliest offers were made about 2 weeks after interviews via fed ex - actually they were 2 weeks from the e-mail about interviews so initial offers may have been made already.
• That's possible, though I also had a friend who had some knowledge of the process tell me it could take 3 weeks or more to hear anything. I wouldn't panic just yet.

• Any offers? I'm surprised there haven't been any posted yet.
• April 7. They were deliberately vague about the time line, since they don't yet know how many of their fellows got jobs this year. Given that some really great schools have not placed anyone this year, the number will be smallish.
• Wait, is the above comment meant to indicate you received an offer on april 7, or just that you contacted them?
• Since the 7th, I have received an offer (April 13) via FedEx. Have not yet accepted. So, decisions are being made.
• Ditto on above timing (7th, 13th); offer accepted.
• Are they doing any campus visits or just making offers?
• Just offers
• Are they done for the year now?

Girton College, University of Cambridge, JRF in Arts and Humanities

(Deadline January 12, 2009)

• Longlist will be contacted 'last week of January'.
• Meeting to draw up longlist takes place 1/27. Anyone else applied for this?

I did!

• so did anybody hear from them? (1/27)
• nothing here, but their meeting was at 4pm. Emails might be going out tomorrow. Also the app said they don't send acknowledgments, might be they don't contact the unsuccessful either. (6.30pm UK, 1/27)
• Nothing here either (1/27) x2
• No word here, 1/28, 9.40AM UK
• Still nothing?
• Nothing here, 1/28, 9:49AM EST (US)
• That ends the waiting for today .. (1/28, 6pm UK)
• Morning, folks! It's 9.30AM in England and I have....nothing. (1/29)(x2)
• Good morning from the other side of the pond! Nothing here either (9:30 EST).
• Wrapping up today's vigil in the UK, hope you are all well! We should get together for coffee sometime. And Girton? Just reject me already! (1/29)
• My turn to say... good morning, and still nothing (1/30, 9.30am UK).
• Called them. Shortlist have been contacted. So I guess that's not us. Oh well. Rejection letters will be sent (1/30)
• Received rejection letter yesterday (2/5)

Gonville and Caius College, University of Cambridge

(info Deadline October 10, 2008)

• 12/5: Has anyone heard from them?
• 12/16: Ack. email says that interviews will be held on the 19th of Jan. But no word on when finalists will be notified(?)
• 12/16: Has everyone received this email?
• 12/17: That was unclear to me. I know that they have had 2 meetings and since they have all the writing samples, it is possible that they are notifying people whose work they're sending to the external assessors. Did anyone not receive any information?
• 12/17: Good question. I received it.
• 01/5: Has anyone had any news? (x2)
• 01/15: I guess the shortlist must have been contacted by now. Does anyone know how many have been shortlisted?
• 01/15: Nope. I've heard nothing.

Hamilton College, Mellon Postdoc

(ad Deadline February 16, 2009)

• For specific humanities subjects, check ad for details

• Email acknowledgment (2/6)(+1)(2/16)(+1)

• They did on-campus interviews last year, any idea if they'll be repeating that for this year's competition?
• Dossier request, email (3/4) From what department?
• Comparative literature
• Ditto, in history
• Wow, so they look at the dossiers of numerous people in several different departments and then pick the top candidates from each department to compete on-campus? Does anyone know if there will be a phone interview prior to on-campus invites? I'm in the running for this but now realize it is a crap shoot at best.
• I know nothing about their selection process. It was unclear (to me) whether they would be giving out one or several fellowships. I'm the earlier poster who got the dossier request in history. What's your field?
• 200+ apps for one fellowship. I think they will be doing on-campus interviews, but not many.
• To poster at 98.113.132.122: You've asked what department the dossier requests came from (and I and another poster told you), and say that you're 'in the running' - how about you tell us what field you're in?
• I did. No need to be annoyed. Gotcha, request made in comm, removed the post as it is not relevant. Good to hear.
• I'm in Comp. Lit.
• By the way, it seems clear that many people are being considered for this post-doc, in a number of different fields, but the ad specifically stated that there will only be 1 post-doc offered this year. Clearly, this will be a tight race and whoever ends up with the post-doc will be one lucky PhD indeed, based on the number of applicants and candidates making it to the next round. Good luck to all.
• This press release (from January 2008, shortly before they advertised the first round of fellowships) http://www.hamilton.edu/news/more_news/display.cfm?id=13410 says the grant is for four years (so 3 years of competition, given that the postdocs each stay for 2 years? 2008-2010, 2009-2011, 2010-2012? - I'm guessing), and that five fellowships would be awarded, so it could be more than one. I don't know how many they gave last year.
• There's only one. According to the ad here:
  http://www.hamilton.edu/college/personnel/jobs.html?mode=Details&ID=673
• For those who have received dossier requests, what have they asked for? Are all depts asking for the same materials? Initial app was just CV and letter.
• In comp lit they just wanted letters
• I was asked for letters and a writing sample (history).
• Was asked for letters, syllabi, writing sample. (lit)
• Request for letters
• Has anyone who was asked for more material heard anything further? (3/16)
• My request was dated 3-10 and they requested materials by e-mail or hard copy, so I'd assume more movement is at least another week or so away...

Hamilton requested letters of rec. in early March, and I've heard nothing since then...not a peep!

• The same here. Complit requested letters early March but nothing ever since. Has anyone been contacted further?
• I'll repeat what I posted above- some requests didn't go out until later, and the fellowship is across the humanities. Some people still insist on sending hard copies of their letters, so they could still be waiting on materials.
• Last year they didn't contact people again until April and on-campus interviews weren't held until mid-April, so I bet it will be at least another week.
• Hamilton was on spring break this week, which is something else to keep in mind...
• Judging by last year's wiki, they had it wrapped up by mid-April (rejection letters going out on the 15th). Given that this year the deadline was earlier, I think if they're doing campus interviews, people would have received an invitation by now. (4/2) What are you trying to say with this comment? That they will decide without interviews this year? Or that they have canceled the postdoc? Does anybody actually know anything?
• Has anybody been contacted for other material than the recommendations in complit? (4/5)
• I was asked for further materials in history, and I have heard nothing further (4/6)
• 4/7- They're doing on-campus interviews, but not sure how many. Invites haven't been sent out yet AFAIK...I think we should know more by the end of the week. To the italicized post above, postdoc has definitely not been canceled.
• Thanks for the update: do you have inside info? No, sorry.
• You seem very confident in your 'knowledge'. Can you divulge the source of your claim that we should know more by the end of this week, or the belief that campus invites haven't yet been sent? (to me it seems highly possible that invitations have been sent - heck, that interviews have already been held! - just not with anyone who uses this wiki) Not if you pay attention to the timeline- reference materials were still trickling in when Hamilton went on break. Last week was their first week back from break. Not all depts made their requests for materials at the same time judging from what has been posted here. Just chill out and hope for the best.
• From email just received, they expect to finalise list of invitees at the end of next week. (4/7)
• Did they write to you directly, or was this a response to an inquiry from you? Thanks.
• The email was in response to a message of mine.
• I just received a very general email request to "confirm my continued interest" and it said they plan to invite two finalists for campus interviews and will notify by April 13th. (4/8) Cograts, good to hear. Did the e-mail come from a dept or from the fellowship administrator? Did anyone else get a similar request?
• Also got the email (4/8), from the fellowship admin.
• Just curious: For those of you that got email requests, what departments are you in? TIA. (4/9)
• I'm in film and media studies.
• Comp lit
• Did anyone else out there from other departments hear anything? I haven't but assume the "very general email" must have gone out to at least 4-5 people (depending on the number of departments involved.). I'm just curious to hear which humanities areas get the nod.
• What area are you in? I'm in history, I received the timeline email in response to a query, I didn't receive the subsequent 'confirm your interest' email (which from the info here, was sent the following day). I guess we'll all know where we stand on Monday. Good luck all!
• 4/10, Email invitation from administrator to schedule campus visit (Comp Lit/Film & Media)
• Q to the on-campus invitee: Are you in comp lit/film & media (so you work in both depts.?) or were two separate people contacted, one in comp lit & one in film & media on the 10th? Have both finalists been contacted at this point? (i.e. have the people in comp lit & film & media studies both received invites?) It seems like history and theatre did not make the final cut.
• To previous poster: 'both' finalists? Did Hamilton indicate somewhere that they would interview ONLY TWO candidates? The last postdoc I interviewed for had six finalists on-campus, and I have another interview coming up where I think there are several. Friends who have had similar interviews report 4-6 finalists.
• A: The email I received last week stated that they would be interviewing only 2 candidates on campus. So it seems pretty clear that both candidates must have been contacted on Friday, because I doubt that they would only contact one and not the other! It would be great, though, if this could be confirmed via the wiki.
• Sorry - to clarify, I received a campus visit email, I'm in Comp Lit, but I also work on Film and Media (we don't have a media/cinema studies PhD).
• Thanks; good luck on campus! The other person invited must be the above poster whose primary department is film/media studies and she or he just hasn't updated the wiki. Best of luck to all with PDs and jobs this season . . .
• original film and media studies poster here. I also received 4/10 email invitation for campus visit.
• Rejection received via e-mail. No idea why they asked for different materials for different candidates...kind of frustrating, but oh well.
• Offer made and accepted 4/30.

Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at Hampshire College

http://www.hampshire.edu/dof/fellowships.htm

• DUE: 6/1/09
• AREAS: 1) *Language, Literacy, and Culture* 2) *African Expressive and Material Arts* 3) *Multilingualism in the City*
• wow, this one is late! a little hope still for some of us....anyone out there apply for this one???

• A. Yes, I applied for the Multilingualism in the City one. (x2)
• A. I applied for this same one as well. I guess it is too early to hear back from them ...
• 3 days after the deadline? You think? I don't know if they're doing a one or two stage process. Rough guesses based on other postdoc timelines: If it's two-stage (shortlist is contacted for more material, or an interview), I'd expect those people to hear in the last week of June. If it's one-stage (they just appoint based on the original application materials), I'd expect appointments to be made by mid-July. If you don't get picked, a thin envelope sometime by the end of August. (June 4)
• It is not too early for them to acknowledge receipt and give an indication of their timeline. Additionally, the start date is Aug. 15, so I am assuming there's going to be a very quick turnaround time.
• From their website: "Only applicants under serious consideration will be contacted." So I guess most of us will never hear anything. (6/8)
• applications were given to the committee for review on june 9; candidates will be contacted no sooner than june 22 for an interview
• One of my references was contacted, 6/12
• So what's the word here people? Has anybody heard anything at all on this one? Just checking ... 6/22
• Affirmative action survey received by email...no other news 6/24
• Are they doing interviews? Has anyone been called?
• Nothing here (7/12), which I'm taking as a no.
• Nothing here, either (7/14).
• Email rejection (7/17).

Harvard Divinity School Women's Studies in Religion Program

• Due: October 15, 2008
• This isn't exactly a postdoc, but close enough. Has anyone heard from them? Last year, rejection letters had arrived by now.
• I'm still waiting to hear from them as well. You're correct that last year at this time the news was out, but they don't seem to have any set timeline about this.
• what time is this?  I have applied for this now in 2009 and am just curious about when they announce their selection.

Harvard History and Literature Fellows

• This teaching postdoc was offered last year, but I haven't seen anything about it so far this year. Anyone know if the program is running this year?

Yes, it's running. Application at http://www.fas.harvard.edu/~histlit/forms/TFApp-09.pdf Deadline February 6, 2009.

• Thanks for posting. I don't see anything on their website about the terms of the postdoc? Anyone know the specifics?
• check last year's postdoc page for a similar discussion. They don't give much info. (no idea whether this is really just aimed at Harvard grad students).
• that wouldn't surprise me.
• it's a part-time position, which is probably why it's great for a lot of current Harvard grad students and other grad students in the area.
• well, wait, while teaching positions in Hist & Lit do go to Harvard grad students (this makes sense), more than half of the lecturers in the Hist&Lit program are neither current Harvard grad students (who would be instructors when teaching in the H&L concentration and part-time employees) nor from the area. Rather, they are lecturers who earned their Ph.D.s from a variety of institutions all around the country. Surely they are not part-time employees (?!) but are full-time lecturers with benefits, etc. Otherwise, it's very hard to imagine that people would uproot themselves to take up the gig. I mean of course we're all desperate, especially in this year's market, but jeez, we're gonna go to Harvard to teach one course and get our healthcare at the ER? I'm sure this is not the case, because if it is I just give up.
• They do get benefits (health insurance, etc.), I'm pretty sure. But it's not a full-time job, which is why many of the lecturers try to find additional teaching/other jobs., etc. to supplement the income.
• What a disaster. I guess I do give up, then. Not that running around looking for teaching jobs to supplement my income doesn't sound like a thrilling adventure... It's just that I'm having so much fun doing it already...
• Hear hear. Could someone in the know give some info about the way this fellowship/lecturership works? Is what they offer less than a 2-2 load? In which case I agree, it's certainly more suitable for people already in the area. But as someone points out above, quite a few of the lecturers are Ph.D.'s from all over. Can it be true that these people relocated to teach one course in History and Literature and scramble around for supplementary jobs?
• Someone in the know here: this is indeed a half-time position. The base salary is just under $30K (half of a c. $60K full time equivalent salary), and you receive full faculty benefits (health, dental, retirement, various perks etc.) and a professional development fund. It is very easy to pick up additional teaching both at Harvard and elsewhere. At Harvard, additional teaching is well compensated ($7-$9K per course), and there are plenty of opportunities to design and teach your own courses (in fact nearly all of the additional opportunities at Harvard involve teaching your own seminars). Within the program itself, you are teaching extremely small groups of bright and motivated students, and the administration of the program is excellent. Contracts are renewable for up to 3 years. When you compare this to many other non-tenure-track positions out there you understand why people relocate from all over the country for this gig. I have friends and colleagues adjuncting full time for less than the half-time Harvard salary, teaching massive lecture courses, receiving no benefits, and not knowing if they will be re-hired for next year... And don't forget that if you can live on $30K/year you can spend the rest of your time taking advantage of Harvard's libraries and other resources to get articles and books under way.

Thanks for the information. It's very helpful. I can't help being astounded, though, that they can't work out full-time positions with the other depts that H&L lecturers need to teach in to supplement their meager salaries in order to put together a respectable offer to H&L lecturers. 30k a year is not attractive, and the suggestion that one might be compensated by the lovely Harvard libraries is almost insulting. How desperate is a Ph.D. in the humanities really supposed to be? A: Very, very desperate.

• I was going to come back and add that very line to my earlier edit, but you took the words right out of my mouth.

EEO solicitation via e-mail (1/26)--I'm supposing this counts as an acknowledgment these days...

Acknowledgment postcard 1/28 (x2)

Anyone heard anything? Is this search still on?

I've heard nothing since the postcard. (2/25 x2)

qué pasa? any news, anyone?

Still nothing here. (3/11)

Invitation to interview by email (3/10)

What are your fields of concentration? I fear that mine may be unneeded this year...

any more news from H&L? are they done with interview invitations?

why do I suspect that, particularly in this rotten job market, if you don't have the words "Ph.D. (Harvard)" in your c.v., you won't be receiving an interview with the H&L folks...?

No, not even those words necessarily get you an interview these days. Apparently they have close to zero openings right now.

Well, that makes me feel better, frankly. I mean, it's not me. It's them. (edit: which, amusingly, is what the nice rejection letter said)

Rejection letter (3/20) x2

Rejection letter (3/20) ("Ph.D. (Harvard)," for whatever that's worth.) x2

Harvard Society of Fellows

(info Nomination deadline September 5, 2008)

Request for nominee information and samples due in September, decisions for finalist interviews to be made by end of November, final decisions to be made by the middle of December.

• 10/7 Received post card confirming materials received.

• 10/24 From last year's wiki, it looks like people were starting to get interviewed around now. Has anyone heard anything beyond an ack. of receipt?

• 10/25 Nothing yet. Seems like they got started a bit later than last year, so likely people will begin to hear back about interviews next week.

• 10/25 As far as I know, interviews are actually already underway.

• 10/26 Oof. How were interviewees contacted?

• 10/27 The information I have from the SoF says that interviewees will be contacted by phone and that this is an on-going, gradual process through the end of November. Interviews will be scheduled and "conducted from late September through early December" at the SoF's offices in Cambridge.

• 11/7 Anyone interview yet? They should be about 1/4 to 1/2 done with interviews, right?

• 11/16 talked to a former Fellow right before turning in the application, who confirmed what is said by 10/27 re: "late September through early December". interviews finish first week of december. also have a friend/colleague who was called for interview back in late october, and i think it's tomorrow, which means they were scheduling pretty far in advance. nothing confirmed, but my sense is that those of us who have not yet been called for interview, won't be.

• 12/5 Has anyone who interviewed head anything yet? I feel like they should be making their decisions soon.

• 12/8 If the schedule follows last year's then they will have called their first choice last night (Sunday) and the rest of us will receive letters around mid-week.

• 12/10 Any news? Seems like maybe they're behind last year's schedule.

• 12/12 I was interviewed in early October; I do not think they are behind. My best guess is that those selected as Junior Fellows have been called by now. Rejections letters are probably on their way –– none of this is confirmed but it seems late by this point for those of us who were finalists. If someone knows for sure, let us know; perhaps I am wrong.

• 12/15 Offer made.

• 12/15 Any chance you can tell us when that offer was made? Just wondering if it was today or earlier. Thanks, and congratulations.

• 12/15 Thanks - today in the afternoon (US time).

• 12/16 Received rejection (in characteristic tiny envelope) (x3) BTW, where do they get those tiny envelopes?!
• 12/17 rejection received, "we are sorry to have to tell you again." at least they remembered my interview from last year ;)
• 12/17 I still haven't received anything. I wonder if they have alternates. Anyone know about that?
• 12/17 rejection received

Harvard Academy Scholars Postdoc

• Does anyone know when their interview notifications begin?
• 11/12 received rejection. email said they received 300+ applications.
• 11/12 Ditto.
• 11/14 Ditto
• 11/18 Received call for campus interview

Harvard Lecturship on Social Studies

• Due: Feb 27
• 4/1 pending reply to another offer, I called and was told I am not on the short-list.
• 4/23 received offer

Harvard Charles Warren Center for Studies in American History 2009-10 Fellowships

• http://warrencenter.fas.harvard.edu/fsprogramfuture09-10.html
• Due: January 15
• Any news?
• Someone erased two answers, one of which was my own. Rejections received at the end of February and early last week. Good luck!

Harvard Humanities Center Postdoctoral Fellowship

• $35 application fee. Gotta love that. I'm debating whether it's worth applying. Does anybody happen to have any particulars about their search criteria? I see that both of their current fellows are in the Art History department.
• Well, $35 is better than the $60 they charged last year!!
• Credit crunch.
• Q. Anyone know how many applicants there were last year?
• don't know. two harvard grads were chosen for the postdoc, though. both in art history.
• A: I seem to recall that the two postdocs were both Brown Ph.Ds. The people they have listed in art history may be graduate student fellows.
• A: the art history people are grad student fellows, just fyi.

• According to their press release in 2008, there were 200 applicants for the postdoc programs (both those for U.S. scholars and for German scholars), so you can figure that there were c. 150 for the non-German positions. I'd assume that the numbers this year will be higher...

• ACK received, snail 11/19
• Q: Anyone have any ideas on how to pay if I don't live in the States, (and therefore don't have an American bank account)? At least Columbia took credit cards.
• A: I would email them and ask if they accept international money orders. That usually works.
• A: In the UK I'll be paying the equivalent of about $20 in FEES to get a $ banker's draft. Money orders only come in sterling, so unless they accept other currencies, I don't think I can do that. I've also already emailed twice to ask, no reply at all.
• A: I'm applying from Ireland and I got an International Bankers' Draft in US$ made out to Harvard. Only took ten minutes and the fees were reasonable. Should be no problem doing the same in a UK bank.

• Acknowledgement of application receipt, email, 12/15
  • Any word? Anyone? (01/15)
• Ack email stated that final decisions will be made in mid-February. It might still be a bit early for successful candidates to have heard anything.
• I suppose still no word to anyone either way?

Rejection email received (2/12/09)

• Has anybody else heard from them with either an offer or a rejection? I have as yet received neither.
• I haven't heard anything either -- does anyone remember when they said they would be sending notifications? (2/12)
• They said they'd let us know mid-February. Looks like they've started. I'm assuming that if they've started with rejections, they've also made offers to fellows. From last year's wiki, it looks like there were a number of people who had no news at all, even after rejections were sent. I don't know whether these people were alternates or not. From last year's wiki, it looks like there were some people neither rejected nor accepted that kept posting questions about whether or not anyone had heard at least a month after offers and rejections were made, and a couple of weeks after alternates had been informed of their status. Although I don't know why they'd leave people hanging who were neither accepted, rejected, or alternates, it seemed to have happened last year. Not necessarily good news.
• offer made by email (2/12)--Congratulations! Just briefly, would you mind sharing your area of study? All Best.
• Rejection email (2/12)(x3)--almost worth it just to get an email from Homi Bhabha! (2/13) Same email received. Same bittersweet tinge of recognition. Homi wrote to me!?!?
• Anyone still not hear? How many fellows do they take? (2/13)
• I still haven't heard. Last year they took two postdoctoral fellows from Germany (in collaboration between HHC and the Volkswagen Foundation) plus two postdoctoral fellows hired through the general search. So they've already made both offers, have rejected some candidates and are probably holding on to others they haven't rejected yet as potential alternates.
• I haven't heard, either. How many of us are there who have not heard either way? (x12) I am one of the unfortunates who didn't even receive a rejection from Homi. How awful is that?
• any idea about whether the offers have been accepted?
• Rejection email (2/18)
• Still nothing (2/26) x2
• Stiiiiilll Nothing (3/4)
• No offense, but I'm happy to find someone in the same boat (3/6). Hope they're enjoying my $35.
• Friend received offer in early March. (hired through general search)

Harvard-Newcomen Fellowship in Business History

(Deadline: October 1, 2008)

hi

Harvard College Fellows

([12]) (Deadline: March 15, 2009)

• any news? like how many they'll be appointing?
• Or when they'll make their decisions?

I saw on the website that several of the social sciences positions read "closed." Has anyone heard anything either way? (4/16)

I got a letter today (4/17) from history stating that they could not advance the search because their positions had been cut. the letter made note of the fact that while the position was advertised, it was not guaranteed. I'm not sure if this is the case with other social sciences. (x2)

i haven't heard anything yet, i submitted for sociology. anyone else?

Nothing from WGS

Offer made and accepted in the Romance Languages, Spanish section. (4/27)

Anyone else?

WGS has been announced.

Where? I cant find it ion the website.

Haverford College Mellon Postdoc in the Humanities

(Deadline: January 30, 2009)
Anything here? (2/12)
I haven't even gotten a confirmation of materials. Edit: I lied, it came today. 2-13
Neither have I. Edit: Received conf of materials by mail, 2-13
On-campus nterview scheduled 2-18
Thanks for updating and congrats on the interview...anyone know how many people they're bringing in?
yes, congrats. Though I am seriously bummed.
Me too- this was one of the more targeted humanities fellowships this year, which is very appealing to me.
3 interviews out of 180 apps.
3/23- Have they made an offer for this one yet?

4/24 Official rejection letter, oddly written.

Hertford College, Oxford, Drapers' Company Junior Research Fellowship

(info Deadline: 14 November 2008)

Interviewees will be contacted in December, interviews to take place week of January 19, 2009

• The working-week portion of December is pretty much up by now; anyone heard anything?

• Never heard a thing from them. No ack. No request for materials. No invitation for an interview. No rejection. (Jan. 14, 2009)

• Anyone hear anything?? (Jan. 14, 2009)

• Nothing here (Jan 15, 2009)

I received a writing sample request in December, but was notified by email on 14 Jan that I was not shortlisted for interview. <sniff> 15 Jan 2009

Historic New Orleans Collection, Dianne Woest Fellowship in the Arts and Humanities

(info Deadline August 1, 2008, fellowship to commence after January 1, 2009)

Houghton Library, Harvard, short and long-term fellowships

• Rejection letter received, 4/3

The Huntington Library Postdoctoral Fellowships, NEH, Mellon, and Barbara Thom

(info Deadline December 15, 2008) 12/5 snailmail postcard acknowledging receipt of app.

I would be very grateful for any info about their process, number of pdocs likely to be awarded, fields, anything, really.

2/14 I know that decisions have been made for some of the awards (colleague got a long-term one), but not sure if all have been decided/announced.

3/5 Rejection letter

3/6 Fellowship received.

Indiana University, Bloomington Postdoc: "Gender, Race and Science"

(review begins 2/1; final deadline 3/15/09)

• I spoke to the administrative assistant of gender studies, and she told me that the committee would be meeting at the end of March. She said that most likely they will have phone interviews before making their decision.
• thanks for this info! (3/11)
• was told they will be meeting to make their shortlist on 3/26 (3/17)
• Any news? I was also told that there would be a meeting yesterday. (3/27)
• According to SC chair, timeline has been pushed back and phone interviews will be held around April 9 or 10; no interview requests seem to have been made yet (3/27)
• Has anyone received a phone interview request? (4/2)
• phone interview request received by phone (4/8)

Johns Hopkins, Mellon Postdoc: Concepts of Diaspora

(info) any news?

• not a word yet

nothing yet?

• I still haven't heard anything at all. I wonder if we ought to call them at some point? Or might that be perceived as too pushy?

• Hopkins Intersession break is until Jan 23, so there is not chance we will hear anything before then

• If you do any calling to enquire about the general status of such a search, always talk to the office assistant (and there's no need to give your name).

• 1/16 rejection email: there were ~400 apps, now narrowed to a few dozen; they "hope to announce three winners by March 1." They also said that the same fship will be offered next year.

• I was informed by the administrator that 'Decisions will be announced by April 1'...

• I received no rejection email. (X8) Did anyone get something telling them they were a finalist or anything?

• 1/17 - Sources inform that the process is a bit backed up.

Apparently, they are informing people as they are rejected, so if you haven't heard, you're still in the running. I love the irony of the fact that non-finalists are told more than finalists. Totally reasonable!

1/22 - Just received my email rejection today! 1/23 - Me too! Oh well... 2/5--Rejection today (x2). Best of luck to those still in consideration!

• I agree, funny that one knows more when one is rejected than when one is still in the running. But hey, that's what the Wiki is for.

• Rejection received via e-mail today (2/21): (x2) "We received over 400 applications, narrowed down to a few dozen... hope to announce winners by March 1" etc.

• Just received rejection e-mail today as well (2/21)

• How many still have not gotten a rejection email? (x10). i spoke with someone at jh last week (before the last round of email rejections were sent) and they said they had narrowed it down to 24 candidates and would be making a decision in the next couple of weeks--hope this helps and good luck to those still in contention!

• Did anyone receive an acknowledgment email or any form of contact prior to a rejection email? When I emailed to check that my letter got through in December, about a month after the deadline, they said they still hadn't sorted through the applications. Since then I've heard nothing. A: Yes, I received an acknowledgment email on October 17. A2: I have received neither acknowledgment nor rejection x2. A3: You can call and find out. I never received any acknowledgment and so ended up calling.
• no word yet. any updates? (3/4)

they have contacted the three finalists (3/5)

congrats to the three. Anyone know what fields they are in?

impersonal "dear applicant" rejection letter received. competition will be held next year. (3/6)

They have NOT contacted the three finalists. Whoever wrote that is misinformed or a liar. Just goes to show this wiki site can not be believed. (3/12)

I fear there must be some misunderstanding--I called the JH folks and they said they HAD contacted the finalists. Another colleague did the same and was told the same. There was no malicious intention in posting that information Perhaps someone else can call and confirm either way? (3/13)

I was told by the administrator yesterday that the committee had not yet finished deciding. I'm not sure what's going on here. Perhaps someone declined and the committee is deciding upon an alternate?

Argh! I would really like to know!

• For those who claim that JH have not contacted the three finalists, I actually know someone who was offered one of the positions. And it was definitely around 3/5. (3/14)

• What types of projects were awarded with Post-Docs? Would any of the winners care to share what their projects were about? I ask this because I wrote in asking for feedback and the administrators said that no feedback would be given.
• Has anyone else NOT received a rejection yet?
• Yes, I have NOT received a rejection. Others? (3/22) x2 (3/26)
• So if they've sent out several rounds of rejections and notified the finalists, why haven't I (we) received rejections? Waitlist maybe?
• 3/27 - Received second rejection. (First rejection was on 3/6)

• anyone know if JH has announced the winners?
• Friend received this postdoc, but turned it down, so I'm assuming a runner-up has been notified (4/1)
• I'm annoyed that JH couldn't even bother to send me a rejection letter.

King's College, University of Cambridge

Deadline 15 November

• Notification of (long) shortlist and request for WS, to be sent to external referees 12/5

Interviews to take place on 19 February. Does anyone know anything about their timeline for interview requests? Has anyone heard anything further? (1/23)

• I received materials request, but have had no further news since.

Lemoyne College Pre-Doctoral Fellowship

Any news on this one?

3/11 I've not heard anything yet. The website suggested they would decide sometime in April.

4/19 No news yet. It's pretty late in the game for them to have not sent out rejections.

Lilly Teaching Fellowship, Valparaiso University

Deadline 15 December

• Email notification of status as semi-finalist (1/7). Finalists for campus visits to be notified on or around 1/13.
• Any news? (1/16)
• Invited for campus visit by phone 1/13.

The Library Company, Philadelphia, Postdoctoral Fellowships

(info Deadline, November 1, 2008) Still no news?

Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, ALICE TONG SZE RESEARCH FELLOWSHIP

(Deadline: January 16, 2009)

• Does anybody know when they shortlist?
• Did anybody else apply?

Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), Munich, Excellence Fellowships

(Ad deadline: April 15, 2009)

• Confirmation of app received, 4/20
• I emailed to check on timeline, apps will be assessed during May and winners contacted in June. (not much time for a post that's meant to start July 1!). Anyone else apply for this? (4/30)
• I did. They didn't mention # of applicants did they? I'm wondering how bad the odds are.
• No idea number of applicants. My dept. sponsor said they had 'a lot'. I'm in history. You?
• I'm in English. As late as the search is, and with the required sponsor, safe to assume "a lot" doesn't mean "a lot a lot." Good luck.
• Best of luck to you too! Will post if I hear anything. (Fingers crossed for a small pool of applicants and better chances! :)
• (another) app confirmation email, 11 May, stating timeline of announcements in June.
• I hope it's early June. This is my last app standing, would like to get on with life, until the next job cycle anyway.
• Yep, know the feeling. (05/16)
• I asked for a status update b/c I'm considering another offer. They told me mid-June was their target for notifications. Just thought people would want to know.
• Thanks! :)
• Status update person: did their reply give any indication of the number of apps? This is also my last active app. (5/25)
• A: sorry, no mention of the # of apps.
• Monday June 1 is also a holiday in Germany.
• Tuesday 2nd June, nothing yet here: let the waiting begin!
• Just got off the phone from them. The university board will decide next week, results should be sent within 2 weeks (6/4)
• wondering if all got the 11 May e-mail or whether it was for some kind of shortlist?
• A. Don't think so (alas) - I think it was just confirmation. When I called to ask whether I was still in the running, I didn't even get asked give my name, so it implied all applications were still active. I would have assumed they're down to a shortlist by now, but if so, they're not saying.
• thanks -- best of luck to all...
• I'm the earlier poster in history. Just received offer by email (10 June).
• Received rejection email 6/10.

Magdalen College, Oxford, Fellowship by Examination

([13]) (deadline: October 13, 2008)

• Writing sample requested via email (10 November). Anyone else heard anything (since)?
• No, not yet.. did they ever state when they would let us know about interviews, ahem, "examinations"?
• No date was given to me. I suspect it must be soon though, considering the examination is 7 February!
• Any news? (1/15)
• Not I (1/15)
• Considering the "examinations" are just over two weeks from today, they must have moved on by now, but no rejection notification on my end: aren't official rejections usually sent out concurrently with invites?
• Half the time when I have not made it from the longlist to the shortlist for a JRF I have received no notification whatsoever, so the silence means nothing. However, it is also true that they sometimes notify all the interviewees just a few days before the interviews. I think they assume that most candidates will be based in the UK!
• I enquired and they said they have already notified candidates (1/23)

McGill University Mellon Postdoctoral Fellow in the Humanities and Related Social Sciences

(deadline: November 30, 2008) -must receive faculty sponsorship and reference letter to apply

• Does anyone know anything about the decision timeline for this?

• The aim is for decisions to be announced before the holidays.

• 3 fellowships awarded and finalist "alternates" informed (12/19)

I am a first alternate, received a letter stating that the three fellowships that were offered were all accepted as of the 1/15/09 deadline. (letter dated 1/15)

McGill University - Postdoctoral Fellow, Transmission, Translation and Transformation in Medieval Textual Cultures Research Group

([14] Deadline 12 Dec 2008)

phone interviews scheduled for 2/18

Did anyone have a phone interview? If so what came of it? (3/25)

Position filled, Keren Abbou Hershkovits, according to rejection letter (5/5)

Medieval Academy of America Schallek Fellowship

-First alternate named 2/26

Mellon/ACLS Recent Doctoral Recipients Fellowships

([15] Deadline 10 December 2008)

• Anyone else on here apply for this? A: yes (x4, provided that you had to have held the pre-doc or another national write-up fellowship in order to apply).
• It kind of makes me wonder what the total eligible pool was!
• True! A small pool, but one that already knows how to write good grant apps. Any word on awards yet? (3/9)

According to last year's wiki, we should know closer to the end of March. Good luck!

• I got it last year--they emailed me 3/17
• Just spoke to the administrator (3/19). The committee has not yet met to decide. (They are running later this year.) So sit tight.
  • Also: letters are scheduled to go out the first week of April. Winners will probably know via email slightly before that.
  • Thanks for this info--I was getting tired of staring nervously at my mailbox...
  • Quick poll: Are you banking on this one because you did NOT get a job or other postdoc? (No x 2) (Yes x 2)
  • Unconfirmed rumor that fellows were notified by email earlier this week (3/27)
  • Hrm. Could you elaborate on this? Strange, the diss completion applicants received hard-copy letters only, including a couple that I've talked to (see above listing).
  • I'll confirm the rumor; I was notified by email 3/26, but just found out today after checking my spam folder. The same thing happened last year with the Dissertation Completion Fellowship email notification. This year I made sure I'd added all the ACLS addresses I had to my contacts, but of course they sent it from a different one, which went right back into the spam folder. What's up with that, ACLS? All of you people wondering, be sure to check your spam folders (3/29).
  • I wouldn't "bank" on this fellowship. Neither I nor the two people I know who held the ACLS/Mellon predoc in 2007-2008 were even waitlisted for this last year. It's quite competitive, even within the reduced pool.
  • Anyone a waitlist/alternate in the past? Do these notifications all go out at the same time? Thanks:-)
  • Don't know about waitlist/alternate notifications. Hardcopy letters for all should arrive this week.
  • Q: How "small" is the reduced pool if it includes all past pre-doc winners & alternates, plus anyone with another write-up, i.e. Whiting, Newcombe, & etc.? My sense is that the ACLS is generous about letting people apply despite the restrictions.
  • A: It's small. The "reduced pool" person above just has a massive sense of entitlement.
  • I do not have any sense of entitlement, yet alone a "massive" one. The rejection letter last year gave no indication of numbers, so I had no idea how competitive it was (or was not). It made me feel better to know that I was not alone, so I thought I would pass that on.

A: I was allowed to apply and held a different "national level" fellowship than the ACLS/ Mellon one and did not receive this year's fellowship; two other people in my program in the same situation likewise applied. So perhaps they are generous in allowing non-ACLS/ Mellon participants to apply. I agree that it would be helpful to know the parameters of the applicant pool, just out of a sense of curiosity.

• Congrats to the winners! I just learned that one can request feedback from the review process and get it, IF your particular reviewers elected to release it. So it might be helpful if you chose to apply for a future ACLS grant. (3/31)
  • Has anyone received anything in the mail yet? Hardcopy award letters or rejections? (4/2)
  • Yes -- letter rejection (4/1) same here in the midwest (4/3)
  • Yes - I'm abroad but I know I received a hardcopy award letter yesterday in the US -- southeast (4/7)

Q: Does anyone know the "numbers" on this one? Number accepted compared to number of applicants this year? A: No indication given in the award letter (4/10)

• Notified of award after being on wait-list (5/29)

Michigan Society of Fellows Post-Doctoral Fellowship

(info Deadline September 30, 2008)

It charges every applicant 30 bucks. (Did it do this last year?) It asks our very busy mentors to upload letters directly up to its website. I am not sure if it accepts a dossier.

Yes, the 30 bucks was charged last year, and the year before that, and the year before that . . . Such is the record of my optimism. No dossiers accepted, to my knowledge.

Does anyone know if we are required to submit 3 separate writing samples for a grand total of 20 pages? Or 1-3 samples that are each under 20 pages? I can't seem to figure out the language online. Thanks!

• A: I'm assuming 1-3, each under 20. The other option is too unreasonable.

• Q: I just "submitted" under the assumption that I should pull my material together, and not wait around for my lovely, overworked referees. But it told me I submitted an "incomplete" application. Will my referees now not be allowed to submit references?

• A: Yes they will. Although you won't be able to look at the references, they are registered as part of your application. Thus, you haven't submitted anything yet, and won't be allowed to until the references are submitted by your referees.

• A: You can't submit until the letters are already in. I got an email saying my app was incomplete right after I submitted, wrote them and asked and they said it was just a technical glitch and I was good to go. So you can assume the same I think.

• Thanks!

• Q: Does anyone know what the decision timeline is on this? I know the deadline has only recently passed, but I guess the whole point of the Wiki is to fill the information vacuum.

A: Last year's wiki has people finding out at the end of January. But you'll have to dig through the archived history to see whether interviews occurred before then.

• A: There are no interviews. Winners are notified at the end of January, with no intermediate steps.

• Rejection letter, dated 11/20 (postmarked 12/1). 498 applications received, 100 semi-finalists identified. Good luck if you're one of the 100. (x3)

• has anyone received a letter identifying them as one of the 100 semi-finalists?

• no news from them yet as of today (12/4)

• for those who received the rejection letters - were they sent to your home or office?

• I got a rejection letter today (12/4) at my home (x5)

• No rejection yet as of 12/4 at either office or home, no word of semi-finalist status either. (x7)

• No rejection yet as of 12/8 at either office or home, no word of semi-finalist status either. (x5)

• I just added to the above number, but it's pretty clear that the rest of us will probably not hear anything till they make their final decision in January.

• • So does that mean that if we haven't gotten rejection letters yet, we should consider ourselves still in the running?

• I think that is right. In the past they have notified the top-30 or so "finalists" before the final decisions in late January.

• No word. Just silence. (12/16)

• Anyone know when we may hear decisions re: finalists or the SoF postdoc itself (Jan. 20-ish like last year?)

• Senior fellows will hold the final meeting at 2pm, Jan 22 to decide the winners. Calls will go out over the weekend.

• That is *very* helpful. Thank you for the information!

• So, the senior fellows will meet on Thursday the 22nd to make final decisions, and calls to fellowship recipients will go out over the weekend (24-25?) . . . waiting, waiting . . .

• 1/21 - offer made via phone (x2)

Does anyone know if they called both Humanities and Social Sciences today, or was the process separated?

A I'm the x2 person, and I'm humanities. I didn't ask about the social sciences -- sorry.

Assuming the senior fellows meet tomorrow (on 1/22) then there must be some fellowships left to decide, looks like we need to wait appx. one more day. Anyone know for sure when the rest of the calls will go out? (1/21-7:45pm EST)

Seems likely (based on their current numbers of fellows and the trend in recent years) that they have selected between 4 and 8 fellowship recipients, probably all on the same day without a break between humanities and social sciences. Congratulations to the fellows! Anyone else heard anything?

• 1/23 - Still haven't heard anything since acknowledgement of application (x6)

• 1/23 - offer made via phone (Social Sciences)

• 1/29 - rejection letter

• 1/30 - rejection letter (x2) (1/31-were these notifications by mail or email?)

• Mine came via mail (X2).

• 2/2 - Anyone else still waiting for rejection letters? On a related note, were finalists notified before the decision was made? I'd like to put this one to bed and haven't heard anything since the acknowledgment of application.

I too have received no news since acknowledgment of application 2/2

• 2/2 - I emailed and they said the last rejections would be out and that finalists had already been notified. I suggest that you email the SoF if you want closure. They did not mention an alternate pool, so perhaps there remains that hope??

• 2/5 - I'm the bed person above -- finally got a rejection the other day. Thanks for emailing on our behalf.

MIT Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

([16] Deadline 15 April, 2009)

*If the other Humanities-wide Mellon pdocs are anything to go by, then they're likely to receive at least 300 applications for this. Deadline is 4/15 and the posting says they'll be announcing recipients in early May. Doesn't that seem like an incredibly quick turnaround?

Sounds very MIT to me. Also notice how minimal the applications were. I think they find what they want and go for it.

The call actually seems pretty specific compared to others. And they've got two positions open. I'm not sure this circulated as widely as other Humanities postdocs did, but maybe that's just my limited exposure. Anyway, good luck to everyone...

I really wonder if they're going to stick to the schedule--I don't know if you noticed, but the notice said "postmarked by April 15," so they probably will have applications trickling in for another week or so.

*The classic speculation on jobs that aren't as well advertised (as above poster notes) and that have very quick turnarounds is that they already have a fairly good idea of who they want to give it to. Who knows if that's the case here; just repeating the received wisdom . . .

This postdoc was advertised in all the usual places, no? MLA joblist, H-Net, Chronicle. I don't think it was under the radar in any way at all; I saw it advertised in a couple of places. Pretty much everyone I've talked to recently who's still looking for a job this year applied for it, so I wouldn't jump the gun and assume there aren't many applicants. Probably fewer than the 700-900 that applied for postdocs with earlier deadlines (natural attrition), but I imagine more than 300. I would also not be surprised if they do have a quick turnaround because they had a very late application date. And they'll need to give candidates time to move, etc. So best to let them know before the end of the academic year (semester). Good luck, everyone.
It doesn't help that the admin handling the apps is out of the office this week...! I've seen a few TT jobs posted very late in this season, and they've got similarly compressed timelines. Don't know how MIT will have time do on-campus interviews, but maybe they have no plans to do so....

I imagine that they won't be doing interviews, given the timeline. Universities often don't hold interviews for Mellon postdocs. -- That's what I figured, too. Michigan SOF made their decisions without interviews.

Heard from a reliable source that the number of applications was less than 200.

Wow! That's surprisingly low. Never thought I would be excited about 2-out-of-200 odds. You didn't happen to hear when they expect to make their decision? Thanks for the info.

The review process is underway in committee. That's all I know. I guess it won't be too long.

Wow, crazy. After applying for positions with 500+ apps for one position, I'm irrationally feeling pretty good about this...do you know the exact number of apps?

I'm irrationally feeling good about this too (hey, at least two of us must be on to something). It really wasn't well advertised. I found out about it only at the last second and I keep a reasonably close watch. Yeah, it was me who suggested that there wouldn't be many apps, largely based on not seeing it myself...having said that, I won't get it....good luck!!!

Princeton Mellon Pdoc had 920 applications. These are much better odds; only problem is that this year has been so tough that among those 200 are likely to be a LOT of people who would normally have been snatched up by now.

Does the reliable source know which departments are likely to get the positions? Or what they are really looking for?

I didn't get that far with the reliable source. c.170 was the number being thrown around on the day after the deadline. No idea about departments or anything else. And of course, if they really are taking applications franked April 15th, as opposed to applications received by April 15th (I wasn't so sure about that), then the number will have grown.

The application notice stated only that apps needed to be postmarked by the 15th; I called them to verify this and they confirmed that that was indeed the case. So there will probably be a few more.

Yeah, I found out about the postdoc on the 14th and sent it out on the 15th with my taxes. I doubt I'm alone in this. - you are not alone!

Just talked to the contact person listed in the ad, and she said that the process will take longer than expected. They will announce their decision in mid May (the most optimistic scenario) or, more realistically, the end of May. They received about 350 applications and are still reading them (meaning no short, or long, or long-short list yet). If this makes you feel better--the fellowship will be offered next year, as well (5/4). Thanks very much for the post, very informative. 350 is twice the number being thrown around above...will stop looking for apartments in Cambridge... Me, too. I am taking the little 1-year I was offered. Good bye pdoc and less teaching, hello 3/3!

Indeed, double the number I heard, but then I'm sure there was a great surge of people who posted on the 15th (my number based on info on the 16th). I'm actually glad about them taking extra time. At least it gives the impression that the search is genuine and not a foregone conclusion.

Push the date back still further. I called today, because I got offered a 1 year VAP that I have to decide on, and I wanted to see if I still had a shot and was told that it would probably be early June. The VAP it is, I guess. Glad to have something. Hope you all put something decent together for next year, as well. --Thanks very much for the info!

Nope--this was the year of close-but-no-cigar, over and over! I would be thrilled with a 5/8 slave labor lectureship at Nowhere U at this point, just to distinguish myself in any way possible from the legions of other highly qualified ABD shlubs who will be on the market next year. But it looks like shlub-dom for me. Congrats on getting anything at all in this market.

Wow, June is really late. I'm still in the running for a couple of other things, and hope I don't have to decide before MIT at least narrows their search a bit. Good luck to everyone....!

Yes--and congrats on the VAP or one year post-docs. It is a year to celebrate anything we can get!

Any word whether MIT is going to officially send out any word re: when we will hear or perhaps the kindness of a long list/short list so that those of us not on that list can turn our sights elsewhere?

June? for an appointment that starts July 1? That is insane. I, too, wonder about the shortlist question. I'd welcome a rejection letter just so I could know.

I think the exchanges we've all had with the admin. indicate that it's going very slowly. No timeline even for a short list, no indication of what their next steps are, asking for additional materials, phone interviews, ect. Seems a bit chaotic to me...

Any chance that our person on the inside could find out whether there will at least be announced stages or just "mum" until the awards are announced? (Whoever you are, we are eternally grateful.) I'm not sure anyone has an insider line on this. There is just Jen Molina, the contact person listed in the ad, and she seems as much in the dark about their decision-making steps as we are.

Skimming through the long list of posts here so far, I couldn't tell if anyone had mentioned already that this is apparently the first time they've dealt with this kind of search, thus perhaps some of the obscurity. Agreed. They seem overwhelmed. Deciding in early June is really difficult for people in limbo. I'd at least think they can narrow down to 50 a month after the deadline.

I'm totally on the applying end here, but as I'm glazing over reading even a couple handfuls of my best student papers each day end-of-term, I can imagine plowing through hundreds of even exceptionally well-thought out and well-written applications might be, um, challenging at best.

May 27 -- just checking in with the list....has anyone heard anything of any sort or been in contact with the department recently?

--Jen Molina responded to an inquiry of mine on Mon., May 18. She said the decision would be made within two weeks, and all applicants would be informed as soon as it had.

- As per the same contact- apps forwarded to the individual departments, who then make their selections and send them back to the dean's office, where the final decision is made. AFIK, departments haven't submitted their picks yet, and even when this happens, it is still a large pool. All of this is to say that there's still a good amount of haggling to be done, and there's no way it's completed by the end of next week.

---gosh. I wonder if there is anyway we could request that the departmental nominees be contacted, with full understanding that nomination is not an offer....? If you're really desperate for an answer, you can contact the department you proposed to be housed in, although they have no real obligation to respond. The sense I got is that many depts still haven't narrowed their pools.

- 6/3: Wrote and asked: Final decisions will be announced by the end of the week.

- June 3rd: Can people add a date to their posts? It's really hard to get a true sense of where we are with no indication of date/time. So did you mean the end of this week i.e. June 5th, 2009?

Rejection email (6/4) - "not a finalist"

Rejection email (6/4) -- "not a finalist" either. Bummer. (x3)

Did your e-mails come from Jen Molina or from the Dean herself? Anyone that was a finalist get a rejection e-mail yet? (6/4)

(6/4): The email I got was from Dean Deborah Fitzgerald. Congratulations to the finalists.

(6/5) : Still waiting on a final announcement. Anyone received an offer yet- does finalist = backup in case someone declines if we've yet to hear anything?

Nothing yet (6/10)

The winners have been announced: one to join Literature and CMS, the other Foreign Languages and Music/Theater Arts.

Winner info correct; numbers of applicants higher than the 200 stated above, but lower than Princeton 900.

National Humanities Center Fellowship

(info Deadline 15 October, 2008)

• Anyone know when the decisions on the NHC usually come?
• Got rejection e-mail. Congrats to the lucky recipients.
• 12/23 - When did you get a rejection email? (No news here yet.)
• 12/26 - no news either, saw on their website notification in mid-february
• 1/19 - No news here. Has anyone received any more rejection emails or emails confirming them as finalists?
• 2/12 - No news of rejection or confirmation yet. Anyone else? Hopefully news will come soon since its mid-February.
• 2/18 - upon inquiry, I was informed that the selection committee met last Friday and Saturday and that "the notification letters" will be mailed this week.
• 2/20 - rejection letter received (NYC) (x2)

National University of Singapore Postdoctoral Fellowships

• Got rejection e-mail.

• I was contacted by the head of the selection committee and told that the fellowship programme this year has been frozen due to lack of funding. As far as I could tell from our communication, nobody was selected this year.

• This was re-opened, with a spring deadline, no? 5/25

Newberry Library

(Deadline 1/12)

• Q: does anyone know anything about this one? (e.g., timeline). Thanks!
• A: They are supposed to contact applicants 6-8 weeks after the application deadline. The deadline for long-term fellowships was January 12th, so we're in the middle of week 7.
• Q: Has anybody heard anything yet? Or is anybody else waiting to hear? (3/4)
• A: haven't heard, am waiting!
• It's been over 8 weeks now. I assume they've contacted people by now, but those people don't check the wiki. Any news out there? (3/10)
• March 15, rejection
• Q: Rejection via email or letter?

Newnham College, Cambridge University Research Fellowship Competition

(Deadline November 7, 2008)

• long shortlist notified 11 december via email
• may i ask your field?
• classics

Newhouse Center for the Humanities

• any one else apply? (12/17)
• yes, still haven't heard (12/19)
• rejection letter (3/9)' says they had "more than 90" applicants for 4 stipended positions

Newton International Fellowships

([17] Deadline: 12 January 2009)

• Did anyone else get all the letters and apply to this?
• Yes, I did.
• Great. I really wonder how long it will take them to review and approve the applications, and how many people applied in the first year.
• There's conflicting information in their documentation about this online. The actual website (FAQs) indicates that a decision will be made "within 3 months of th[e] closing date," whereas the "Scheme notes" (pdf) writes "no sooner than 4 months after the closing date." Seems like a really long time either way, considering the decision is made on the basis of the research proposal and references alone: I don't believe writing samples and interviews are involved at all. In any case, I wish you the best of luck! It's a fantastic fellowship!
• I agree -- it is a terribly long time. I suppose it runs on a British schedule, but for those of us in N. America, it means the news, any news, might come considerably after we had made plans for the following year. I mean, the fellowship has to start sometime in August 2009, no? What if you hear in May? Yikes! Still, good luck to you too. Despite the weird schedule, it's a fabulous opportunity, and hopefully someone can get something out of it.
• That's precisely my fear. I really prefer the Newton Fellowship to anything else on the table at the moment, but the late decision may cause problems, considering other institutions may make an offer at least two months prior. Besides that, considering it's an international fellowship that must begin before September 1st, it leaves little time to make such a big move for those potentially coming from the Americas, etc. It is a new scheme, however, and I suppose they will iron out these wrinkles in future incarnations.
• I wonder if they'll be flexible when dealing with their awardees, seeing as people will be coming from all over the world, and there are presumably different calendars in different places. I mean, isn't it a possibility that the people they would find worthy enough to award a fellowship to might also have had other offers already? And seeing as they're committing to a decade of "networking" funds afterwards, wouldn't they want to be able to keep their top picks in some way? We're talking twelve years of potential funding here.
• Anybody see that ridiculous diagram they provide showing all the ways one can get rejected? World class.
• The ridiculous diagram, and my U.S. based referees had a hell of a time logging in and finding/completing the reference form.
• Regarding the negotiation of start-time, I've done a Google-search of "Newton International Fellow" to see if winners from last year's round have begun their posts: only three names have come up, and two of them just took up their posts in February. Considering 50 fellows should have been selected, the short turnout suggests to me that some winners may have delayed the start-time for taking up the fellowship. Either that, or the host universities and winners have yet to update their webpages and online CVs respectively. Another less-likely possibility is that fewer people applied in the first round. Any thoughts?
• I hadn't realised this wasn't the first year! Good research work. Obviously, it seems quite premature to worry about this kind of thing before I've even heard from them, but you know, one likes to imagine that a problem like this might come up...
• BTW, does everyone else's "Application Summary" online (under "Application Details") still show "Eligibility" as "Pending"? - Yes, mine does. x2
• Application Status updated: eligibility now "Complete." (03/03) -I have no idea what it means, but Yay! me too!
• Woo! Me too! Somehow, amid all this waiting, this feels like a real accomplishment.
• according to co-applicant, word on applications by 12 May.
• I asked the administrator in late february when the results would be made known and she told me "Results will now not be available until the end of May 2009, at the earliest"
• Well, maybe that will put them in a position to grant a deferral after all. Suppose the announcement is early June: one has to organize and achieve an international move in only several weeks, and then dive into an intense research program without the slightest breath in between. Also, many have already (and will certainly have) accepted positions elsewhere. In this market and economic crisis, when someone makes you an offer, "A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush."
• Tell me about it. At this rate, my current institutional email address (and the one I have submitted with the application) may no longer be active by the time they decide! By the way, I mailed Newton and got an email from them also saying earliest announcement in late May. But I had also asked if there will be flexibility on the start time of the fellowship -- no answer to that.
• The next round for 2010 has been announced on the Newton website, and has been pushed two months compared to last year: whereas in 2008 the application system opened in October, it's now listed as opening in December 2009, which means the deadline will be sometime in March 2010. Their entire cycle is off: 2008-August deadline; 2009-January deadline; 2010-March deadline? For what it's worth...
• What do you think this means though? I mean, they can't just change the dates around like mad and expect people to be able to start at a particular time... no?
• Application status on the home/welcome page has been updated to "Assessed" (04/14). Me too! (5/1). Me too (5/5).
• A couple of weeks ago I got the same answer as other people here: results not available until end of May at the earliest. Now I have just come across the Spring 2009 newsletter of the Royal Academy of Engineering (http://www.raeng.co.uk/about/fellowship/pdf/newsletter/Spring_News_2009.pdf), which makes two interesting claims: (1) applications were more than 750, (2) results will be announced in summer. The latter is, I think, horrifying. (05/19)
• I'm told they hope to send out emails the week of May 25th (5/19)
• The summer announcement in the newsletter seems to refer to a public announcement when all is said and done, not to the private notification of successful (or even unsuccessful) candidates.
• Got rejection email (05/27) Me too-- I had just accepted another offer the week before, so I was weirdly happy to be rejected (5/27)
• Did anyone on here get good news? I'd be interested to hear if they're being flexible about the start date, or what kind of feedback they gave to successful applications.
• I too was rejected and felt "weirdly happy," having accepted another offer back in March! My sponsor's thoughts were that the humanities will always be of secondary importance with such fellowship schemes. If you take a look at last year's winners, many awards were indeed for projects in the sciences (06/10).
• I wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the way publications are counted... for example, in literature, coming out of your PhD with one article accepted by a serious peer-reviewed journal makes you a pretty solid candidate, while a comparable graduate student in the sciences might be in the author list of a number of published articles. (06/14)

Northwestern University--Postdoctoral Fellowship in Science in Human Culture Program

([18]Deadline January 15, 2009)

• email confirmation of materials received (2/3) x3
• anybody heard anything about their timeline?
• no. i emailed to inquire but no response.
• rejection (following my inquiry); seems they've made a finalist list and are narrowing it down (3/13)
• no respone, in of spite of e-mail inquiry, anybody else heard something?
• i emailed last Tuesday and have yet to hear anything either.
• I'm the rejectee above - I inquired because I have another offer pending - that could be why they responded to me
• offer made & accepted (3/25)
• rejection e-mail received today (5/13) - what a process - thanks to the wiki I wasn't waiting for it

Northwestern University--Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Latina and Latino Studies

• email rejection (4/7)

Notre Dame - Kellogg Institute Visiting Fellowships

([19] Deadline November 3, 2008)

• anyone else apply? (1/15)

• yes, still waiting to hear (1/18)

• got notification (e-mail) of award (1/29) (x2)

NYU Liberal Studies Program

Deadline 11/15

Anyone have news of this search?

• As one who made it on campus w.them in a previous year - you're in for a long wait. (Which reminds me... I'm still waiting for my rejection letter.) The faculty are very nice, but the administration is a hot mess. (My on campus was in April, really late.)

• I've been wondering too whether they'll take as long as in the past. The due date for applications was a few months earlier this year than last (I have a friend who applied sometime in Jan or Feb and who ended up with a job there, but not until, like, JUNE. I am hoping that this year they will get through the process more quickly). Here's hoping.

• I had a request for (5 different) additional materials early January. For those who had oncampus interviews last year, may I ask what it's like? I'm assuming I won't need to do a job talk.

• I think you have to do some sample teaching. Also, I've just heard from someone in the know that they met on Friday (1/23) about current candidates. Perhaps they came up with a shortlist, or will come up with one soon?

• I had a phone interview within the past few days, but no request for additional materials. I'm not sure what that means. They told me they would contact people about campus visits in late February. Are you applying for Social Foundations, Cultural Foundations or Writing? It's for Social Foundations.

• I had a request for additional materials and am having a phone interview soon. I'm assuming different positions (Writing, Science, Cultural Foundations) are proceeding on different schedules/requirements. (I'm also for Cultural Foundations)

• I had a request for a number of materials and a phone interview. Candidates will be contacted for campus visits in the next week or two. (Cultural Foundations)

• So one week or so has passed. Anyone have any news? (2/4)

• has anyone heard back from them yet?
• nothing here. Anyone else heard from CF or SF or Writing?
• they are taking their time, no? or is it just that I've not been contacted again after phone interview...? Does anyone have any word from the LS people? Has anyone been contacted for a campus interview? (2/18)

• Has anyone heard anything about the Writing position? (2/18)
• Hello! Has this search been concluded? Have those candidates with phone interviews been notified as to their status? (4/01)
• I believe the search has been concluded.  Not that anyone's notified me of anything, I only know second hand that they scheduled campus interviews weeks and weeks ago.  I had a phone interview with them, in which they told me they'd be contacting people for campus interviews during the following two weeks.  I got a call on my cellphone from the number of their administrative aide a week and a half after my interview, though she hung up when I answered (!).  When I called back hours later to inquire about her call, she told me, quite offhand, that  she must have called me in error (!).  When I asked whether that meant I was out of the running, she fudged and hedged and put me on hold for an extended amount of time and then, once she came back on the line, refused to give me a definitive answer of NO to my fairly straightforward question (so I am no longer under consideration?).  Instead, she said, "I just talked to the chair of the search, and she said we interviewed you last week!"  I said, yes, I know, and now you're calling me and I was wondering whether there was something I should know (like are you going to invite me for an interview, or am I out of the running?).  In my case, no one ever called me again after the ghost call following my phone interview.  A poster above called the administration of the program a "hot mess."   Yes it is.  They weren't even able to be honest with me in an inquiry prompted by their own mistaken phone call, let alone take responsibility for their mistakes or apologize.  University To Fear indeed.
• This sounds most unfortunate and must have been very upsetting for you. Would you mind telling which position/program this was for?
• Yeah, it was a huge bummer.  Cultural Foundations.  The search committee, composed of seemingly very nice people, no doubt more professional than their admin person (although they didn't think to write a rejection letter either) told me during the phone interview that they were looking to expand their program beyond the traditional Western canon (though this was never even remotely mentioned in their ad) and asked pretty much exclusively questions about which ancient, non-Western, non-literary texts I would teach.  Since I work pretty solidly in Brit and European modernist literature, I found it a bit surprising that they'd even chosen to interview me.  after all the materials they requested, I think they had to have been pretty darn clear about me and my areas of expertise. I think it might have saved us all some time if they had just been more specific about their needs in their job announcement.
• I wonder if they have suspended their search after all. I haven't heard of any offers or campus visits. It does sound weird that the administrative aid called just to hang up but perhaps the SC were really not ready to make the decision then.
• A friend of mine who teaches in the program told me a couple of months of ago that the faculty had just received a schedule of job candidate visits.  Unless they called it after that, it sounds like they certainly did run their search to completion. 
• My impression was that they were possibly more interested in a candidate's academic pedigree than their actual research area since the SC made a point of describing themselves as a group of "generalists." Also, their questions re. my teaching strategies and overall approach to interdisciplinary learning made me realize that they were not as sophisticated in outlook as I had originally assumed, or as the ad had suggested. I personally prefer a phone interview to be more matter-of-fact to cover as much ground as possible. In this case, the questions seemed unfocused and the tone/dynamics too conversational so as to get a sense of their program's academic structure and goals. But maybe that is to be expected when applying for a lecturer position instead of TT? At any rate, I was left feeling seriously underwhelmed and actually also quite confused since my expectations had been high.
  • • Yes, I think the lesson we learn from this one (and others unfortunately) is that they are often less prepared than the applicants, which is hard since they have the power!

NYU Postdoctoral and Transition Program for Academic Diversity

Deadline 1/15

• Awards announced on March 15th 2009
• Has anyone heard anything yet?
• Nope. 3/12. No interviews being called for this one?
• But they would have to let successful apps know before they publish awards? If nothing else to check their availability?
• Rejection via email 3/13 (+4)
• Weird, I have gotten any notification of rejection or acceptance. (+4 (3/16))
• Have the awards been announced yet? (3/17)
• I haven't heard anything - no rejection, no nothing. (3/17)
• Anyone happen to call them to find out what's going on? (3/18)
• I emailed last week (3/12) and did not get a response. Anyone else contact them?
• Rejection via email 3/18 (+3)
• 3/18 friend received notification that she is on the finalist list, they will notify her of the outcome by the end of the month
• Wrote in to check on whether or not decisions were made. Got the nice form rejection letter. Said I'd made the final round, but that I was not among the chosen ones (3/30)

NYU Draper Program, Gender Politics Position

Deadline 1/30

• Did anyone find any info online about the timeline for this position? Thanks.
• I understand that this page is for mutual support, but I don't appreciate people posting positions before the deadline has passed. This only adds to the number of people who are going to apply, and who may not have known about it otherwise.
• Oh for Christ's sake.
• That's just what I meant. And this isn't a postdoc, so it shouldn't be on this page.
• The second post above has to be one of the most ridiculous comments I've seen in my two years of job wiki-ing. Congratulations. To the most recent poster (same person?), the position is for an Assistant Professor/Faculty Fellow 1-year position. Isn't that more or less a postdoc?
• 1) This is definitely a postdoc. It's a one year "faculty fellow" position. 2) All of these positions have been widely advertised. This position was in the Chronicle, among other places. It's not like the Draper Program Gender Politics position is some big secret.
• The kind of stingy attitude of the second poster truly astounds and depresses me. Shame on you. This postdoc (with teaching responsibilities), and its companion in literary studies, was posted on the MLA job list, H-Net, the Chronicle, and heaven knows where else. And who is to say which postdoctoral, non-ladder positions can and cannot be posted here? Where would you have it posted? You want to guard the secret of a position the announcement for which has been posted all over creation??? You want to make use of a wiki in order to get information not otherwise available to you by relying on your colleagues generosity with news that clarifies things for you, and yet you suggest that we WITHHOLD information that might give others a break? Your display of a despicable lack of collegiality, unfortunately, only makes you look like a person I would never want to hire.
• I may have been uncollegial, but your responses are simply vicious. So I apologize if, by giving in to my own pang of competitiveness, I brought out the worst in otherwise, I'm sure, perfectly sweet people. I agree with you all that none of this belongs here.
• Motion to delete the argument from this section: Delete it x1 Keep it Why not keep it for a week or so, then delete it.
• Motion to preserve it. That said, anyone can delete THEIR OWN posting. Deleting things others have posted is not only uncollegial (in any instance), it's unethical. Motion to plead others to quit griping about the democratic dissemination of information. If you don't like the wiki, stop using the wiki! p.s. I am not the original person who took you to task for being exclusionary. p.p.s. I find it ironic that you're an applicant for a Gender Politics postdoc--really makes me wonder what sort of advocacy and social change you're in favor of. Survival of the of the privileged few? Gee, how radical. Let's try to keep the sense of entitlement and our exclusionary impulses in check, shall we?
• Okay, folks, onward. And may we all prevail.
• Received a letter that applications are now being read. letter dated 2/24.
• Hi. I see that interviews have been scheduled for the companion post for this position at the draper below. Any news here re: interviews for this post? Good luck everyone!
• 4/14: Any news anyone? Still nothing here...seems odd given it's been almost 21/2 months.
• no news here either.

• any news? i'm assuming this is filled, but before I contact NYU it would be great to hear from any of you.
• I don't have any info, but I applied last year to the Global Histories Draper post, and - as you can see from last year's wiki - their progress then was pretty glacial too. No idea what their organisational problem is, but it seems pretty chronic!

• Hi. Thanks so much for the reply above. I contacted the dept. administrator earlier this week and was told that applications are still being reviewed. no short list made as of yet. 5/4
• Contacted for a phone interview via email (5/21)
• Invited for campus interview (6/1)
• Offer made (6/22)

NYU Draper Program, Literary Cultures Position

Deadline 1/30 Anyone heard anything? Nope--still waiting for ack. of app. (2/17) (x3)

• The ad said the job was pending budget approval. Anyone know whether budget approved? Is the job still on?
• Letters have been received via mail confirming receipt of applications, saying that candidates would be contacted if further info was needed. (3/5)(x2)
• Okay, bizarre. Why did the previous line get rewritten and the number of repeats reduced? I wrote a note to this effect about three days ago, and by this morning I'm pretty sure the number was up to (x)5. Now someone has rewritten the note and there's only a x2 (not to mention tomorrow's date).
• Same poster as previous here. I just read the update at the top of this page. Thanks to the restorer of my note. I'll just reiterate that the correct # was 5.
  • I'm the restorer--I actually had nothing to do with these numbers (2 and 5), and the #2 was spontaneously added by others after I restored the message. I did mess up the date, though. Thought it was 3/5 when it was only 3/3. Wishful thinking :)
  • SP again. Yeah, the numbers in this case are prob not that important anyway (except maybe so we can tell how many applicants are wiki'ing!). On fast-forwarding, I hear you. Spring break: bring it on!
• Hmmm...it's 3/5 and I haven't received a letter of confirmation. Anyone else still waiting to hear? I'm in NY so that's why I'm concerned.
• give them a call to make sure. I'm in CA and got it a few days ago. Rather nice stationary with a snappy NYU watermark that, frankly, you just shouldn't miss. No depression-era paper for the Draper.
• I'm still waiting for an acknowledgment, too. Maybe they're sending them out in batches? They probably have several hundred to go through.
• Acknowledgment received. Phew!
• Anyone heard anything? (3/16)
• nope. not yet, anyway. (3/18) (x5)
• still, nothing? (4/1)
• nothing here (4/1) (x3) arrrghhhh...!!!!! (x2)

Phone interview scheduled (4/4) (x3) phone interview scheduled (4/5)

• congrats. could you specify whether requests came via email or phone? thanks!
• via email for me (4/4)
• campus visit scheduled (4/10) (x2)

Q: does anyone know the salary range for this position or for any of the draper faculty fellow positions? it's odd--it's more/less a postdoc which means there is probably a stated salary or a very narrow salary range for all the draper positions, but i can't seem to find it. any info would be appreciated.

A: I've been wondering the same thing myself. I imagine that since the job is kind of a postdoc which is also an assistant professor appointment, the salary range is more or less the same (or on the lower end) of that for junior faculty in the humanities. I haven't been able to find any concrete info about salaries for Draper Asst. Prof/Faculty Fellows, either, though...

A:I tend to doubt that the salary is in the ball park of junior faculty. Other questions include, is there a research budget and do the draper fellows benefit from NYU retirement system? I'm posting this in case anyone knows a Draper fellow, is Draper fellow, or has any info that would answer the above questions. Thanks again.

A: I'm an Asst Prof / Fac Fellow in another NYU Program: my salary is around 45K, 2K research budget, and faculty housing may be available (at about half market rate). Retirement benefits are available after one year.

R: thanks so much for posting this--very helpful

Notified by telephone that I'm an alternate; not invited to campus but file still active. (x2)

Does anyone know how many candidates they've invited to campus? A: 3

offer made (5/12)

Ohio State University, Kirwan Institute for the Study of Race and Ethnicity

Deadline 2/1

scheduling phone interviews with short list (2/24)

• rejection received via email (3/9)

The Omohundro Institute of Early American History and Culture, NEH Two-year Post-Doctoral Fellowship

(info Deadline November 1, 2008)

• AHA interview scheduled, 12/10
• Offer made and accepted

Oxford University Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

(deadline March 6, 2009)

• One fellowship offered in each: Hindu Religions, Ethnomusicology, Transnational History, Sociolinguistics, Semantics, Philosophy of Cognitive Science.
• Interview scheduled 3/13 (Ethnomusicology)
• offer extended 3/21 (Ethnomusicology). Thanks for the congrats--good luck to all of you in other fields as well!
• Congrats & good luck! (that was superquick). Any word on the history search? (3/16)
• The shortlisting meeting for the history search will take place on Wednesday 18th March, notifications sent shortly after.
• So, anyone hear anything on the history search? (3/19)
• Anything on the sociolx search yet?
• Notification of selection for interview (sent by email) for Transnational History (3/24)
• No news on sociolinguistics? (3/30)
• Will they post the names of the lucky winners somewhere? (4/25)
• 4 candidates were interviewed for Transnational History. Don't know who they picked.

Oxford University Early Career Fellowship in American Literature

(deadline 4/6)

Did anyone on here apply for this?

Yes, got a confirmation of application over e-mail when I requested it. So far, that's it!

As I recall, the full description said they'd do interviews the week of 5/25. Or was I remembering wrong and it was 4/25?

Correct for 5/25, so I imagine they'll be contacting people in the next week or two!

Emailed to inquire about status; short list has been drawn up at this point (5/8)

Does that mean that they've notified the short-listers of interviews already, or they're still thinking about who to interview FROM the short list? A: I'm afraid I don't know.

Thanks anyway for answering! Sure, good luck to you!

Has anyone actually heard that they are definitely on the short list? That info would be really helpful! (5/13)

Yes, my interview is on 5/26. There are five candidates at this point. (5/14)

Penn Humanities Forum, Mellon Postdoc

(info Deadline October 15, 2008. Topic: "Connections")

Anything yet? Anyone know what the timeline is for this? I second those questions!

A: Yep, the timeline is printed at the top of their info page: "Awards will be announced by the end of December 2008." !!

A: Since they only choose five fellows, we may not find out right away when calls are made. I'm just hoping that at least one uses the wiki. Calls should be coming soon, if the website and last year's wiki are to be believed.

A: Offer extended (phone call, 12/19) Q: So no interview stage for this postdoc? Congrats, btw!

Email rejection (12/22) x7

email said 300 applications were received. Considering that fact, I appreciated that my rejection email began by invoking my name instead of just "Dear Failed Applicant."

Congrats to the person who got the offer!

Hm. Almost 5pm EST and no rejection yet. Wonder if this means that they haven't gotten around to it yet or if I am perhaps an alternate. Anyone else in no-rejection no-offer liminality?

(from same poster as above) Well, since it's less than 2 hours until Christmas eve in Philadelphia, I don't imagine we'll hear anything else until 2009. I suppose this means they've either 1) lost my file, 2) accidentally left my award message on somebody else's voicemail, or 3) made me an alternate--here's hoping for one of the latter possibilities. (2x)

(from same poster again) Still without word, I finally called Penn today (1/6). Unfortunately, it wasn't any of the above possibilities. My rejection email just didn't get through to me for whatever reason. Sigh... Congratulations to the awardees.

Penn Mellon Postdoctoral Teaching Fellowship

([20] Deadline: December 15, 2008)

Anyone know the plan for this? Will there be interviews? When will they let us know?

• Last year, the committee met in mid-January and recipients were selected by February. Of course, the deadline this year is six weeks later, so the timtable might be shifted later as well...

Were there interviews?

1/8- Any word?

1/13- No word at all

1/15-I haven't even gotten any acknowledgment of my application. Did anyone else receive an ack?

1/15-Nothing, no ack or anything else.

• Should one of us call or email to get the timeline?

• Yes, one of us should.
• Did anyone of us called?
• Don't know. Did you?

1/21-Just sent off an email to ask whether they've received mine and if there was a timetable yet. I'll let you all know when I hear back! :)

• Thanks (x2!)

1/21 (again) - I just heard back from Ann Matter: they are just now beginning the vetting process, and hope to know something by the middle of February. She didn't mention if this would be a final decision, or contact finalists, and I didn't want to pester her. Hopefully this helps?

• Thanks for this information! It does help!
• Yes, this helps. Thank you. So now we wait until mid-Feb.

Decisions to to made in early February, I heard.

• Yes, thanks for calling and for sharing the info. I do wishes places would send acknowledgements, just so we'd know things arrived safe and sound.
• Does anyone know what they do with the "who would you want to work with" information? Do they contact those people with your application and ask them if they're interested? How crucial is it? I'd love to know.

2/4- Any news?

2/5- Nothing yet.

-Perhaps end of this week (2/6-ish) or next? (Best guess: some word by Friday Feb. 13th)

Anyone hear anything regarding timing and decisions?

2/12 - No news yet.

• Wrote Ann Matter on 2/5 about my application. She says it is no longer under consideration. So, the selection process is clearly under way.

2/14 - I heard that offers were made this week.

2/14 - Is that heresay or do you know someone who was offered? (x2) Seems unlikely its hearsay; maybe it went out via snail mail and we all still have hope....... :(

2/14 - when do offers go out via snail mail? A: last time was penn scrooge pdoc in phrenology. A: You sure it wasn't for the Alexander Graham Bell pdoc in telephony studies? IT WAS A JOKE, JFC.

• I also wrote to Ann Matter, and on 2/13 she sent me an email stating, "We are just now making the fellowship decisions, and I am sorry to say you are not one of the finalists." This certainly indicates that they have decided on the finalists; whether they've notified them already is another story. Good luck to everyone!

• • • So has anybody *actually* been told they are a finalist or knows somebody who has? (2/15) ***

-Offer made by phone on 2/13 by department chair in the relevant field. Congrats (2/15).

• Congratulations!
• Double Congratulations!
• Triple congrats. May I ask what field? (and do you know anything about how many will be awarded, etc?) thanks

I just called the Dean's Office and I SWEAR that she said NO offers were yet made. I don't know who's lying here, but she sounded fairly convincing. (2/23) I see no reason why they wouldn't simply tell people that the competition is over.

• the e-mail I received (2/18) upon inquiry from Ann Matter confirms earlier statements that decisions were made. She wrote:
  

"I am sorry to tell you that you are not a finalist for the Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships at Penn. We had 500 applications for 3 positions - it was a rough choice."

They made the phone calls for offers but have not technically sent the letters. Thus the confusion, I think. Three offers have been made verbally. I do not know how many have been accepted.

• Still, that does mean that offers WERE made, whether verbally or not. This is what is confusing. She said no offers were made, period. Bizarre. It seems like the left-hand doesn't know what the right is doing. Just have to wait and see.
• I can confirm that at least one offer has been made and informally accepted (pending the receipt of the official letter).

• Rejection letter received (3/20) x 3

Penn McNeil Center for Early American Studies Predoctoral Fellowships

(info Deadline March 1st)

• 2/26/09 - Application sent. No word from MCEAS yet. (x2)
• 3/17/09 - Notified by email that my application is complete. Decisions by "end of April."
• 4/13/09 - Nice rejection received via email. That was fast!
• 4/16/09 - Still haven't heard. One person has received rejection notice, has anyone been extended an offer? I could be on a waitlist, or the list is still narrowing in committee.
• 4/27/09 - Still no word.
• 5/1/09 - Very polite rejection via email. 83 applications were made, apparently.

Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships

(http://www.pims.ca/academics/mellons.html Application deadline 1 March 2009)

Acceptance email received March 23, 2009 (x2)

I don't mean to be obtuse, but by 'acceptance email' do you mean they offered you one of the fellowships?

Yes, offers were extended by email on 23 March.

Rejection letter received (email) on 8 April.

Princeton Center for African American Studies Postdoctoral Fellowships

(http://www.princeton.edu/africanamericanstudies/news/opportunities/)

• Closing date: November 7, 2008

• Has anyone heard any news on this fellowship?
• No! I got an email acknowledgement from them in late November, and no mention of when decisions would be made... I can't even find anything on their website that mentions a timeline for decisions...
• I just emailed them to find out what the timeline is. I'll let you know what I hear (1/12)
• The committee will meet this week to begin the process, with a decision expected no later than the first week of February. (1/12)
• Thanks for posting that information. Did they indicate that they are making a final decision, or creating a shortlist and will interview? (1/12)
• They didn't say - I was under the impression that they are making a final decision, but I can't say for sure. (1/13)
• Thanks!
• As the first week of February inches toward Friday... has anyone heard anything?!
• rejection letter 2/4
• has anyone else heard anything?
• sorry to hear it -- was that a letter letter or an email? thanks.
• still haven't heard anything (2/6) X2
• Received the letter via postal mail. It was dated Feb 2. (2/8)
• I still haven't heard anything (2/12)... Anyone else out there still waiting for news?
• Yes, still waiting... (2/12)
• and waiting still (2/22)
• not sure if this helps anyone waiting-- but princeton mailed the letter to my department - i dont check my mail there much, but found the letter waiting a few days ago- it was dated 1/29( i think) (2/25)
• Any word on this?  Does anyone know if positions were offered?
• the letter certainly made it sound like positions were offered
• my letter said the "position" singular had been offered to someone else.
• Does anyone know how  many people applied for this postdoc?

Princeton Davis Center for Historical Studies, Fellowships

(info Deadline December 1, 2008)

• For "senior scholars with established reputations" as well as "early career scholars"
• 2008-2010 Theme: Cultures and Institutions in Motion
• 3/18-2009--Any Word?
• Rejection letter (dated-3/10)

Princeton University Niehaus Center Postdocs (Globalization and Governance and Regional Political Economy)

Deadlines December 15 and January 15.

• Any news anyone?
• Feb 9--I just spoke with the assistant director. She said the committee for the Globalization and Governance fellowship is meeting to make their decisions. She said that results would be announced around Feb. 27. My sense was that successful candidates may hear before that, but I'm not sure.
• So have the results been announced, finalists contacted?
• Rejection email received 3/14

Princeton Society of Fellows

(info Deadline October 1, 2008)

• 10/27 Received ack. of complete dossier via mail, decisions and interview invitations will be made by the end of January/
• 12/7 Received request for missing letter of recommendation to be sent ASAP -- perhaps this means that they're now sitting down to decide?
• 12/17 Any news?? A: I was interviewed for this one last year. They didn't contact me until after the New Year, so too early to worry.
• 12/30 Q: Anybody know roughly when we will hear about interviews? Or about the timeline? Thanks.
• 01/01 A: They will contact us sometime in January... just gotta wait and see. They get a LOT of applications for this one, so we just have to be patient!
• 01/06 A: For what it's worth, they seem to have invited people for interviews on the first Wednesday of the first full week in January in both 2008 and 2007. So maybe people will hear things tomorrow?
• 01/07 Q: Anyone heard yet?
• 01/08 Q: Anyone heard yet?
• 1/8 A: I haven't (x10) -the comforts of partners in paranoia...
• Maybe tomorrow?
• The website says that applicants won't be contacted until the end of January and all interviews will happen in early February, which is slightly later than last year's schedule.
• The website actually says that applicants will be contacted by the end of January. If interviews are in early February, it's hard to believe that the interviewees won't find out soon.
• Still no rejections (I'm being realistic about my chances)...does anyone know if they do email or snail mail rejections/interview invitations?
• I'm pretty sure that last year they emailed interview requests, and mailed out rejection letters a few days later.
• I was called to set up an interview last year.
• Any news anyone? (1/13)
  • Nothing Yet! (1/13) (x13)
  • Ah, no rejections today. Hope springs eternal!
• Invite for interview by email (1/13) x 4
• Does anyone know how many people they are interviewing?
• Congrats to the three interviewees. May I ask what field you are in?
  • Early modern European history
• I'll echo the congratulations! Did they mention how many applications they received...?
  • No, no mention of anything really!
• Heard from a colleague there that they had 800 or so applications. Not sure how reliable or exact that number is. (1/14/09)
• Yes, congrats. Anyone in East Asian? A: here is one, doing C/history. heard nothing.
• Their official rejection letter states that they had more than 920 applications.
• Did you receive their official rejection letter for this year's competition?
• Anyone knows how many people they will bring to campus interview?
• Received interview invite by email (morning of 1/15). Also curious how many get invited for interview.
• Any interviewees from the social sciences?
• Let's start a count for interviewees: 3
• How many interviewees in literature?
• Two years ago, they invited 24 people for 4 positions. 6 people for each. heard from a friend who was there.
• email received: "placed on a second list for possible interview" They have scheduled a first list of interviews. x5

(I am in the second list. I am in East Asian humanities) (Do you know how many interviewees in the 1st list? And how many in the second list? Today it is Jan 19 2009) A: I got an email that I am on the second list - they did not mention any numbers.

• Rejection letter received via regular mail (1/20) 920 applicants for four spots x4
• This year they are inviting 25 people for the 4 spots.
• Anybody else who's on the second list for possible interview hear anything back yet? Chances of getting called in seem slim...

Word is that they are conducting the last interviews today (2/12) and tomorrow (2/13) and then deciding immediat

• Made it to the interviews and then received a rejection via email (Monday Feb 16th). They made their decisions fairly quickly possibly even on the last day of interviews.

Princeton University, Stewart Fellows in Religion

([21] Application Review Begins: November 15, 2008)]

• On campus scheduled for early February
• By email or phone?
• on campus interviews scheduled and presently underway, through first week in Feb

Princeton Writing Program

(Deadline February 1, 2009)

• Teaching postdoc was offered last year, is it on again this year?
• Yes, it's on.
• Does anyone know whether they interview for these jobs, in person or by phone? thanks.
• Yes, there is an interview. If you're not that close, perhaps they would do a phone interview instead of a campus interview, but I'm not sure about that. They ask you to prepare materials for them (i.e. ideas for a writing course; mark up a student paper) if you make it to that stage.
• Anyone know how long it will take them to contact for interviews?
• A: check last year's wiki. I was rejected in early March, but the process continued til April. Their confirmation email says decisions will be made by 4/10 I think.
• ack letter, dated 1/19 -- will begin reviewing apps mid-Feb and decisions will be made no later than April 15 (1/29)
• 2/9 email to set up phone interview
• Congratulations! Does anyone know if they do this on a rolling basis?
• 2/10 email to set up phone interview (x4)
• I applied right at the deadline. Does anyone know how long they continue the interview process, whether it's rolling or whether they make decisions about who they'll be interviewing all at once (i.e. are they done with requests?)
• I applied near the deadline too. They said they'd begin reviewing apps mid-Feb, but they've already scheduled interviews well before mid-Feb. Does this mean they won't be reviewing apps that came in closer to the deadline? For those of you who were contacted, could you say whether you applied on the earlier side? Does anyone know how long their interview request process lasts?
• I applied pretty early. I like to get the apps out of the way. I don't have any inside info but I think the process would have to be on a rolling basis b/c it's hard to know in advance how many lecturers are moving on to other positions every year.
• I applied fairly early too. The email stated that they were doing initial interviews with a number of candidates as part of the hiring process.
• Applied literally at the deadline and contacted for interview.(3)
• Had my phone interview today. Sounds like there are a lot of candidates still alive. The big cut will be for the campus interview. Good luck to everyone.
• Did you have to interview with multiple people over the phone or was it a one on one interview? A: One on One.
• 500+ applicants for this position
• Out of curiosity, any of those who have been contacted for interviews ABD (scheduled to defend this academic year) or all minted PhDs? Thanks!
• A: I was interviewed and I'm ABD, filing this semester.
• A2: I was contacted for interview, and am a minty-fresh Ph.D.
• 2/12 email to set up phone interview. (1)
• I was interviewed via phone and told that notifications for campus interviews would go out in two weeks. (2/13)
• I was also interview 2/13 and was told that the phone interviews will likely be done by Sundayish, and the offers of campus interviews likely to go out soon after. The interviewer said within two weeks, but I got the impression that the meeting to decide on campus visits would be early next week, and that offers may be going out late next week. Interviewer also said that there is a possibility that there could be more than 5 positions available if people move on from the Writing Center.
• Aww, I guess they don't like me. I applied Jan 26th and haven't heard a thing (it's Friday today.)
• Also interviewed by phone on 2/13. So was my colleague. Told I'd hear first week of March about campus visit.
• So it sounds like we'll hear within two weeks, as the interviewer said.
• How weird is this? I just received a letter, dated Feb 9, thanking me for my application for the post of full-time lecturer. 'We plan to begin reviewing applications in mid-February and will inform you of the status of your application no later than April 15, 2009'. Why would they send this when they were already half way through the phone interviews? (2/19) x3
• Yeah, I got the letter the day of my interview. I'm sure they're just trying to be responsible about getting ack letters out to all the applicants, but were a little late in sending them out.
• Contacted for phone interview (2/19))(x2)
• congrats. this is a weird, weird long process.
• Maybe we can do a count of how many applicants phone interviewed. (2/20)(11)
• Received post-phone interview rejection via e-mail. (2/26) Anyone else? A: Not yet. Sorry to hear it. The impression I got was they were going to phone interview a ton of people, that every current writing program fellow had a handful of candidates to screen.
• Thanks, all, for posting. I'm sorry to hear about the rejection too. To responding poster above, I'm assuming they're already done with the ton of interviews they conducted recently (?). When you talk of the handful of candidates current writing program fellows were asked to screen, do you mean they were screened in the phone interviews, or that they are screening them now, post-interview (I imagine the latter, but wanted to make sure I had you right), as in shuffling papers around, etc (and not calling us again!?)

A: Sorry I wasn't very clear, but my interviewer told me that the current teachers in the program each had a handful of applicants to phone interview. Now say they had 5 a piece, that's like 100 candidates left at the phone stage. In other words, long way to go.

• wow. But would they really want to interview 100 people? Interviewing 20% of your applicant pool would seem a bit extreme, no? I had assumed they'd be interviewing 20, max. But hey, if that is the case, then kudos to them for being so attentive. I also wonder how they make final decisions, if, as you say, each of them is doing one-on-one interviews with different people (I didn't know that before. I thought that one poor person was doing most of the interviews. It's a nice personalized way to do phone interviews, honestly, and it made the phone interview a rather more positive experience than those of the speaker-phone variety. but I wonder if it's hard for them to compare applicants when it comes to making campus-interview cuts.
• rejection letter (no interview) 3/6 (x3)
• Did anyone interview? Any offers?
• Anyone contacted about campus interview? 
• Someone in the PWP told me they were interviewing candidates on campus today 4/3
• I can confirm that they were interviewing candidates last week (3/30-4/3).
• Anyone have any inside information on when they plan to extend offers?  I know they said "by April 15" in the interview, but I'm wondering if they'll extend offers before that, and April 15 is when they'll let those who didn't make it know.
• rejection by email 4/14 (Had a campus interview 4/2).
• sorry to hear that.  Do you mind my asking if you had a campus interview?

Rutgers CCA Fellowship

(Deadline January 9, 2009)

• Application acknowledgment received (1/16/09)x3
  
• any news? last year's wiki indicates that they made offers about a month after the deadline (2/11)
• also waiting... impatiently
• My guess is that offers will go out in the next week or so by e-mail. But I would be patient on this one- don't rule it out until you hear from them.
• Will they ask for a writing sample, as some post-docs do? No.
• They do say March 6 notification.

Hello from the Administrator at the CCA. I was asked by one of our current post-docs to post an update here. As of 2/26/09, initial offers have been made. We will be communicating with everyone by the stated deadline of March 6.

Rutgers Center for Historical Analysis

(Deadline: 15 December 2008)

***offer made, letter received 03/05/09 by mail

Rutgers Center for Race and Ethnicity and Institute for Research on Women

(deadline Jan 30)

• No confirmation yet
• anyone else apply? A: yes but nothing yet. 2/16 (x5)
• ack of app would be nice
• still nothing as of 3/5. anyone else?
• Maybe it's canceled? Does any one have any news? (3/9)
• emailed them last week but no response, what gives? (3/10)
• i didn't see any info on the website. strange (3/10)
• Called Center for Race & Ethnicity and Institute for Research on Women. IRW claims that a decision has been made, offered no details (3/26)
• I was offered an IRW Fellowship 3/9 but have had to reject due to lack of funding (4/3) : (
• What does this mean?
• Well, in my case it means that because the IRW fellowship is nonstipendiary, IRW cannot offer teaching (only tentantively "maybe one course"), and I have not secured sufficient external funding, I had to reject the offer. Simple and painful. (4/4) iple
• I guess they must have pulled the fellowship funding; the original announcement stated that the salary was $45,000 with a $2,000 in research funds.
• No, they have multiple fellowships - some stipendary, some not. The person above must have applied for a non-stipendary fellowship with IRW. That is different from the Postdoctoral Fellowship jointly sponsored by IRW and the Center.
• Rejection letter (4/11)
• Was the rejection letter for a stipendary fellowship or a non-stipendary fellowship? (4/15)
• I haven't received a rejection yet. I assume there are others in my position? (4/23)
• my rejection was for a stipendary fellowship
• I've heard nothing (4/27)

St John's College, Cambridge University, JRF

(Deadline 1 October 2008)

• 11/13 - shortlist contacted
• by email or phone?
• 11/18 - email rejection

Selwyn College, Cambridge University, Centenary Fellowship

(info Deadline September 5, 2008)

• 10/16 - short list of semi-finalists have been notified

Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University, JRF

(Deadline 15 October 2008)

• Anyone heard anything? (11/18)
• not I
• Rejection email, bizarrely sent to uni email address which I did NOT put on the application... (11/19)
• No rejection, no invitation for an interview either (11/20)
• Redaction and apology for sending duplicate rejections from last year, plus a rejection for THIS year (11/24)
• Rejection email (11/24)

Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) Postdoctoral Fellowships

([22] Deadline: 24 October 2008)

• Any other Canadians on this board? Yep!

• I e-mailed SSHRC today and they said that "results for the Postdoctoral Competition should be mailed out at the end

of February".

• Oh, that's brilliant of you. Thanks. Why did I not think to do that? Oh, I know, because their email communications were atrocious.

• Yes, thanks for the up-date! Their statement that we'd be notified "in February" is way to vague. Good luck, all! (x2, with extra thanks for contacting them!)

• Another Canadian here (woohoo!). The deadline got moved from the 15th to the 24th, so that's probably why it's now late feb. Hmm...do they mail out offers and rejection letters at the same time? And speaking of atrocious email communications, did any of you have a nightmarish time with their new state-of-the-art application system? wtf (2/11)

• Absolutely. I couldn't believe the server crashed multiple times the day it was due. It was also frustrating for my reviewers/references that they had to set up accounts just to submit supporting letters for my application (I'm at US school, so my advisors mostly aren't registered with SSHRC)

• Ditto on the server crash and all-round frustration. Not only did referees have record things like when and where they received their own first degrees in order to create their accounts, but they were then limited to writing 500 characters (bumped up to 1,000 characters, following complaints) about our work. I'm a Canadian at a UK uni, and the "state-of-the-art" business was rather embarrassing. Anyway, fingers crossed for good news in a few weeks!

• Let me add my voice to the chorus here. Their web program was atrocious -- I am convinced that it was put together by somebody's cousin who got the contract as a patronage deal, since anyone who has had even the slightest brush with academe knows that 500 -- or 1000 characters are nowhere near enough. Not to mention that after my adviser had entered all sorts of personal information (like home phone number!), and carefully composed a 500 character reference letter well before the deadline -- they changed the number of characters. But advisers couldn't just resubmit a letter. Oh nooo. The email said the adviser would have to contact the webmaster to have it reset. I mean, really. As though spending hours trying to figure out their system wasn't enough of a waste of his time. Another referee spent ages composing his letter in Word, because he used the character count function to keep it within limits, and then found the program would not let him paste the letter in. He had to retype the thing. To say nothing of the utterly ridiculous CV website, or of the fact that when I tried to upload my proposal the night before, the darn thing wouldn't upload. It took a combination of Internet Explorer and Mozilla to get it working. (Neither of these programs, on their own, would handle the full job of submitting the application on their website.) I'm sorry. I still have a lot of anger. Maybe you can tell.

• That's pretty bad. Their joke of a system really ticked off my referees. At one point, they couldn't even log in and each of them had to call technical support to get things sorted out! Let's just hope the committees kept all this in mind during the selection process.

• Anyone heard anything yet?

• No, but I'm checking this page every day! If they're sending their announcements by post, that probably means those of us not in Canada will hear later.

• Me too :) Can't wait to hear.

• Hi guys, we won't hear until the first week of March, this is what I have been told. Have you heard about the 2009 federal budget for SSHRC? do you know if this budget will affect applications submitted in Oct. 2008?

• Where did you hear from? The horse's mouth? (Just wonderin' about the source, not being catty!)

• I called them.

• Early March makes sense. If the postal system is working properly, it takes at least 3 business days for stuff sent out late Feb to get around in Canada. For those living in the UK (where I did my phd), you'll probably wait a week and a half, eg. mid March.

• The proposed budget won't effect this round of applications. (Worryingly, the government is proposing to shift SSHRC's focus, so that students in business-related degree programs will be given priority. To sign a petition opposing this change, you can follow this link: http://nikiashton.ndp.ca/sshrc.) Good luck to everyone on this round!

• I'm glad to hear that this year's round won't be affected, but it's scary for the future! Thanks for including the petition link. I've just sent it around to everyone I could think of.

• When people start to get the letters, can you tell the rest of us what city you're in? Then we can estimate how long the post will take to get to us. Thanks and good luck!

• Ha ha! I take it you're just as eager to hear as I am!

• I think people are getting them -- only they don't use the wiki. Or we're all overseas... on some remote island... where people don't communicate face to face...

• I'm another keener: I called SSHRC on Tuesday (03/03), and was told that letters would be going out at the end of this week or early next.

• I just called them (today's Friday 6th) and they said results will be mailed out mid March. I asked them why and they said it's because the deadline was pushed back. Different sshrc officers answering the phone, I guess.

• I predict the following: they will reach a decision sometime around August 2009. But the staff will be on vacation, and will postpone announcements until October 2009. Then, when they're back in the office, their computer system will break down entirely, at which point the process will be delayed for three months. In January 2010, they will use a chain of smoke signals to convey the results to their office at the other end of the country, at which point a staff of calligraphers will write the letters -- after having prepared their own ink and parchment, of course. This brings us to July 2010, when the letters will be ready to go. Those intended for successful candidates in Canada will be tied to the feet of passenger pigeons and sent on their way -- they will reach their destinations late in 2010. The letters for candidates residing abroad will be entrusted to an army of highly-trained sea lions who will swim and/or slither to their destinations around the world. I.e., we should hear sometime around 2011-2012. [Whoever you are - this is hilarious. I love it.] - Thank you. Now you know what I do instead of writing my dissertation.

• I haven't heard anything either, i'm in Alberta (03/06).

• I like the pigeons--the birds would probably be more reliable than the sshrc web application system. Thanks for the updates.

• I'm so glad I found this wiki! Otherwise I would just be biting my nails all on my own :)

• I also called SSHRC. This morning (9/3) the fellowship officer told me that the notices would be mailed out mid-March (she mentioned 16 Mar as a possible date). Successful and unsuccessful applicants will all be notified at the same time. I felt a bit nuts calling, since many folks have put updates here, but I've been biting my nails for several weeks now! Bon courage!

• Anything new? (16/03)

• I called this morning, and the lady told me that notices have not yet been sent out. Should be sometime this week, but she could not give me anything more than that. (3/16) .

• I called this morning too (3/16) and they told me the same thing. I am in Ottawa, very near where they are (as you can imagine, I've been tempted to throw stones or sth to their windows), so I'll let you know as soon as I receive the letter. Stay strong!

• Thanks for the updates, everyone!

• Thank you for calling, fellow sufferers. Sometime this week? I'll bet on Friday.

• I just called as well, and was told it might be early next week, but to take even that with a grain of salt. So we may not want to sit by the mailbox just yet...

• this is becoming ridiculous...

• Becoming ridiculous? It's been ridiculous since the beginning!

• They should give us all fellowships for having to put up with their ludicrous application system. :P

• I can't tell you guys how glad I am that I found this wiki. I've been going insane over here in my little corner of Canada. Does anyone know whether or not the April 15, 2009 thesis submission deadline will stand, since SSHRC is so bloody late getting the results to us? February my a$$....I'm so fed up. I cannot get myself motivated to work on my diss because if I don't get the postdoc there won't be any point in finishing this year. I just want to know...

• Thanks to the person in Ottawa...I was just thinking that we needed someone close to their office to let us know. I just can't believe the number of delays. I e-mailed them last week to ask whether a) they could make an exception and e-mail out the results, given that there's been such a big delay and b) whether any of the other deadlines (i.e. for acceptance and the April 15th submission) would change. Their response only said that they can't e-mail the results (big surprise) and did not address the other questions-> just sent a follow up e-mail (3/17) Will post response when I get it.

• What I want to know is why the sshrc hasn't issued a formal statement of apology. They have all our e-mail addresses so the procedure should be simple. This should have been done late February. I suspect that something terrible has happened (e.g. they lost the scores due to a system crash and need to ask the committees to resubmit them), so they're keeping extremely quiet to prevent panic. At this point, I highly doubt the problem will be solved next week. It's April if you ask me, and I feel very sorry for those applicants having to deal with the April 15 deadline. I agree with the person who said earlier that we should all get fellowships!

• I fully empathize with the stress of the 15 April deadline without knowing if you've even been lucky enough to win a postdoc! I have so much on hold until the SSHRC lets us know--research plans for the summer, if I have to teach in the fall.... It's frustrating how late SSHRC is because now they're really out of sync with the academic schedule (most jobs & postdocs have already be settled, I believe). And I know that last year they mailed the results on 15 Feb. But I am really happy to have found this wiki! It makes me feel less crazy.  :)

• re: April 15 deadline for draft submission of thesis: I find this ridiculous, since, those applying for NSERC and CIHR postdocs do not have this deadline. A friend of mine won a postdoc SSHRC last year and was able to get an extension and handed in the draft later.. makes sense since in theory you could start in Jan 2010 and they want a draft by April 2009.. kinda early.... in the end, I doubt they will change the deadline because of the delay....

• Just heard back from SSHRC about the deadlines to notify and to submit the dissertation. If awarded, you can request a "short" (but how long is short?) extension of the April 15th deadline, by e-mail. They aren't changing the one-month period in which you have to notify them that you accept the award (3/18)

• Amazing. Anyway, people, please refer to my prediction above, re: pigeons. I believe I predicted we'll hear in 2011-12. See if I'm right or not.

• Today they said 'we're working on it, should be receiving it next week'. Once again. (3/18)

• Man... this is such a nightmare. All my plans are on hold because of this. I want to know if I have a job next year!

• Seriously. This is ridiculous.

• Cruel and unusual punishment.

• Thus ends another week of being strung up and whipped. Next week's entertainment: eating live spiders! As your mouth is forced open by the sshrc, enjoy how these little critters ssssssssslowwwwwly crawl into your mouth...

• I just called, and was told in a friendly and decisive fashion, "Monday morning." Fingers crossed!

• Monday morning what? They will finally send the letters? They were supposed to send them last monday, as they told most of us last week, no more belief in their promises...

• Yes, Monday morning for sending them out.

• They told me Monday too (3/20). Shall we believe them?

• I was one of the posters who mentioned 16/3 as a possible date, but the SSHRC officer was always tentative about it. If they're saying Monday morning mailing, that sounds stronger than any other news they've given us. I asked this earlier, but when people start to get their letters, can you please tell us the city you're in? That will help those of us outside Canada figure out when the pigeons might get to us... Thanks and Good Luck to everyone!

• Yup, Monday. Straight from the horse's mouth (a friend is a research officer at a big uni in Canada). So those of you in Ottawa should know by Tuesday! Being out on the East Coast, I probably won't find out until 2010...

• Thanks guys. Finally, some news!

• Yes, don't worry. We'll indicate the city. I am the person in Ottawa, so if they send the letters Monday morning, I should receive it by Wednesday morning...let's see if it is true this time! Good luck to everybody!

• Thanks everyone for the updates and good luck!

• Yes, good luck to everyone! I'm the person who put this section in the Wiki, and now I'm mightily glad I did so -- a little community of sufferers we are. I hope this week brings good news for you!

• Yes, thank you very much to the person that put this section in the Wiki!

• Yes, thank you! Good luck to everyone. Make sure to post your news!!

• Guys, have you checked if they have posted the letters (3/23)? I am trying to call SSHRC, but the line is always busy...

• It was a lie...as usual. The letters have not been posted (3/23), and are not going to be posted until the end of the week, which I don't believe either...no comment.

• They told you that today?

• Yes, a couple of minutes ago...(3/23)x2

• Just can't believe this... this is so ridiculous.

• Yes, this is...no words... x2

• Are you effing kidding me? Don't they realise (or care) that our lives are on hold until we find out? I am so mad right now.

• No, they don't care at all...

• Gosh, this is a nightmare

• They probably even forgot to feed the passenger pigeons...

• I just called (3/24) and was told that the letters would be posted at the end of the week. The clerk said that the letters were ready but that they're waiting on the "okay" for them to be mailed. Has anyone tried to contact SSHRC officers internally? I tried the Director of the Fellowships and Institutional Grants office, but there was no answer.

• I'm sorry, I just have to say this: the way SSHRC has carried out its activities has been so completely unprofessional, you'd think they were part of the government of a (barely) developing country. I really think they represent Canada poorly. I don't recall having to deal with this kind of incompetence when I lived at home, and it saddens me that my only official contact with the Canadian govt now is through an agency that can't get its s*** together. Seriously depressing.

• This is awful. I also feel that SSHRC's incompetence can't help but reflect on me personally. What are my potential supervisor and host institution supposed to think? I just contacted them over the weekend to tell them that I should know in a few days... it now looks like it's going to be *at least* another week. It's so embarrassing.

• Yes, very depressing. I think that SSHRC is very concerned with image projection abroad, so we should make sure that they know their actions are affecting their reputation here and abroad (the electronic submissions seriously damaged their credibility too). I think that calling the Director of the Fellowships and Intitutional Grants office was an excellent idea, and I think that even if he/she does not answered the phone, we should all call and leave a message insisting not only how this waiting is affecting our lives, but most importantly (because they may not care much about our lives) how this is affecting their reputation. Let me know what you think. Perhaps it is time to take concerted action. If they were sorry, they should have sent at least an apologetic e-mail to explain the situation, or at least, the official version of the situation.

• Are they? Are they concerned? I'm surprised to hear that. The website hijinks back in the fall certainly did nothing to impress my referees. The longer they wait, the fewer of their top picks they'll get. (Though in this economic climate, I guess they're calculating that they can do whatever they like to the applicants.) In a domain where prestige counts for a lot, they seem quite blase about losing it.

• They don't seem to be concerned, or apologetic, at all. our problem i guess...

• Yes, I think we should do as much calling and as much inquiring as we can. Posting messages here, though comforting, isn't necessarily going to get us the news we're seeking. In addition to calling SSHRC directly, I think we should also be contacting our graduate studies/postdoctoral offices to see if they have any information about the delay and to ask them to inquire with SSHRC on our behalf. I have done that this afternoon, so I'll post anything I hear back.

• Well, I told you all that we would hear in April. As for the apology, it's likely that this will appear in your letter (when you get it), apologizing for the delay, thanking you for your patience etc etc as they were setting up the new system.Mark my words. I think your efforts at getting your offices to contact sshrc are valiant and must be done, but let me suggest that you also get on with your lives. For those who haven't finished their theses, it's tempting to use this sshrc situation as an excuse, but from my point of view, the earlier you finish your thesis, the more time you have to research/write something else. Moreover, who cares about how the sshrc is seen worldwide? When it comes down to it, when a funding council gives you money, you take it. What you do with the money is what really matters. Being worried about sshrc's reputation is like a grad student wondering if ivy league affiliation will cover up weaknesses.
• Well, of course getting money is ok from most sources. The awkward part, however, is asking our already-generous referees to put letters in for us, and having them waste hours trying to wrestle with a stupid computer system. Of course they know it's SSHRC's fault and not our own, but it still reflects badly on us at some level. It's also awkward not being able to make certain decisions, or not being able to let our potential host institution know the status of our application. And thanks for your concern, but some of us have already submitted and are working on other projects already, so it's not taking that much of a toll on our productivity to check into the wiki once in a while.

• Just called SSHRC this morning (26/3) and was told that the results were mailed yesterday...

• At the risk of being cheesy, I think I'm more productive because I found this wiki. I have more control of the stress caused by the SSHRC delays. It helps to share info and also to commiserate.
• (26/3) I can confirm the good news above: I'm the one who contacted my grad.studies/postdoc office, and the individual I contacted just sent me an email response from an internal officer at SSHRC who said that the letters were sent yesterday.
• (26/3) I couldn't quite believe it, so I just phoned SSHRC too, and got the confirmation re yesterday's mailout. Wahoo!
• Anybody got some good news?
• still nothing in Edmonton.... figure by Monday if they were really mailed out.....
• still nothing in Montreal (27/3)
• No good news here: received rejection letter in Toronto today (27/3). Still, I'm glad to finally know. For those who are successful, would you mind posting your score out of 30 for the competition? I'd just like to know how far off I was (with my 20.9). Congratulations to all the successful applicants!
• I didn't apply for this postdoc, but I've been following the thread. It really sucks that you all had to wait so long! I hope one of you gets it.
• Toronto, would you mind posting some information re: number of applications received and number of successful applicants (If this info is contained in the letter) for those of us on the East and West coasts, and abroad? Also, do they apologize in the letter?
• Sure, it looks like there were 766 total applications; of those, 153 were offered awards. Oh yeah, and apology? Not a chance.
• Thanks Toronto for giving us the info. (x5) Still in suspense in MA (28/3)
• So, they took the top 20% (at least according to their standards) this time around... down 5% from last year..
• Q: does anyone know whether the SSHRC folks inform our potential host institutions of the outcome?
• Anybody got the letter in Edmonton? Nothing in the 10:00am uni mail.. most mail comes around 2ish... i'll keep you posted... (3/30)
• Just got my letter in London Ontario -- recommended but not funded with 22.4/30.
• (30/3) Mail came in Vancouver and no letter from SSHRC - I almost lost my mind when nothing was there. It's too long now... (I'm sorry... now I have a feeling I won't get mine either.... )
• Nothing in Montreal, despite the proximity... (strange....)
• For those getting negatives, don't take it personally. SSHRC committees are run in large part by rabid ideologues intent on promoting research fads and narrowly-defined theoretical approaches. The last thing they value is original, thought-provoking scholarship. A quick read through the list of projects funded will tell you all you need to know. Write a proposal on "Hockey Subcultures in Southwestern Ontario Literature" and will get funding. Serious scholars, run to the hills!
• I'm in Vancouver too but nothing here. Maybe tomorrow...
• I'm in Halifax..nothing here.  It better be here tomorrow... (3/30)
• Nothing in Edmonton.....(3/30)
• Nothing yet in Massachusetts (3/30)... the suspense is killing me. I feel like I've been waiting for this letter for months... probably because I have... and knowing that the letter might come tomorrow makes the suspense so much more intense. Good luck, everyone. I can deal with not getting this award, I just want to know where I stand.
• I know what you mean! I'm also in New England, and if I get the fellowship (which I seriously doubt right now), I'll probably not even be able to take it. Still, I'm watching my mail like a hawk -- the numbers, the dates, the scores all build suspense.
• Received good news in Mtl. Funded with 24/30. (31/03)
• Ooh, congrats Mtl!  I'm still waiting in Halifax...we had a big snowstorm last night, so I wonder if the mail didn't make it :(
• yes, congrats Mtl! At least we know that someone is funded! still waiting in Edmonton.... (3/31)
• Good news in Halifax. Funded with 27.4/30 (31/03) (congrats!!!)
• Hmm, I'm in Halifax too, but did not get a letter today :(  Ugh.  (3/30)  Great news, fellow Haligonian!!  :) Are people getting their letters at their department mailing address or their home address? So...frustrated...
• Rejection letter in Edmonton.. scored 20/30. good luck to all those who wait!
• Has anyone in Vancouver or Victoria heard yet?
• Yes, just heard in Victoria, funded with 25.4/30. Good luck to those who are still waiting!
• Great, that means that mine should be waiting at home (in Van)! Can't get to my mailbox fast enough...
• Just thought I'd post the 2008 SSHRC postdoc stats to compare with this year's numbers.... 2008: number of applicants, 676; number of awards, 171. So... number of applications is up by a pretty large factor, and the number of awards is down by 18.
• I'm interested to know if the people who have won postdocs are a)already graduated or b)just finishing up. I've always suspected that SSHRC is more inclined to award postdocs to those who aren't actually done yet, but I don't know if that suspicion is based in reality. Also, are the winners former doctoral SSHRC or CGS holders? Is it possible to win a SSHRC postdoc without having previously won a doctoral SSHRC or CGS? I know people probably don't want to post a lot of info on here, but I think it would be fascinating to know what the profiles of the winners of these postdocs tend to look like. Thanks in advance for sharing!
• Any US West-Coasters on the list?  Nothing in California yet....
• I'm waiting for the letter to get to Michigan. Hopefully those of us in the US will hear in the next few days... good luck to all!
• Nothing so far in New York City. (3/31). But major congrats to the recipients!
• I had a SSHRC doctoral fellowship and am just finishing up, but I didn't get the funding. (I'm the "toronto with 20.9" person.) In fact, the research proposal part of my score was just slightly higher than "track record," so I'm not sure what the secret formula is. Possibly a few more publications...?
• I agree with Toronto 20.9. I too had a SSHRC doctoral fellowship (along with receiving two other research grants and a dissertation completion fellowship from my university). I had just submitted my dissertation at the time of my application (after 4 years in my program). But I had only one peer-reviewed publication. My track record score: a very measly 6.5
• I didn't win a postdoc. I held a doctoral SSHRC CGS, had one peer-reviewed publication, and am just finishing up. My track record score was 10/15.
• I had the Killam doctoral award and a couple of other major awards, and 4 peer-reviewed publications in international journals and 3 book chapters with eminent scholars. But I still didn't get it. This is my 5th year and submitting my thesis in Spring. My track record was 10.8 and program of work was 11. Total: 21.8.  
• Did any letters arrive in the USA?
• I did receive it and I have a SSHRC doctoral award, am ABD, and 4 peer reviewed publications including a collection I edited. Total: 25.8.
• From Edmonton: I got a 22.05 and recommendation to fund--but no funding. What is the lowest # you can receive and get funding? I see that 22.4 did not get funding, but 24 did. Anyone out there in the 23 range?
• From Massachusetts: I just received my letter (April 1st). I got a 23.7, with a recommendation to fund but no funding. So the cut-off this year was somewhere between 23.8 and 24.0. So close it hurts! My track record was 11.4 and my program of work was 12.3. I did receive a SSHRC doctoral award and finished my PhD in 2006. Good luck to everyone. I feel no ill will about this; I am just relieved to have an answer finally. We will all survive this. It's the awards you get that matter, not the awards that you don't get.
• Anyone still waiting to hear?...I am pulling my hair out here in Toronto...(1/4/2009(
• Hmmmm, that's weird, Toronto. Maybe you should contact SSHRC and ask them to mail another letter? Things do get lost in the mail more often than you might think...
• 1/4 from Michigan: bad news...I got the "recommended but not funded." Does anyone understand what that means? Is there a wait list that actually gets used when the first round people decline the award? (or is that just wishful thinking?). I'd also just like to say: today is my birthday!!!! I wasn't really expecting to get the award, but I had assumed I'd know before April 1st!!!! Thanks, Massachusetts, for your comments, I feel the same. As for my particulars: I received my PhD in December 08, had a sshrc doctoral award, but my peer-edited publications are all forthcoming (under contract) and I totally acknowledge that my research proposal was a shot in the dark. Thanks to everyone for sharing info, congrats to the winners, and good luck to those still waiting! Cheers.
• A Vancouverite: got 22.65/30, recommended but not funded. Michigan: perhaps if you have a score that's .1 or .2 away from the cut off then you could have a chance, but anything below that is unlikely. In these economic times, nobody is going to decline an award unless they have the fortune of winning another major fellowship.
• Hey, it's Massachusetts again (23.7). I would love to know exactly what the precise cut-off was (it must be somewhere between 23.8 and 24.0) so if anyone scored 23.8 or 23.9 I would love to hear from you. I've been talking to a few senior people today who have experience dealing with SSHRC and the consensus seems to be that there most likely is a wait list, and that "recommended but not funded" means you are on the wait list. But I agree with Vancouverite that very few awards will be declined this year. It's painful to see that 18 fewer awards were given this year than last year--that's 18 people who could have been taken off the wait list.
• Got the letter in Massachusetts today (2/4).
• Got the letter yesterday in NYC (1/4). Recommended but not funded with total score of 22.85. What's funny is that my track record was 10.6, though when I submitted my application I had *no* accepted peer-reviewed articles. (Though I did have major prizes, things under consideration, but still!) So weirdly enough, I'm actually kind of happy with how I did.
• For those of you who are wondering whether there is a waiting list, I e-mailed SSHRC and heard back from them that there is in fact no waiting list. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news. If some of these awards are turned down, then the money will go back into SSHRC's coffers. The only way they will offer more awards is if the government gives them more funding (not likely).
• Wouldn't you love to be a fly on the wall at the SSHRC committee meeting? From what I can tell (from my own experience and talking to my classmates who have won/lost), SSHRC postdocs are, at least to some degree, kind of random. One classmate with 2 publications won, while another with 4 publications lost. They both won doctoral SSHRCs and probably look pretty similar on paper. I can't image that either of them would have had anything less than great letters either. So why did the one with 4 publications do worse than the one with 2? It's all so bizarre.
• the project counts for half though...
• I'm away at a conference right now so can't find out even though the letter has probably arrived already! I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
• Hey, I got a 23.8/30 with a "recommended but not funded" note.  I also spoke with a SSHRC officer and was told there in fact is an "alternate list" but also that I should not put much hope in receiving funding when someone declines (the officer did not know how high I ranked on the list).
• In Wisconsin--funded with a score of 28.9/30. In case it is helpful, I had a SSHRC doctral fellowship and some other fellowships, 7 peer-reviewed publications, 3 were sole-authored, will finish my phd this month. But hopefully my good news will also be someone else's good news. While I'm waiting to sign the contract, it looks like I will be accepting a tenure track position, so I am highly likely going to decline the SSHRC. So I hope it gets passed on to one of you very deserving candidates that has been recommended but not funded!
• Also in Wisconsin --- got funded with 24.9 -- i have a terrible track record (11.25) - only 1 joint publication, 2 under revision, and some proceedings (my field, I think, is somewhat different from most though--but I am not sure, and it's definitely changing).13.65 for program. But this might be all moot: April 15th! Does anyone know if that requires a defense DATE by April 15th, or a defense draft submitted by April 15th? And is a letter from your dept chair, which testifies to the submission of a draft, sufficient (that seems to be what they say--the Award Holder's Guide confused me too!)
• A question, Wisconsin 28.9/30: what subject? Just curious....  Sociology.
• From what I understand, you have to officially submit by April 15th. So that's submitting the version that goes to the external. You then have to defend by the end of August. I would definitely get in touch with SSHRC to verify that, though.
• The news has just reached England (04/04): funded with a score of 24.0 (TR: 11.5; PW 12.5).  Talk about slipping under the wire!  Feeling rather guilty, since at the time of application I had no publications and had just submitted my dissertation on "Hockey Subcultures in Early Medieval European Christian Liturgy". 
• ha ha, very funny.
• Funded in MA with 25.3--12.3 track record, 13 proposal. Now to finish writing up as quickly as possible!
• FYI to Wisconsin who is finalising a T-T job offer: Ask for a leave of absence for 1 (or 2!) years so you can take the SSHRC. If your job is at a research school there's a good chance they'll go for this (and maybe even top-up the SSHRC to your salary). I'm Michigan who wrote a few posts above. I also got a T-T job and, if I had won the SSHRC, this would have been my plan. From what I understand, SSHRC is okay with this (I called to ask them when I got the T-T offer). You can also start the SSHRC in January, to show your T-T school that you're committed to them by actually being there for a semester before you leave. Just an idea... and congrats!
• Michigan, thanks. Interesting. I'll check this out. I thought you couldn't hold a TT position and the SSHRC--the website says that postdoctoral fellows 'cannot hold or accept a tenure-track or tenured faculty position or any other full-time employment.' I will check with them. Maybe I'm just misinterpreting. Thanks!
• When I asked them about it in February, they said you can't have a TT job when you apply (which is clear on the 'eligibility' criteria of their website). But if you get the award and a TT job, and if you can get a leave of absence, that's okay (at least what one sshrc officer told me...I think we all know how unreliable one officer's word is!). I didn't ask if it was okay for the TT job to top-up salary, that's just a hunch. It makes sense, since most folks applying to postdocs are also applying to jobs, and it's hard to imagine turning a TT job down for a 2 yr postdoc... Anyhow, let us know how it works out. --michigan
• Wisconsin here. Not suprisingly, SSHRC was somewhat unclear when I asked about holding a TT position and the SSHRC. They emailed me saying that you cannot 'defer' an award to accept or hold employment. So, I think that means that you can't start a TT job in September and then take the SSHRC in Jan. or the following Sept. But you could probably take the SSHRC and get your TT job deferred. That isn't going to work for me, but maybe the info is useful for someone else.
• Wisconsin again. I received an email from SSHRC and now just received a phone call from them as well (I had left a phone message and sent an email). The officer on the phone said that you can start a tenure track position in Sept. 2009 and get a research leave and start your SSHRC on Jan. 1--because Jan. 1 is the last possible regular start date and so is not considered a deferment. So, Michigan, this sounds like the information you received.

Stanford Humanities Fellows Program

(Deadline 8 Dec 08)

• Application sez successful candidates will hear by 3 March 09.

• this is completely different from the Stanford I-Hum fellowship, right? Yes.
• Anyone else's materials not register on the online application? I submitted mine early last week, but the form still claims to have received no materials. (12/10)

• Don't worry. It takes them a little while to go through all of the applications. My online application said "no, no, no, no" for about two weeks after I sent my materias. Then one day it said "yes, yes, yes, yes."

• And isn't that something we all want to hear....

• that's what I thought. I repeated it for a minute like an incantation when it finally posted to my app: "yes, yes, yes, yes." Bon courage.

• 01/07 Q: has anyone heard any word yet? 01/23 A: Nothing. Is it time to give up hope?

• according to last year's wiki, 16 or so finalists were notified in early February. Six successful candidates got offers by mid to late February. Rejection emails went out as promised on around March 1st. I don't think it's time to give up hope yet at all. They say on their website that the committee meets in December, January and February. They're probably getting down to deciding their long shortlist in the next couple of weeks and will then choose postdoc recipients soon after. Good luck, everyone.
• I suppose still no word to anyone either way

• 2/6: Still no word!

• 2/11: Any news yet? If they're interviewing people--as the website says they might--it's hard to believe they haven't contacted them by now.
• I don't know that they interview as a matter of course (though they must do it sometimes). They usually notify a list of about 16 finalists sometime around now (last year they did it on 2/8). Then they meet again in a week or two and choose the final 6 or so. They then send rejections out in a very timely manner before or on March 1st. Good luck to all.
• 2/14: email notification of finalist status
• Congrats! And good luck in the final round. Thank you for posting this info. I can now, finally, stop checking this Wiki! (x2)

2/16: to the person who received notification of finalist status, would you mind telling which field your application was in?

• 2/19: any news about final decisions yet?
• 2/24: I am the poster from 2/14 (in drama). The website promises notification by the 2nd and I think they are sticking to that schedule. Any other finalists here?
• 2/24: Just notified that I'm a finalist. I was told notification by the 2nd week of March. (x3)

Field? English.

• That's strange. Does anyone know if they have a history of deciding the different fields on different timelines?
• In the past, I think they emailed all the finalists at the same time, but this year they seem to have notified by field (I could be wrong), since the Drama notification (the only one posted) preceded the English by a week or so. They are under new direction, so maybe they've made some slight changes in the process this year.
• Does anyone know if the 6 finalists is a firm # every year, or does it depend on how many move on to something else? Also wondering if 6 means 2 spots for each of the three eligible fields.
• There are four eligible fields (English, Music, Art History, Drama). I have heard there are 15 finalists for 6 positions this year (though I don't know how firm that is). So imagine that two of the fields will get two fellows each, the other two will get one each. eek. A: Ughhhhh.
• Oh yes: Ughhhhhísimo.
• How much do you want to bet the notifications come on Friday the 13th?
• I have nothing to bet at this point other than the appletini of my dreams, so instead I'll bet my little bedroll and the grocery cart that will become my home base should the appletini remain out of legitimate reach. Friday the 13th AND the Ides of March. Fun, huh? Better than April Fool's day, I suppose. At least it'll be sooner. Ughísimo again.
• Offer made by phone/email (English), 3/10
• Can anyone confirm that all 6 offers have been made?
• I haven't heard anything. But it would be so nice to know something. Any other offers out there?
• Congrats to the winner. Any idea why entries keep disappearing and reappearing? Would also very much like to know if all other offers have been made.
• Congrats to winner - may I ask whether you were contacted by the department or by the humanities center? Any other finalists without notification either way?
• Rejection via email 3/12 (x3)
  • I apologize if this question is insensitive, but I would like to know whether the poster who indicated the rejection above had been shortlisted. Thanks.
  • How polite of you! I have no idea if I was shortlisted at some point or not; the email did say "you will not be among our finalists" or something like that, so I reckon no. It also said they had almost 700 applicants, if anyone's counting.
  • Ah, OK. Thanks for confirming. Has anyone on the shortlist received a rejection?
  • I'm on the finalist shortlist (field: English) and I haven't received a rejection yet as of 3/12.
  • Yeah, same here. I'd like to know one way or another by tomorrow.
  • SameHere: By same here you mean you're the other English finalist? 700 down to 15. It's like being clubbed in the head.
  • I think there are more than two of us. One person reports having received an offer. The whole thing is incredibly anxiety-inducing. Good luck in any case.
  • Rejection via email 3/13. "But you may be pleased to know that your application was considered genuinely competitive by our selection committee." Aw shucks...(x3)
  • To the previous poster, please clarify whether you had been notified that you were on the shortlist. Thanks.
  • I'm the x2 - I was not on the shortlist (3/13)

Have the offers been accepted???

anyone from the Art History shortlist hear anything? (03/14)

lol, this is turning from tragedy to farce now.

no kidding - I'm enjoying the nice weather. Any shortlisted music ppl out there? (3/14)

Now that all the initial offers have gone out, has anyone been notified of alternate status?

Can anyone confirm that all 6 offers have indeed gone out? I assume that they have, although there doesn't seem to be confirmation of this; and, as somebody pointed out above, they do seem to be doing things by field this year. Btw, I am shortlisted, and have not been informed of alternate status.

We don't even know that all the initial offers have gone out. So far, one English offer reported. What a mess.

I'm beginning to suspect that this is part of a reality TV show or a sadistic psychological experiment.

All I keep thinking is I'm never getting those few weeks back. Least they could do is send the rest of us an honorarium for all this suffering.

I've been off the wiki for a week or so (trying to keep myself sane). I was told I was an alternate (phone 3/11). I got the impression that all the offers had been made, and assume they were probably made on the same date as the English poster above. I don't know anything about whether any offers have been accepted or declined yet.

Confirmed via email that initial offers were made last week. Alternates were notified as well. Those of us who were not contacted last week can assume we're out of the running.

Thanks for this! Has anyone on the short-list received an official rejection?

That's a good question. Also: does anyone know whether the positions have been accepted or declined yet? They're probably hanging onto the short-listed people until the others to whom they've made initial offers have accepted or declined.

Is there a time-frame by which people need to respond to offers?

Two weeks is standard, I think. So it would look like maybe Monday or Tuesday would be two weeks from initial offer. ?

As one of the finalists, I can't believe they still haven't notified those of us who weren't selected. Still not a word to me anyway.

Well, we're clearly SOL, but psychologically, it would help to have our doom sealed with an official notification. Two weeks is standard, yes, but sometimes people take more time than that for negotiations with TT gigs, etc. Since it's been more like three weeks since the 'offer made' posting, either someone has declined, and they're moving down the list of alternates already, or someone's got an offer and something else to work out along with it. For whatever reason, they're not giving the finalists a final kiss-off yet.

From another finalist waiting to hear back.... how long can it take??? Has anyone emailed them lately?

it doesn't look like we're gonna get much news if someone doesn't email them. only one of the six candidates with offers has even posted here. you wanna give it a go?

not really, no. I just don't understand why more fields aren't reporting in on here.

Lurkers! Maybe they like to see us sssssquiiiiirrrrrrm.

• I received and accepted an offer in Drama around the same time as the other poster. If it helps, I was not given an official timeline for responding.
• Thank you very much for posting this info.  And congratulations to you.  Is there anyone else out there who could tell us whether he or she has accepted an offer?

I share the frustration of the other finalists, but let's keep in mind that not everyone uses this wiki, so it's not really reasonable to expect that all six of the finalists who received offers would report them here. Still, I do wonder what's keeping Stanford. Geez.

- Hi, I received a Music offer around the same time as the Drama and English folks (3/11 I think).  I was not given a timeline for responding either, although they asked me to keep in touch and try to keep it to 2 weeks.  I waited on a couple of TT jobs, and then to see if my current position could match the offer, and then accepted the postdoc 2 weeks later.  Sorry about the wait and anxiety!  I have been in that position, and it sucks. 

Hi.  thanks very much for the info.  Just a question: When you say you accepted the postdoc 2 weeks later, do you mean two weeks after the offer, or 2 weeks after the 2 weeks you tried to keep it to (i.e. did you just accept this week, or did you accept two weeks ago?)  I'm an alternate and just wondered whether all the positions have been accepted.  Thanks for any info. 

I was a finalist and months later, still no courtesy email or letter.  Thanks guys!

Stanford IHUM

(Deadline TBA) Is this the same as the Stanford Humanities Center External Fellowships? Deadline 15 October 2008 No. IHUM stands for Introduction to the Humanities--a year-long program that all first year students enroll in. This postdoc involves teaching 3 sections per quarter for lecture courses designed and taught by teams of Stanford faculty.

3 sections every quarter? Wow. A: each section is small, so the overall number of students is reasonable. Plus, there's only one prep.... and a research leave after the first year. So it's a good job.

Q: Is deadline still TBA? Is this pdoc happening this year? A: February 28.

Q: The application asks us to write how we would teach a text listed for the courses we nominate from the list. Does that mean we write about 1 text, or 1 text PER COURSE (ie 5 texts)? How did you guys interpret it? A: I think it's just one text period. A: It is. I called and asked last year. They seem to not realize that the application instruction is confusing. Q: Is it just me or do a lot of their classes sound kind of the same? Reading the synopses, there seems to be a HEAVY philosophy bent. A: Yes, it does seem to be very philosophy/classics heavy, but then again Stanford is known for sticking with their "great books" curriculum. The winter/spring courses seem especially weighted in that direction. Seems like it would be difficult to find anyone that could teach both fall and winter/spring courses that isn't a philosophy or classical rhetoric scholar. If you think the IHUM is bad, look at the very similar SLE fellowship (link is at the top of the IHUM page)--real classic great books course.

A: Ha, they know it's confusing. People call every year. They don't care (just being honest here, as the fact that the instructions remain the same year after year speaks for itself).

Q: Sounds like you pretty much teach what the faculty tell you to the first year. Does anyone know if let postdocs have any say planning courses for the following year? It looks like a job description for a glorified TA. Am I missing something? A: no, I think you're right on the money here. I've discovered that many disciplines in the humanities (though mine hasn't been one of those until the current state of the economy) have been tending towards offering these kind of hybrid post-doc TAships as a way of exploiting the labor of those folks that couldn't get a job because they didn't have the degree in hand until late in the application cycle. It's not a terrible arrangement, since it means the school gets relatively cheap labor (a little pricier than a grad student, but cheaper than a prof) while the newly minted PhD gets to put something more than adjunct on their resume. I discovered this after talking to a colleague from English who said it's a pretty routine thing in his discipline because there are often many more people coming out of grad school than available jobs. A: In the third year, fellows design their own undergraduate course offered through the appropriate department on campus. Also, faculty just give the lectures (some prof. let fellows guest lecture); fellows have a lot of autonomy over what is taught in section and how to approach the assigned texts.

• Let's be honest: It is a glorified TA-ship, pure and simple. But we all need jobs, pure and simple. It's better than flipping burgers.

• It's a great gig, with lots and varied kinds of perks. The teaching teams are just that: teams. The tenured faculty who lecture actually don't have a lot of involvement in the courses (other than their own lectures). The curriculum is set by faculty committees much as the core curriculum is at places like Chicago and Columbia. So it's pretty different from both a glorified TA-ship and a stint at MacDonald's.

• You can say it's a great gig, etc., but everyone at Stanford--and everywhere else--knows the difference between this pdoc and the Humanities Fellow pdoc. And anyone who has taught a discussion section for lecture understands what *that* means. Yes, it's a glorified TAship. That doesn't mean it might not be attractive in ways, but it is what it is.

• Who's saying it's not different? One is a research pdoc and one a teaching pdoc. If you're so down on it, don't apply. (3x!) And most TAships don't get a semester off and an $1,800 research fund.

Whoever is going around deleting text....STOP.

• Anyone had a response to their app yet? (3/16)

• A: no. But apparently they wait til the very end of things, when the year's market is kaput; these teaching fellowships go to Stanford grads who didn't get jobs, and then if there are any left they make offers to others. Porbably still quite awhile to wait.

• Their website also says that they start contacting people for first-round sort of stuff in mid-April, so that on top of everything else seems to indicate that it will be awhile before the first cuts are even made. It is a long wait.

• The decisions come so late because the courses aren't finalized until a late date and so the app deadline and reading process begins later than many fellowships. They're on a quarter system, so everything happens later there... I think that the phone interviews take place in early-ish to mid April. I could be wrong about that but I think that's when they do them.

• The website says phone interviews will be conducted after April 1. So anytime now, and the deadline this year was earlier than last year, so I would anticipate things happening a bit sooner than last time.

• shortlist email notification, 4/3/09 (x9)
• congratulations! Does this mean you get an interview? good luck. -- thanks. i believe it means phone interview. but email only asked if i was still available.

• so these jobs mostly go to Stanford grads who did not get a job? that's a little disconcerting. Well, I don't know why some have been complaining about this fellowship. It sounds like a great opportunity to ask large questions, hone down the craft of seminar teaching, while having time to get research & writing done because there is only ONE prep. Sounds like a dream postdoc to me....

• have any finalists heard anything beyond the email asking if they were still interested? -- I haven't. That was a week ago today (4/10) (x5).

• telephone interview on 4/10. Told they would contact me "early next week" about a possible on-campus interview. -- Hmm. Wonder what that means for the rest of us who rec'd that email telling us we were "shortlisted." Did they schedule the telephone interview with you, or just call you up? Thanks much for any info, and congrats on making some progress! -- I was contacted via email on 4/8 to set up a phone interview.

• Seems like f/ last years wiki that IHUM takes forever and the timeline often depends on the courses applied for.

• Emailed 4/14 to set up a phone interview

• Scheduled on-campus visit 4/15; Q: How much time elapsed between your phone interview and your on-campus interview request? A: 6 days.
• Anyone who applied for Humans and Machines heard anything beyond initial email?

A: I also applied for Humans and Machines. Haven't heard anything but emailed them this week to indicate a change of address, and they told me they are still shortlisting people for phone interviews. They said they'd be in touch within two weeks - that was 4/17. --Thanks for the update. Two weeks from 4/17?! That's so late! At my school profs are lining up TAs for the Fall right now . . .

Q: Are they shortlisting people for the phone interview from those who received an email? Or will all shortlist email recipients get a phone interview? Or are they still emailing shortlist candidates?

• Offer made and accepted (4/21) --Congrats! May we ask which courses? A: Laws and Orders; Making of the Modern World. --Thanks!

• Hello out there? Heard anything? -- Nothing here. And I'm very curious about the above poster's question: does anyone know if all of us who rec'd initial email will have a phone interview?

• Good questions. I actually sent an e-mail asking excatly that. I received an almost instant (formal) reply stating that some applicants will be contacted for phone interviews within the next two weeks - without clarification who the "some" would be and whether there's any connection between the phone interview and the initial e-mail. It looks like I received the same (or a similiar) e-mail the poster above (4/17) received, only that my inquiry was almost a week later. The reply was neiter addressed to me nor was my/our/the question answered. It looks like we just have to be patient, or perhaps call (?)

• Any more news? I cannot believe how slow this is all going!

• If you think this is slow, check last year's wiki.

• Offer made and to be accepted (4/24) -- Congratulations! May we ask which courses you were hired for? (Just so the rest of us can have some sense of whether the search committee has already moved forward on the courses we applied for . . . )

• Congrats to those who accepted job offers. So, of the nine who received the shortlist email (on this wiki page), only two have received interviews and job offers?

• Received call for Campus visit (4/30)
• I actually called yesterday (4/30), to see what's up. They said the same on the phone as in the emails the above posters received. Two weeks. Although now it's nearly two weeks from the email you wrote about above. Seems "two weeks" is the standard answer. I get that they have a lot of candidates, and cannot accept everyone. But there are still universities that deal with the job market a bit more timely. I have another offer now, which needs answering - the job is better, but it's not well paid and altogether a bit less prestigious. Would you accept or keep waiting?
• You told them you had another offer, and they still gave you the 'two weeks' answer? Wow. I'd wait as long as possible, but definitely wouldn't do anything to jeopardize an actual offer--this year's been tough and next year is only going to be worse. I'd give anything to NOT witness the horror show of next year's job market . . .
• I tend to agree, especially since this is for one year only. Is your job VAP/limited term, or more long term gig? I would really push the job, though, for as much time as possible. Of course, there are all these personal factors that only you can know about (location, moving, discipline, where you will get better mentorship etc etc etc) Good luck with it all! These are the kinds of maddening situations a lot of us are in, so best of luck! Its great that you got something this bad bad year. And yes, I agree with the poster above -- there is no indication that anything will get any better next year .... :(

• To the one who received the campus visit offer on 4/30: Did they call or email?

An admin person called about the campus visit, six days after my phone interview.

• To the person who got the job offer: I know the feeling, I have actually accepted another job, but could possibly give notice to them if Stanford say yes (although my current bosses might hate me for it), but I had to accept to be on the safe side. It's only a 50% position though so they can't really keep me back should Stanford of all places make me an offer. Oh well. On another note: does anyone know the odds of the Stanford gig being extended for three years, or is it really one year and happy-go-lucky afterwards?

• I think that the postdoc is easily renewed for up to three years (unless you're a major f*-up. I think the reason it's renewable each year is because they know that people will be going on the job market, and won't want a three-year fixed contract.
• So there are 3 people on this page who were invited to campus, 2 have already accepted positions. Considering that those of us on the wiki must be a smallish sample of total applicants, there are likely others who have already accepted spots too. Only 6-8 spots total. Beginning to get a strong suspicion that those of haven't heard aren't going to. Have to admit I'm a little peeved that first email said "shortlisted," when they clearly meant longlisted.
• I saw this announcement on the website: "Decisions for both the SLE Lectureship and IHUM Fellowship are expected to be annonunced by mid-May." This is not good news for those of us who were shortlisted, but did not receive a phone interview/campus visit.
• I have decided to accept the other job - thanks for the advice! I had to make a choice now and Stanford seems not to want me, or else I would have heard something beyond the initial email. I just don't get why they didn't tell me already when I called - they must have known then that I'm out. I also saw this announcement about mid-May, by the way, but wasn't it also there when they said they'd do phone interviews after 1st April? I am not so sure they are keeping to their timelines very well. I tend to agree with the above poster that those of us who haven't heard anything are probably out. I think it's maddening though that they should have emailed people saying they are shortlisted for phone interviews, and then never get in touch again. I know they have a choice and anyone should be so lucky as to be accepted, but then there are a lot of fantastic applicants that are unlucky each year, and they deserve a bit more respect. The way this whole process is conducted is adding insult to injury.
• After an enquiry I received an email today (5/6) which said that they're hoping (!) to finish contacting applicants for phone interviews (and subsequent campus visits) by the middle of next week. They are still finalizing about 6 positions, which are still a little bit in flux.
• Thanks much for the info. Q: Does that mean that there are 6 positions for which they're not sure if their incumbents are returning, or 6 positions that are wide open? Thanks again. A: According to the email, the 6 positions are still open: they are currently shortlisting people for these positions who will be contacted by next week for phone interviews. There are already shortlists, but they are still under discussion, so who's not on them now might be on them next week (which is what I was told as apparently I am not currently on a shortlist). Hope this helps. -- Does indeed help. Thanks much.
• To clarify, part of the reason for the delay/uncertainty is that some incumbents received job offers in the last few weeks, thus opening up unanticipated spaces for newcomers. So there's some shuffling currently going on.
• So does that mean those of us who haven't heard anything since the initial app. might be under consideration? Or is it only those who already received notification of being on some kind of shortlist? (05/10)
• I suspect only the current "semifinalists," sorry.
• One more Q: You don't happen to know which positions are still available (for which courses, that is)? Thanks for the info. Nope.
• Anyone hear anything?
• No, and I am very concerned that, in this case, no news is bad news.
• I wasn't contacted since the initial application, and got an email Friday saying that I will get an email about a phone interview. I don't know what to make of this. If they want to offer a phone interview, why not do it now? If they don't, why send me an email? Does anyone else find the way they conduct this search just the tiniest bit unprofessional? What's with the fantasy deadlines? Everyone else manages to do it decently.
• They probably wanted to see if you're still interested. Be happy that you got the phone interview request and ask them about the timeline when you speak!
• Congrats on your phone interview email btw. What does it mean to those of us who were shortlisted, when others who did not receive any news since their initial applications are now being contacted for a phone interview? If they are not interested, why not let us know? I had a feeling that when six positions were suddenly made available earlier this month, the search committee would have to revisit all applications, since their original list of semifinalists was based on old vacancies.
• Yes, I find this search unprofessional.
• I think that if they could expedite the process, they would. The unexpected six open positions has caused delays and extended deadlines. I agree with the above post that it would be nice to know whether or not shortlist candidates are still under consideration, since they are looking beyond this list for phone interviews.
• Did the person who received an email on Friday, get another email for the phone interview?
• No further email beyond the one last Friday - I called on Wed to ask and they told me they'd contact me.---Thanks for the info.
• Email reject 5/22. God am I glad that's over!
• Me, too. The email letter said: "We are faced with the difficult task of turning down a large number of very strong applicants, many of whom just happened not to have the particular disciplinary focus we were looking for."
• Why did they give applicants a list of courses to select from and write about, and then take away one or two courses after the application deadline?
• I haven't received a rejection. Did the work-study kid run out of time to send them all on the Friday before a holiday weekend?

Q: To the poster who mentioned that the IHUM program had canceled some of the originally-listed courses, how did you find this out? And if you don't mind, could you tell us what those courses were? Thanks!

• I, too noticed that the 2009-10 course list was revised/updated on March 31st, a month after the application deadline. I remember that there was an additional course, but I do not remember its name. It is no longer on the list. Perhaps this is the course to which the above poster was referring? It does seem unprofessional to have applicants base their selection on certain courses, and then revise this list, thereby making that applicant who chose a particular course now ineligible for the postdoc. This is a teaching postdoc, after all, dependent entirely upon specific courses!
• Rejection email states 637 qualified applicants for 15 positions. (to query above, 'Race, Gender and the Art of Survival' changed to 'Beyond Survival' but looks like much the same course).
• No, it has a different name, different description, and different texts.
• I was told by IHUM staff that it was a replacement. That course change ('Race, Gender...' to 'Beyond Survival') was also made before the application deadline. It does seem weird, but they state upfront that courses will be changing through the application period. I would guess they're looking more at your general aptitude (and ability to write about teaching) than specific courses. And with that many applicants, they have plenty to choose from.

Any other finalists, besides myself, who have never heard anything beyond the initial shortlist email back in April (for the record, it's now May 27)? Also, anyone else out there, besides myself, who think that the IHUM program has handled things in a completely unprofessional manner?

• I agree, it's majorly unprofessional. I also haven't heard anything, despite several enquiries, and ended up accepting another job. I am starting to think that the way a place treats their future employees /potential employees says a lot about how they'd value you once you're there. I wouldn't apply for this again (although, needless to say, I'd still go to Stanford for pretty much any other offer ;-)).

Stanford McCoy Center for Ethics in Society and Program on Global Justice Postdoc

• due Jan 10
• Jan 14 receipt of application via email

The Search Committee expects to make a decision by the end of February and you will be notified of it shortly after that.

• Rejection email received (02/03)+ 2

Syracuse University Humanities Faculty Fellowship

• deadline 2/15
• canceled per email 2/19
• couldn't they have figured this out before I wasted part of my weekend writing the letter?
• infuriating
• seriously.
• What's more annoying is the mumbly, sorta-kinda quality of the cancellation--"we very well might not appoint any fellows next year". Is this program really new? If not, there should automatically be vacancies when fellows finish up their two-year (?) stint. Pretty sketchy, if you ask me...

A: The email said that they had fewer current fellows leaving than expected ("smaller than expected contraction of our current cohort of fellows"). They probably have people leave and take tenure-track jobs every year (after one or two years), advertise yearly, and fill however many openings appear as people leave to accept tt jobs. With so many tt searches being canceled this year, people who might otherwise have left after one year may stay on.

R: Understood. Nonetheless, the fact that there's a limited tenure for the fellowship means that there should be at least SOME vacancies every year. The e-mail implied that there very well might be none at all, which doesn't compute unless (a) the program only began last year, (b) the administrators have extended the terms of their soon-to-be-unemployed fellows, or (c) the budget has been cut for next year. If it's (b) or (c), then running a search seems pretty pointless (and a waste of time for everyone involved). Just my two cents.

A: Not sure why you think there would have to be "at least SOME vacancies." In my very large grad dept, so far 2 people have gotten jobs total, out of about 35 people actively on the market. If none of the handful of teachers at Syracuse got anything, which is perfectly likely the way things are for most people everywhere this year, then voila, no new positions. The cancelled searches are annoying for us all, but in this case, how could they possibly know in advance?

So, is it canceled, or not?

Sweet Briar College, Teaching Postdoc

• ack email, 12/5
• ack email, 12/8
• dossier request sent directly to recommenders (12/11)
• I'm afraid I don't know what the above comment means. Could you explain? Why send a dossier request to the letter writers or is there some other 'recommender'?
• Ditto to above. A dossier is by nature already a collection of letters. I assume they meant that Sweet Briar contacted each of their recommenders individually, although the refusal to accept a dossier from a departmental credentials service seems very odd indeed. And, Q: how did you know that your recommenders were contacted? Did Sweet Briar tell you, or?
• Clarification: Sweet Briar contacted each of the recommenders individually for their rec letter rather than contacting the applicant. The recommenders passed on this information to the applicant; no contact from Sweet Briar to the applicant.

• ack email, 12/12 (X2)
• Thank you for the clarification - this makes sense now. But wow, they are moving fast if they already contacted from letter writers. Does anyone know anything about Sweet Briar's timetable?

• I got the distinct impression from brief exchanges that all applications received by 5 Dec would receive full consideration.
• Received email asking me to contact my references for letters.(1/7)(x2)
• So some people's recommenders were asked for letters last month, and yesterday they asked some (other?) candidates to contact references themselves? I haven't heard anything since the ack. letter. No idea if they have contacted my recommenders. (1/8)
• I'm one of the people who posted on 1/7. The email I received was the first time they asked to see my letters of recommendation. (My references weren't contacted individually last month for letters.) I'm not sure why they changed their procedure, but I figure it makes more sense to have candidates responsible for ensuring that letters get sent.
• I am wondering if the job ad might have caused confusion. I saw the ad in the Chronicle. It read to send "three references including contact information." I took that to mean they wanted the letters with the inital application matierals. But in looking back at it, I can easily see someone reading it to just ask for reference names. Perhpas realizing this confusion, the school is trying to be fair and request letters from those who did not send them already? Or perhpas that's wishful thinking?
• I think they wouldn't have asked for "references including contact information" if they wanted letters with the initial materials, as letters include contact information.
• References are the people who WRITE letters of recommendation, or letters of reference. If Sweet Briar wanted letters with the initial app, they would have said 'three letters of recommendation'. Has anyone heard anything else? (1/16)
• Regardless of what the job ad stated and how everyone interpreted it, it seems a good sign for those who didn't include letters to be contacted, and those who submitted letters initially shouldn't worry about not being contacted. There is enough stress in this process without wondering if we interpreted or misinterpreted job ads. Good luck to all.
• I'm sure they realized they could have been more explicit about what they wanted or didn't want with the initial packet. I can see how others interpreted it differently than I did.
• I contacted the school before submitting my application materials for clarification of the "references including contact information" request. Their answer was that for the early stage of review they just wanted a list of references and they planned to ask for references to be sent from selected applicants "so as not to overburden the reference writers."
• Anyone else not heard anything since the ack. email? (1/19)
• A: I haven't heart anything since the ack email. (x6)

• Never received an acknowledgment email. (x1)

• Request for phone interview. (2/4)

• Congrats! Just curious how you were contacted. Phone, email, mail? Thanks.
• Email first, then a phone call to set up the appointment.

• Email request for phone interview. (2/5)
• Same request.(2/6)
• Committee is meeting Thursday, February 12 to decide on final three for campus interviews.
• I was told the same. They also said there were 200 applicants for the position, and they implied that narrowing the pool had been a difficult process.
• Campus visit scheduled. (2/12)(x2)
• I was interviewed on the 11th, but I did not hear back for campus visit. <30k/per year for this fellowship!!!!!!!! Bullshit.
• It's true that the stipend for this fellowship is less than $30,000, but to be fair to them they offer free housing (and they will accommodate partners and/or children), including utilities, and a generous travel fund and moving expenses. Given these benefits, the fellowship is pretty much equivalent to other postdocs at liberal arts colleges.
• Has an offer been made?
• SEARCH CANCELLED BY DEAN AFTER 3 ON-CAMPUS INTERVIEWS. INFORMED VIA PHONE BY SEARCH COMMITTEE MEMBER AT 3:45 E.S.T. (3/9)
• I received a phone call with the same news today. It's frustrating and disappointing. (3/9)

Tulane University, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

([23] Deadline: December 1, 2008)

• Ack. snail mail, no details (11/08)
  • Any word? Anyone? (01/15)
    • Nope. (1/15)
      • Nope. (1/23)
• I heard from a very reliable source that they received about 400 applications (1/24)
• Does anyone know when official notifications are supposed to come out? What is the timeline?
• Have heard nothing. Also heard they received 400 applications
  • Still no word?
• Request for writing sample 2/5 + 1
  • +2, I neglected to ask them about timeline/next step, etc.. Did anyone who got asked for more stuff inquire?
• A question for those who were contacted: were you asked to send writing samples by the Assistant Dean's office where we sent the applications or by the department with which you expect to be affiliated?
  • Neither. Contacted by member of "selection committee". Didn't ask about timeline. Anyone else?
• It's been a month since the requests for writing samples. Has anyone heard either way?
• Request for interview 3/7 (by email) (x2)
• A friend of mine got this last week (3/23). Not sure how many they are awarding.
• Rejection Email Received 5/29

University of California Humanities Research Institute (UCHRI) Residential Research Group, "Species Spectacular"

• Due 12/10/2008
• offer made (2/3)
• Congratulations. Did they indicate how many of these they're offering? I thought we were supposed to hear in March?
• Offer accepted (4/13)

University of California President's Postdoc

• Successive acknowledgements re. various materials (11/21)
• Anyone hear anything yet?
• How early have they started making offers in the past? Do they really wait until March?
• According to last year's wiki, people were contacted Feb 8 by phone with a formal letter a week and a half later. The deadline was later last year, though. (2/6)
• Offer made, via phone! Social science (2/9)
• Congrats! Anyone in the humanities hear anything???
  • Do they announce all fields at the same time?
• Offer made, via phone, humanities (2/9)
• Good question, heres another one. Does anyone know how many applicants they get?
• I was told they got about 500 applications.
• Did anyone receive a rejection letter yet? I am sure mine is on its way.... (2/24)
• rejection letter by regular mail (2/24)
• Are there alternates? Are they notified in a similar fashion? (2/26)
• I don't know, but I did not get a rejection and I live in Berkeley. Is there a reason to hold out hope? Has anyone contacted them?
• I made an entry last night, and it appears that someone deleted it!  I was notified yesterday by email that I am an alternate for the social sciences section.  Yesterday was the deadline for people to accept, but as of late afternoon only 8 of 20 people had accepted, meaning that people are still negotiating other offers and there is still a possibility of more positions being offered to alternates. (3/4)
• I know, someone keeps erasing this; I am the other hopeful alternate. I called today and they said they will start making phone calls tomorrow to people who have not replied and hopefully by the end of the week there will be a better sense of where things stand. Also, there is the possibility that something may open up if current postdocs choose not to extend (if they get a job, I suppose). So, I think there is reason for hope for us. I am in the humanities and have been bumped up to the first. What did she say to you exactly about the possibility of creating positions in the humanities if other social science people reject it? Thanks! [Please don't erase this posting. It is important for us to keep sharing info!]
• How many alternates are there, or how many alternates did they contact? I'm in the no-rejection no-phone call camp.
• There was an email sent out to the alternates. You should call.
• Has anyone spoken with them today? They were supposed to begin calling people who have not yet responded. Thanks! (3/5)
• This is the social science alternate (sorry, I forgot to check this the past few days). Here's what they told me last Monday: I am #2 on the waitlist but was originally #5 and was bumped up when several people decided not to renew for the second year.  So it appears that there won't be any more openings due to people not renewing.  However, there is still the chance of others declining the offer altogether.  Because social sciences was already given three extra positions, they are more likely to give more to humanities before coming back to my list.  Though I'm not sure how the biological sciences and math lists fit into it.  Regardless, I think they are still giving people more time to decide and I will probably wait until the end of the week to contact them again.  Good luck! (3/8)
• Thank you. I don't want to keep calling, so this information is really helpful. I will probably call mid-week if I don't hear anything and I will keep you posted. You don't happen to know how many of the 8 who have accepted are in humanities vs. social science or math/science, do you? Good luck to you too and may we both have the patience to keep waiting...and waiting (I am not complaining, but it is hard not to know!) (3/8)
• Waiting this out is really difficult!  Btw, I heard yesterday that a friend of mine who was offered the UCOP for social sciences declined.  So you might want to call them today and find out if they are going to give this slot to the humanities. Maybe you can check in with them and see how many people have accepted? I think you've got a great shot at getting it! (3/10)
• Oh thank you! I left a message yesterday but have not heard back. I hate bugging these people, but I will call at the end of the day if I have not heard anything. Was this a new decline? (3/10)
• Yes, it was a new decline.  She decided yesterday. (3/10)
• Offer made (humanities alternate) (3/12).
• I knew you would get it!  Congrats!!!

-- thanks!  any word for you?? 

-not yet, but have moved up the list!

-- I am keeping my fingers crossed for you!!

• People should be aware of the fact that UCOP misrepresents the salary of the fellowship on their website.  While they claim that it is worth "up to $55,000" for the social sciences and humanities, $10,000 of that is for health benefits, etc.  Thus a friend of mine received an offer of $40,000, which she was able to negotiate up a bit due to having an alternate offer.  In the end she took the other offer, as the salary was far higher, resources were better, and there was more of a hiring incentive.  FYI.
• Keep in mind that I heard all of this second-hand, but I heard that the UCOP hiring incentive is by no means a done deal.  That is, people who get it shouldn't be assured that they will get interviews at the UC, particularly as the whole system is on a hiring slowdown/freeze for the next couple years.  The hiring incentive was much stronger at the other university that my friend was considering.  She also said that if you get another offer in addition to the UCOP, there is definitely room to negotiate for a higher salary.

winners posted: http://www.ucop.edu/acadadv/ppfp/2009-10awards.html

University of California at Berkeley Chancellor's Postdoc

• Complete application notification (11/18)
• How early have they started making offers in the past? Do they really wait until March?
• When do they notify normally? Anyone heard anything?
• No offers made? (2/17)
• Emails going out today (2/20)
• rejection email (2/20) at least they bother to respond!
• just called them, they said winners would not be announced for 2-3 more weeks. (2/23)
• I heard they're down to a short list of 14 and should announce in about 2 weeks. (3/5)
• Anything???
• Nothing here.

University of California at Berkeley Ciriacy-Wantrup Postdoctoral Fellowship in Natural Resource Economics and Political Economy

([24] Deadline: December 8, 2008)

University of California, Berkeley Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in the Humanities

deadline 1/23

• don't suppose anyone has heard anything here yet...?
• it's been 2 weeks.
• they forward the applications to the relevant humanities departments. The depts then nominate up to two candidates to the College of Letters and Sciences. I wouldn't be surprised if the process took a while. I'll try to check and see what their time line is, and the nomination deadline for departments.
• I was just told (because one of my letters is missing) that the review process begins early next week.
• sweet. thanks for posting.
• Some more info: they expect to give out 5 this year and will announce decisions in early March. Fingers crossed for all of us!
• thanks. the original ad was vague about the number of fellows (at least one). So of course five would be a great improvement if it's true that they're expecting to give that many out. Do you know whether the applications have been forwarded to humanities departments yet?
• any other helpful info?

-- did anyone get a confirmation of receipt? i sent mine the day of the deadline and didn't get any notice

• I delivered mine in person--no confirmation of receipt either.
  • Me too
    • I had to email to confirm that they had received everything. They are very nice, so if you are nervous, you should just email. From what I understand, the applications went to the departments/research units for review 2 weeks ago and now they are going through another committee or the humanities division for the final cut. Has anyone heard anything? I know official announcements are in March, but it seems like these postdocs do personal phone calls about a week before official announcements to the lucky people. This is just my guess, though.
    • I had to email re: their timeline. Details are: due date for nominations by departments - March 2. Then they go to the broader committee for head-to-head decisions. They ballparked the final decision for me at somewhere around the 14th. (whether or not that will be preceded by a phone call, like previous poster suggests, I don't know.)
    • I emailed on 3/2 to ask about the timeframe and was told that they hope to make decisions this week. Let's not all hold our breath, though. They also said that they'll be contacting everyone about their status.
• I emailed today to see if I was still in the running. They hope to make the final cut by Friday, the 6th, but they said "hope," not guarantee.
• But the departments' nomination deadline was only Monday 3/2.  It's hard to see how they could read through and discuss the applications of the 46 (maximum, that is, assuming all 23 humanities departments nominate 2 people) possible candidates and let us all know in just a few days.  Unless they had already decided in advance which of the departments' nominations will be considered most seriously... So, unless they're super-human(ities) fast, these L&S folks (and who knows, they might just be!), or unless they've already somehow decided which departments' will house (or most need) postdocs in their departments, I imagine we'll be hearing a bit later than Friday the 6th (tomorrow). 
• any offers (3/6)? I swear the email said to me "we hope to notify winners by Friday of this week, if not earlier."
• I just don't understand how they could possibly carefully review all nominated candidates' applications between Monday and Thursday (they hoped for earlier?!) unless they'd already determined which departments would get a postdoc in advance. Am I crazy?
• I got the same info in an email, but I suppose there's often a disconnect between the perspective of the administrators and the faculty members who sit on such committees.
• offer extended (3/6)
• congrats! may i ask which dept? how did they contact you and/or do you know how many they selected?
• have all the offers gone out?  anyone else heard from them?  (x3:  I would be so grateful to know if I am out of the running.) - me too. i know i was nominated by the dept, but have not been able to get any more info...
• I would be so grateful for info too.  I was also nominated by the dept, and am waiting waiting.  I'm assuming the "3x" above are from three people seeking info, not from three people who've received offers? 
• yes...those seeking info.
• info-seeker here as well. has anyone called today???
• nope.  sent an email query, though.  no response so far.  they're probably busy and (since?) inundated with questions from desperately hopeful nominees.
• I also emailed but have heard nothing. Has anyone been able to get any more info? Doesn't seem good at this point....(3/10)
• How do some know that they were nominated by the department? Were those nominated informed of this formally via email, or did you find out unofficially? Just curious
• I asked last week if I was still in the running (via email to the administrator) and he informed me I had been nominated. But now, I cannot get a response... ugh(Yesterday, all my troubles seemed so far away... :) (3/10)
• i also was informed of my nomination unofficially (I don't think they notify officially).  Looks like perhaps they did make all their offers on Friday and only one person offered has posted.  Does anyone know exactly how many postdocs there are?  Someone posted above that they intended to offer five. So that must mean that four people just haven't posted to the wiki.  Or maybe they're doing it department by department (?)  Who knows.  The second option leaves just enough room for the awful awful hope that one clings to in these situations.  But I think above poster is probably right: this can't be good.  They probably can't get back to us with info about our applications because they're waiting to see who will accept and who will not accept among those offered the postdoc.  Cheers.
• So this may be the "awful awful hope" mentioned above, but anyone happen to know if they have an alternate list? I wish they could just let us know about the process, if not our specific applications. All this waiting on multiple maybes is making me nuts.... and serving as a bad diversion from the dissertation....(3/10)
• I'm sure they must have an alternate list.  but do we even know if they've finished making offers?  and if so, will they wait two weeks to contact alternates once those with offers have had a chance to accept or deny?  Also: if they are choosing based on departments and not solely on individual applications, then if someone turns it down does the offer go to the other person the dept nominated (in the case that the dept nominated two people rather than one)?  or do they offer it to another applicant working in a completely different field?  Or maybe they are choosing on the basis of individual applications and somehow managed to read through all of them between monday and thurs.  this is just aimless wondering from someone who has no idea and is just guessing and awfully hoping. 
• Has anybody called instead of emailing? (3-10)
• I'd do it now, but I already emailed yesterday, and don't want to be a complete pain in the arse. You wanna give it a try and let us know what you learn?  Not to put you on the spot, but, would you, please? 
• I emailed too and am worried about being "that person." I have a few of these pins and needles situations and it is making me crazy too, like someone else up there said.... Maybe f it makes me too unfocused I will, but if anyone else who is email free wants to, we would all greatly appreciate it!
• would the person who got the offer mind sharing any information you may have about the process for the rest of us? was there mention of how many offers there were etc? also, which discipline are you in? thanks so much!!
• I got an email today notifying me I am on the short list of alternates and that those given offers need to get back by March 20th, at which point they will go back to the list. (3/13). x2

- Me too.  Did you get any info on how many of us there are and if there is a ranking?  Also, were someone to decline, do you know when they would make decisions.  Good luck to       
           everyone!   Is this the "awful hope" that never allows for closure? (3-17)

• Rejected (and it feels so good!) via email
• It does feel good. I should buy a beer, on Friday the thirteenth no less.
• Sorry, I meant buy "you" a beer. How crazy is this whole thing?
  • why does it feel good? i want to feel good too!! tell me... (email rejection received 3/12)
  • rejection (3/13)
  • does anyone know how many offers were made, or whether they have been accepted?  Will they contact waiting list by Monday 3/23?
  • They made 5 offers and 3 were accepted. One person had until Friday to decide and the other has until the 24th. This is all according to an email from the administrator. (I am on the list too). Does anyone know how many of us there are? Also, I don't know if they were going to wait to hear from both candidates before going back to the list, or if the 4th slot filled up (either by the person accepting the offer, or them going to someone else on the list...) It doesn't appear that those of us on the back up list are ranked, which makes me think they may be doing it be field. (e.g. For another postdoc, I was told I was the 2nd on the list, but for this one, he just said I was on it and they would make decisions when and if there are declines) Does anyone know the fields of the candidates who were offered the postdoc? ( 3/23).
  • Yes. They made 5 offers, three were accepted. The person who had until Friday 3/20 declined, and they made another offer from wait list on the same day.  Extremely nice and patient administrator said he had the impression that both the alternate offer (who has until the 31st to accept) and the person who has until tomorrow (3/24) to decide would both likely accept.  If either of them declines, however, they will return to the wait list, which isn't ranked in any clear way.  My theory is that they are deciding, at least in part, on the basis of candidates' field/department (?), which does account for their quick turnaround from nomination to offer a couple of weeks ago as well.  But I could easily be quite wrong about this. Anyway, the "takeaway" is that things aren't looking too good for those left on the waitlist. 
    • Thanks. I may email tomorrow to see what fields are pending -- has anyone asked this? I have had three wait list experiences this year (one of which resulted in an offer), so I know never to give up, but it isn't looking too good. I motion for constellation prizes.... How many of us are there??? (3/23)

-- Hello alternates. So I finally emailed the very nice administrator and was told "We received approximately 230 applications, and of these about 25 were nominated to the committee from potential hosts (in most cases 1 nomination from each potential host), and after the 5 initial offers about 10 of the strongest nominees were placed on a waiting list." He also said that the waitlist "isn't exactly determined by field," so I am not sure what that means. Finally, he confirmed what is stated above that 4 have accepted and the last person has until the 31st, but it is looking like it will be accepted. I wish they had 10 postdocs instead of 5!!! Alas... (3/24) --- Last offer accepted, according to email from administrator: "I just heard that the last outstanding offer has been accepted, so unfortunately we won't be able to extend any more offers. We will be running the program again next year and you are absolutely welcome to apply again." (3/30) Oh well.... At least now I/we have some closure, and hopefully other options.... I still want to know if we get some sort of honorable mention, or something....

• • • Have the recipients been posted? I was a wait list person and am curious... (I got a good position I am happy with, so it really is out of pure curiosity). Good luck to everyone! (4/1)
• I never got an official rejection (I was a wait list person). Are we allowed to put on our CVs that we were a "finalist"?

UCLA, "Institute of American Cultures"

[25]

• 1 yr postdoc
• deadline 1/16/09
• rejection received via snail mail 4/6/09
• " " 4/25/09

University of California, Los Angeles "Cultures in Transnational Perspective"

(info Deadline February 2, 2009)

• Complete application notification (1/9)

• Q: Do they really notify as late as April? (2/17)

• I was told late Feb. early March by the department administrative assistant.

• application acknowledgement received by snail mail dated 2/17 (2/21)

• asked and was told the committee will meet in early march, decisions to be made in mid to late march (2/23)

• any word on this one yet? (3/12)

• I also asked on March 11 and was told that "
• I asked on March 13 and was told decisions would be made in late March or early April (eeek) (3/14)
• Is it late march yet??? (3/23)
• Anything new???
• nothing on my end...
• I emailed a few days ago because I need to respond to other offers. No reply yet.... FYI -- I heard from a friend who is a current postdoc that they are accepting fewer this year (I seem to remember her saying 2 or 3, but could be wrong) and they are really pressing for people to stay just one year. Good luck to everyone! I will post if I get an answer. BTW, which email did people who got responses use? The generic Mellon one, or those of the faculty in charge? (4/1) Its "early April!" :)
• The generic Mellon email yielded the same generic responses for everyone. Let us know if you hear anything.
• Try Laura Clennon at clennon@humnet,ucla.edu if you haven't already. She's listed on the Mellon website and returned my email early on in the process.
• I called Laura on April 1st and she is very nice but did not know when they would be meeting to make a decision. I also wrote one of the faculty organizers, and have not heard back yet. They were on break last week so I am hoping that now that they are all back on campus it will happen soon.
• "Mid April" is the latest word from the faculty steering committee.

• • • Thanks. I finally just accepted one of the other offers. I could not wait any more! Not strategic, I guess, but six months of waiting (some of my first applications were due in Oct!) finally got to me. And now I am actually writing my dissertation instead of worrying all the time! What a process. Good luck to everyone. Just out of curiosity are most of you ABD or PhD??
    • Hi. I just defended a week and a half ago. I've been ABD for most of the cycle of applications this year. Congrat's on your other offer in any case--I've been on the job market since Oct., as well, and I am hoping something will come through either here or someplace else....soon. Best of luck to everyone on the job market! May our anxiety and hand wringing end soon for all of us!
    • congrats on your defense (above). i am hoping this one will be better because many people have already accepted positions at this point. wishing a reason to end the wringing of hands to everyone...
    • to poster who had other offers, would you mind saying where they were?
  • Sure: UC President's and GWS position. Why?
  • I heard from a current post doc that they are only taking one new postdoc for 2009-2010, that they have already made the selection, and that they are waiting for the provost's approval to contact that lucky him or her.
    • Does the current postdoc know who it is? I guess this means we will hear next week. One person, down from 4 or 5. That is too bad....
    • No, current postdoc does not know who it is.
    • Rejection email received 4/10 (x 4)

Rejection email 4/10 also x5! with generic message about the great candidates, university needs, and encouraging reapplication next year. Congrats to the chosen ones.

• Was there really only one postdoc chosen?
• So, what happened with this posdoc?
• Rejection email June 10. How difficult was for them to select the list of finalist, etc

University of California, Los Angeles "Homosexualities, from Antiquity to the Present"--Mellon Sawyer Postdoc

(Deadline: March 13, 2009)

any others in here applied for this one? (3/18) yes! (3/18) also yes! (3/18); Yes me too (3/18) And yes, me too. (3.18) Here as well....

• Q: Is anyone else working pre-1900?

A: yes, I am working pre-1900.

• Decision will be made early May, and there will be no interviews (I emailed and received reply from Prof Bristow, 4/10)

• Letter in mail today saying essentially same as above (decision in early May) (4/20)
• I received an email saying that the decision will be made in the third week of May (4/24)
• email (responding to my request) notifying that offer made & accepted (5/15)

University of California, San Diego, Center for Comparative Immigration Studies

Deadline 1/15 '

University of Chicago, Earl S. Johnson Postdoctoral Instructor in the MAPSS Program

• Deadline June 5
• Anyone else apply for this?
• Yep, great opportunity to work with grad students. The committee should move quickly
• Anyone heard anything? (6/18)
• Called on Friday, decisions have been made apparently. Rejection letter to come. Good luck finding something! (6/30)

University of Chicago, Harper and Schmidt

(info Deadline: November 3, 2008)

• Q: The deadline is slightly later this year than last. Anyone know if we'll hear anything before the holidays?

-no definitive answer but take a glance at wikis from previous years and you will see why they have a reputation as notoriously slow. While interviews tend to occur fairly promptly in February, some alternates will likely receive their offers as late as April 2009 . . .

• A: The U of C typically waits to award new postdocs until they know which of their current postdocs are leaving for tenure-track jobs. In other words, their fellowships aren't really decided upon until the tenure-track job market has wrapped up.
• That's true, but I think the initial poster was probably just asking if U of C would be requesting additional materials before the holidays. If so, answer is: that is the usual run of things.

Note: They received around 1100 applications this year (from a well-informed inside source, but this sounds pretty high--more than double what they received a few years ago).

WOW, yes, that is a HUGE jump from previously. Is it...the economy? Anyway, thanks for posting this info. I don't suppose you know when they'll be asking for additional materials, do you?

That is an enormous applicant pool!?!? I know someone said above that the number of fellowships awarded depends on how many current fellows leave, but does anyone know -roughly- how many they award each year? Thanks.

• I was just looking at the list of current fellows. Slightly more than a third of them got their Ph.D.'s at Chicago, for whatever that's worth.

• In terms of how many are awarded each year, if you go on the current fellows page, you can see how many there are, and that will give you a rough idea of how many could conceivably open up. Q: Has anyone been asked for a Writing Sample yet this year??

• No requests here. After looking at the current fellows page, I calculate (roughly, with a big guess) they'll be looking for three, or a maximum of four, humanities fellows this year. I don't know how this will break down when one takes into account different fields in the humanities. 1100 applicants: yikes. Given the dire state of the job market this year, I would imagine there won't be much movement among Harper Schmidt fellows who haven't completed their time there. Good luck to all.

12/11 Writing sample requested via e-mail. (x3) 12//22 Writing sample requested via e-mail (x1) Humanities

• are you humanities or soc. science?
• humanities (x3)
• Q: did any of you who received ws requests apply for both the humanities and the social sciences? just wondering how they coordinate requests since presumably they won't want to ask twice.

• Q: Does anyone know if they have sent rejection notices (either so far this year, or in past years)? Just wondering if the lack of an e-mail request for a writing sample means I should give up on this one.

• I'm pretty sure that several years ago they received something like 800 applications.. and the deadline was a bit earlier then. So the jump to 1100 doesn't seem unbelievable/extraordinary this year... [U. of C. almost as popular as Obama administration for job-seekers]

• A: If memory serves, they never sent rejection letters last year.
• did the humanities people who've had ws requests receive their requests on the 12/11, or did you receive the request later, when you updated? Just asking, I'm wondering whether they're done requesting.

• Q: Does anyone know how big the short list is?

• Q: has anyone in the social sciences heard anything yet? All I've had is silence...

Nope. All silent for me too (Social Science and Civ).

BTW, last year the Social Science search ran a month behind the Humanities in asking for writing samples & etc, so sit tight. (I know, easier said than done...)

• • • Adding to what was said above, when I applied last year, I didn't get asked for a writing sample from Social Sciences until January.

A: If you don't get a rejection letter, don't give up hope. The can call people for interviews (and ask for w.s. at the same time) as late at early March. It depends whether all of the people who get offers accept them. Since some of those people will also get TT job offers and take them, slots continue to open up even into the new year... Good luck!

Q: I interviewed with them 2 years ago, and they definitely asked for a writing sample beforehand (around now). Is that true, that they sometimes ask for a writing sample when they ask for an interview??

12/22 writing sample request (x3)

• For those who got the writing sample request -- are you in social sciences? A: humanities B: humanities as well. any idea how many are there in this long-short list?

Request for a writing sample (1/15; social sciences [x9])

• Looks like humanities asked for materials first, in mid-to-late December, and now social sciences is asking in mid-January. Does that sound about right?

Does anyone know, or have a sense, of how long it will be until humanities, and social sciences will make decisions and schedule the first rounds of interviews?

No word back. No sense of timing (in social sciences). Not even a confirmation of receipt of writing sample materials (1/22).

• You might resubmit your materials. I received email confirmation of receipt within about 30 minutes of submitting (1/23)

• Spoke to admin, humanities interviews likely to be in February and March, social sciences will have to wait to hear about interviews at least until March (early, late, unknown?). (1/23)

• 1/27: received invitation for campus interview via e-mail (Humanities). Interview date between 2/23 and 2/27. E-mail stated that there were over 600 applications for Humanities.
• 1/28 invitation for campus interview via e-mail (Humanities). Interview date between 3/2-6.

Does anybody know whatever happened to the European history field?

• A: I assume that the European History field runs on a similar schedule as the Social Sciences--that is, a month or so behind the Humanities. But, to be honest, the number of slots to teach Euro Civ as a Harper/Schmidt at Chicago is rather small (less than three) and some years there aren't any slots available at all. Sorry to be such a downer.

• Any thoughts as to how many campus interviews they're doing? And/or any new conjectures as to how many fellow they are looking for this year (Humanities)?

A: Probably 2 or 3 in Humanities. With such a slow market, there's little turn-over, etc., etc.

• 2/5 writing sample request (social sciences)

• Also asked for writing sample on 2/5 (social sciences)

Q: Do social sciences interviews begin once the humanities ones have ended? Any interview requests yet? (2/25)

• 2/26 Invitation for campus interview via email (Humanities). Interview date week of 3/16.
• Has anyone from social sciences been invited for an interview yet? (3/4)
• 3/2 Invitation for campus interview via email (Social Sciences). x2

3/5: 3 Humanities positions open at this stage.

• Has anyone from Art History been invited for an interview yet? I would really like to know the status of that search.(3/23)

4/6 Any word from social sciences?

• 4/9: Offer received by phone for social sciences.
• Question: were alternates or others who were shortlisted notified?

* any news for Humanities fellowships (4/14)?

• 4/15 Rejection email finally received. Letter said that 5 offers are expected to be made out of an applicant pool of 700. Odds of getting hired= .7% Congratulations to the recipients.

• 4/16 Does last entry (rejection email) refer to Humanities or SS ? Still waiting for response from Humanities... I'm the 4/15 poster: Humanities

I am the one who asked. Thank you for the clarification. I am still waiting for a response from Humanities (4/16).

• 4/16 rejection by email, SS.(x2)
• 4/18 Humanities finalists probably shouldn't expect formal rejections. After a campus interview last year, I never heard from them; no returned e-mails or phone calls. I was tempted to show up in August and say, "Well, since I never heard anything from you, I assume the interview must have gone great. Now where's my office?"

• 5/5 Information for waitlisted candidates: notification that there will be most likely no need for additional fellows. (Humanities)

• 6/18 Sixteen weeks after the interview, neither offer nor rejection. Impolite.

University of Chicago, Provost's Career Enhancement

(Deadline January 23rd, 2009)

• Any news?
• I applied, but haven't heard anything yet (2/20), not even an ack of application. + 1
• I did get a confirmation of application receipt, but I had to email them to get it.(2/21)
• Offer extended to at least one person (3/6)
• how was that person notified?
• Rejection letter via email (3/11)x2
• neither rejection nor offer (3/11) others?
• had to email to get rejection...240 applicants from "all over the world". my guess is all offers have gone out. but email did say another search will begin possibly as early as the fall
• ditto. do you read a "search as early as next fall" as just the same postdoc being offered in 2010-2011, or something else?
• I wondered the same thing.  I was *hoping* that they might hire someone mid-year depending on the financial state of the university...but I think it is probably 2010-2011.
• If it is any consolation, I spoke with one of the faculty members early in the process when I asked if she would sponsor my application. She said she had been swamped with requests for sponsorship, but that the Provost's office had not been really prepared and never gave faculty members direction on what criterion to follow. She is pretty ethical, and felt it was not her place to make this kind of a decision, that it would favor those who already had personal connections with faculty etc etc, so she went back to the Office of the Provost and told them this. As a result of her feedback, they changed the process halfway through, no longer prioritizing applicants with faculty endorsements, as the original call asked us to get. I am unclear how it all played out, but what is clear is that they did not have a clear decision process, nor did they anticipate so many applications. So, perhaps the "search as early as fall" could mean that they are figuring out their process now, but may still have funding for more postdocs in the near future.... I hope so! Anyhow, a huge congrats to those who got this one, and perhaps you can fill the rest of us in if there is any more info!

University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign AF/AM post doc

• i was informed that they had made an offer (3/26) (x2)

University of Maryland Lat American Studies Postdoc

• (4/9) I just got .doc file rejection in an ambiguous email that read "If you have any questions please contact us." Now, why would anyone need to contact a department about a rejection? Q: did anyone else get such a rejection. A (true) affirmative answer would be appreciated so I can put to sleep the (dumb but, given my worries about next year, unavoidable) suspicion that they really meant to attach the acceptance file to my email.

(4/14) notification of my alternate status --i.e. top two candidates already offered the residency positions

University of Michigan Center for Afroamerican and African Studies, Du Bois-Mandela-Rodney Postdoctoral Fellowship

• deadline 11/30
• any application acknowledged?
• I got an email a few weeks ago informing me that the review process would extend until March 20th this year (earlier they had stated that they would finalize decisions by 3/1)
• have offers gone out on this one? i haven't heard a word since the email stating that the announcement would be on 3/20...(4/3)
• nothing here either (x2)
• called and found out that they have offered the postdoc. i was told that they sent out email notifications at some point, though nothing ever made it to my inbox. 4/13. (x2)
• received snail mail rejection 4/27 (x2)

University of Minnesota Postdoctoral Fellowship

Any News? None as of 1/15 They've been reviewing apps. 2/9 rejection received by mail 2/17 (x2). Still have heard nothing... Am I the only one? Nothing here as well - I'm on the West Coast 2/19 (x3) Nothing here, either, Midwest. (2/21) On the East Coast, nothing (2/23) (x2) Reply to email inquiry saying the awards will be announced by the end of February. Good luck, everybody! (2/23). nothing as of 3/4 (x5) Has anyone heard anything? (2/9) Still nothing (3/9). Emailed to inquire about appl. status; didn't make it to the next round. (3/10) Called and they said decisions would be made in the next 2 weeks, out in late March (3/10).  Well, I think it is officially later March but haven't heard anything.  Has anyone else? (3/36) still nothing here (3/26). official rejection received. 131 applications. 3 awards given. (4/1). Rejection email ("not a finalist") 4/1. Rejection email not a finalist--there were 131 applicants (all of us are wonderful, blah, blah, blah)

University of North Carolina, Postdoc Program for Faculty Diversity

(Deadline: 8 January 2009)

• received email rejection 2/19 x4
• rejection 2/20

University of Pittsburgh, Humanities Center Postdoc

(ad Deadline: 9 February 2009)

• did they advertise this fellowship anywhere else? this is the first I've heard of it.
• Sorry, I don't know if it was advertised elsewhere. It came up on H-Net near the end of January (so pretty close to the deadline), I couldn't find any information about the humanities center on the Pitt website, so I've got no idea. Maybe it's a new center? Or it's an inside job, and they just advertised it for the (EEO minimum) 14 days.
• Yeah, there's something fishy about this one. The fix is in!
• Actually, I looked on Google and they did advertise at the start of January with the CAA, so possibly elsewhere too. But they ignored my email sent to the 'enquiries are welcome' email address...
• I saw this advertised in the newsletter of the Medieval Academy. I wrote an inquiry to the administrator about the language "Ph.D. in hand at time of application" but did not get a response. Also wondered why so sparsely advertised.
• I called to ask if my application arrived OK (I telephoned the English dept as that was the address for apps). Very helpful department admin, told me the Humanities Center is new, will be headed by Jonathan Arac.
• Nearly 2 months since the deadline, anyone heard anything at all? (4/3)
• Rejection letter received (west coast) Apr. 20 x2

University of Pittsburgh, World History Postdoc

([[26]] Deadline February 28, 2009)

• Anyone received an acknowledgment?
• Nothing at all from them yet (4/7)
• Did anyone else apply for this? (is it even still happening?) (4/25)
• Rejection email saying postdoc went to Thomas J. Anderson of Binghamton University.

University of North Carolina, Center for the Study of the American South

Deadline 1/9

• Offer made by mail (02/20)
• Snail mail rejection received on West Coast (3/9)

University of Oklahoma, Expository Writing Program

Deadline 5/1

• http://h-net.org/jobs//display_job.php?jobID=38396
• I received a request for a phone interview on Tuesday (I mailed in my materials back in March), but I turned it down because I have already accepted a position. Good luck to everyone who is applying for this one! (4/9)
• Anyone have word on campus visits, since phone interviews are now complete? 4/24
• How do we know that phone interviews are complete? The deadline is May 1. They got my stuff on 4/24: is it even being considered? (4/26)
• I think they've moved up the dates...I had a phone interview and they said they were completing them over a week ago. I honestly don't know, though, if they are still looking at incoming materials. Sorry to possibly be the bearer of bad news! (4/26)

University of South Carolina, Institute of Southern Studies

Any word?

No word as of 4/15 but USC employment webpage says application is "under review." Please, Lord.

Anything?

University of South Florida

• Renewable pdoc in English, anthropology, communication, geography, and philosophy
• email alerting me that one of my letters hasn't arrived. hopefully this means they're getting right down to work (1/7)
• I was told there are 290 applications. --That's not bad really, compare with U. Chicago.
• No, it's not bad in comparison with Chicago. But realize that Chicago's apps were several hundred less in previous years; you can gauge the extent to which the number of apps schools are receiving--relative to the amount each one would normally receive, which varies from school to school--indicates that a whole lot of people are worried about not finding a TT, or about getting let go from their VAP, etc.
• Anybody in anthropology apply? The department position announcement says they plan to do on-campus interview Mid-January. Any information on this?
• I did, but no news yet (1/15)
• WHOA, there is NO way they could be asking for campus interviews mid-January when the deadline was 1/5. Is there? Unless this is the world's fastest-moving committee. I'm an applicant in English; was this announcement made by the dep't of anthro, specifically?
• Yes, it was made by anthropology department which also says the search committee would be available for AAA conference in last Nov...so I thought it might be possible for on-campus interview in mid-Jan. if they start reviewing the applications long before the deadline stated by their graduate school.
• I applied in Geography and there is no mention of interviews in Jan by that dept. I got an email on the 5th about a missing letter but have had no further contact.
• I was told by someone in the English department there that the fships "usually go to the sciences." Is that true? I am in English, so I hope not.
• Applied and still waiting to hear back as of 1/6/09. Hoping for good news soon!!
• It is February 12th and I have heard NOTHING. Anyone have any news at all?
• Nothing here either.
• I heard they have a list of 20 finalists. (2/17)
• How did you hear that? Are they notifying?
• I also heard that they have gotten to the finalist list point, but didn't know that it was 20. All I have to go on so far is gossip. Nobody has received formal letters that I know of or formal requests for interviews. Let's all just keep hoping for the best outcome for one another!!!
• emailed to find out my status because i have another offer. learned that they have 21 finalists and i'm not among them. i don't believe these 21 have been contacted. (2/20)
• called for status update. They are still working with a list of 20 finalists.(3/3)
• what happened to those earlier posts about a shorter list? not true? (3/10)
• They are contacting 6-7 finalists to invite them for campus interviews (3/10)
• Offer made and accepted (3/27)

University of Sydney, United States Studies Centre

(info Deadline March 16, 2009)

As per the USSC website (http://ussc.edu.au/research/postdoctoral-fellows), they received 180 applications for up to 6 fellowships.

--email ack 3/25; saying decision likely by 4/17. 6 out of 180 is actually significantly better odds than many of the other postdocs (3 out of 500, 4 out of 920, etc)

thanks for info, those are halfway decent odds.

No word yet?

None here. They said that were going to notify the recipients by 4/17, so I guess none of the successful candidates are on the wiki . . .

So you think they're sticking to that date? I guess I'll write them and ask, I need to know soonish.

Well, the acknowledgment email said: "We envisage that successful applicants will be notified by email as close to 17 April 2009 as possible." Since they gave themselves some wiggle room, maybe that's a ray of hope since no one seems to have heard anything?

I emailed them, so I'll let you know if I hear anything.

Update: was just told by email that successful finalists were notified on 4/15. So I guess there's a finalist stage and I ain't in it.

--Rejection email received (19 April U.S. time; 20 April Australia time)

University of Tennessee, Haslam Postdoctoral Fellowship in Medieval and Renaissance Studies

([27] Deadline 1 April 2009)

• Acknowledgment of application received via e-mail (4/3). Decisions will be made and candidates informed by 5/21.
• Rejection letter received (5/12).

University of Texas at Austin, Institute for Historical Studies

(info Deadline January 15, 2009)

• Ack email, 1/12. (looks like they've toned down the 'your wonderful proposal'- type language from last year)
• I didn't receive an ack email. Other ppl?
• I didn't get one yet. Must be they make sure your letters have arrived first (I just submitted my part by email yesterday; I expect no one has gotten to it yet).
• I was the 1/12 poster, the message said "Thank you for your interest in and application to the Institute for Historical Studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Please accept this note as confirmation that we have received your Proposal, CV, and cover sheet. We look forward to receiving your letters of recommendation."

IHS Admin's Note: UPDATE

(1) We will accept application materials (Cover Sheet, Proposal, CV) through January 16, 2009 midnight. Letters of recommendation will be accepted through early next week.

(2) Due to the high volume of email we've received since January 9, turnaround time on confirmation notifications has slowed. Confirmation acknowledgments for complete applications (Proposal, CV, Cover Sheet, Letters) will be sent as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience.

Should any other updates occur they will be posted at this link first: http://www.utexas.edu/cola/insts/historicalstudies/fellowships/.

Many thanks.

• Thanks for that info, IHS admin. Might I also add: thanks for Not having a ridiculously Byzantine application process.
• Q: I am a Ph.D. in English, but my project (which was once my dissertation) has a gigantic historic component. How often are such projects (interdisc. projects) awawrded an fship?
• A: I don't know, but this is only the second year the Texas IHS has run these fellowships (so impossible to say 'how often'). You might try contacting them directly.
• The deadline was a month later last year, and they wrapped it up in 3 weeks (that's efficiency!). Has anyone heard yet about being on a shortlist, or been asked for more material? (1/27)
• (Response to above) They are still processing the materials, putting together applications with letters. It doesn't seem as if they have been able to go through the applications yet, let alone put together a short list.
• Looks like they've extended the deadline to January 27. (any guesses why? not enough applications arrived in time? They had 300 or something last year)
• Does anyone know whether there are interviews or if one might be asked for more materials?
• A: I can only go by what is on last year's wiki, it doesn't look like they interviewed.
• Notified of status as one of 35 finalists; asked for further information and materials.
• Congratulations? May I ask: Notified when (date) and how (phone or email)?

Thanks. Notified by email 2/9.

IHS Admin's Note, UPDATE 2/11/09:

Please note that while we are in the process of reviewing the applications, and have moved toward a list of about 35 finalists, we have not contacted all finalists. We have contacted only ABD finalists to determine the current status of their projects. We have not contacted any finalists with degrees in hand. We hope to have final decisions made in about two weeks, and will notify all applicants of their status as soon as possible after that point. Please feel free to contact the IHS with questions any time at historyinstitute@austin.utexas.edu. Thank you.

• Thank you for the update! Wish all SCs would take this initiative. Much appreciated.

• Ditto to the above. The efforts at transparency and at communication speak volumes. Thank you.

• 2/23 - Looks like the shortlist was made 2 weeks ago (or the ABDs were contacted then), so I guess this is the week! Anyone heard anything further?

IHS Admin's Note, UPDATE 2/24/09:

Out of nearly 300 fellowship applications for the 2009-10 academic year, we are pleased to announce we have made offers to four individuals. The Steering Committee has truly enjoyed and appreciated reading all of your applications and we thank you all for your interest. We’ll be in contact with everyone as soon as possible.

Rejection email (3/3).

University of Texas at Austin, Program in Western Civ and American Institutions, Postdoc

(http://fmrsi.wordpress.com/2008/11/25/university-of-texas-at-austin-program-in-western-civilization-and-american-institutions-post-doctoral-faculty-fellowships-academic-year-2009-2010/)

• Any news? I'm sensing I'm the only person who applied for this? Woohoo!
• Ha haaa, no you're not! I did apply, too but I didn't hear anything. (01/24)
• I applied too, but I haven't heard anything. Good luck to you both! (1/27)
• Emailed to find out what the story was, and received this in response (2/13): "Unfortunately, because of uncertainties in the financial markets, we have not yet determined how many post-doctoral candidates we can support next year and have had to delay our search process. Therefore, we will most likely not have a list of finalists for quite some time. However, as soon as a decision is made, you will be notified."
• Just received the following via email (4/14): "Unfortunately, due to financial constraints, we have had to cancel our search for additional postdoctoral fellows for next year. We know this has been a difficult year for many of you, with large numbers of job searches cancelled, and we wish we had better news to report. We do still anticipate appointing several new fellows for the 2010-11 academic year. If you are interested in re-applying, please visit our website in October for information about updating your file at that time. Thank you for your application, and we wish you all the best."

University of Texas at Austin, English Department, Postdoc

• Deadline 12/1/2008
• Anyone heard anything on this one?
• Not yet (01/30) x2 -- last year, they didn't send out rejections at all (or confirmations, if I remember correctly). Don't expect anything.

Request for a writing sample via email (2/11); email said final decisions would be made late February/early March. (x4)

2/17: rejection letter dated 2/10 (x3)

(3/5) They were supposed to have decided by last night. Any news? I haven't heard anything either...

(3/9) Rejection letter dated 3/5 (I was a finalist).

3/10 I was emailed that I am the first alternate in case one of the two people they offered it to takes a TT job instead...

University of Toronto, Centre for Jewish Studies

(ad Deadline February 26, 2009)

* 3/13 - short list; request for more materials & phone interview availability.

3/21 Have they already conducted phone interviews?

3/22 mine was a couple of days ago, but I was told they'll be interviewing week of 3/23 as well

4/5 rejection letter

University of Toronto, Jackman Humanities Institute Mellon Postdocs

(info Deadline December 1, 2008) When did they put this one up? It must have been mere weeks before the deadline - I kept checking through September and October, finally concluding that they must not be offering it this year...

• Anybody have a sense of whether American applicants are given equal consideration on this fellowship? There's not much information on current fellows on their website.
• application acknowledged (12/10)
• A: Canada has a law about privileging a Canadian applicant over other applicants, assuming all else is equal between the candidates.
• Anyone know whether they'll be contacting or interviewing finalists before awards are announced in March? If so, when do you think this will take place?
• I'd also like to know if they have a campus interview or not. Anyone know?
• According to last year's Wiki they did campus interviews. But the deadlines were a bit later.
• 3/4 All quiet? I emailed them but got no response...
• Still no response 2 days later? Ya, but it took them a while to respond when I asked if they'd received my materials...seems like no noise=not good news, but I've been very discouraged by my search this year, so feeling pretty negative :< ' What can I say but I'm very sorry, hope something comes thru for both of us soon. Thanks, it's a tough year and these fellowships are insanely competitive. They're also insanely silent. Still no response? I guess I'll write this week too. This is going to be the draggingest week of my entire life. Yeah, still no response. And it's approaching the middle of March- if they're doing interviews, people should have been brought in by now.
• starting to wonder if this is an economy issue? I hope not- most likely, no one is checking the e-mail account that the fellowship mails are going to...Good luck to everyone. If dept admins would just post here, like those handling the U Austin and Rutgers fellowships have, they would get a lot less anxiety-ridden e-mails.
• 3-13- Maybe it's just that the people who have been selected aren't posting to this board. Anyone want to bite the bullet and call? I've sent a few e-mails now with no response.
• I'd call if I weren't already assuming the worst by now.
• Very nice e-mail back from the administrator- they've received and reviewed my application, but decisions have not been finalized. Further communication when decision have been confirmed. Sounds like I didn't make the cut, but still a bit ambiguous so I'll keep holding out hope...
• 3/16 Met someone last week who got an interview. There were 6 people interviewed for 3 positions, apparently.
• The previous two edits (mine and another poster's) were removed as of 3-16, so I've added them back. Guess I struck out on this one too...
• This is strange. None of the interviewees use this board? Nobody posted an interview invitation? Probably- I've seen similar issues with other searches. Or maybe the interviewees prefer to just lurk and laugh at our anxiety...
• Ok, March is just about over. where the hell is our notification? How can there be no news from anyone about anything related to this fellowship, interviews, offers, rejections. Very odd.
• I know someone who interviewed for this postdoc (notified early on in February; went to campus early in March), and got an offer.
• Sure, but where are the other 5 interviewees?
• If they've got interviews lined up, why not say that when we e-mail and ask? Why keep the other 200 or whatever applicants waiting?
• I believe they sent out the official offer letters around March 16, though I received a call with the offer well before that. Hope this helps. Congrats!
• Snail mail rejection letter received on 4-20, says they'll post the names of the new fellows sometime late spring.

University of Virginia, The Carter G. Woodson Institute for African-American and African Studies Postdoctoral Fellowship

• deadline 12/1
• any application acknowledged?
• I got a call at the end of January informing me that I had a ref letter missing and that reviews were starting that week, but before that I had no acknowledgment of application. (2/20)
• Rejection via snail mail 3/2
• haven't heard anything...anyone have any news? (3/10)
• offer made via phone to first alternate (3/16)

University of Virginia, Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture Postdoctoral Fellowship

([28])

• The website says the application information will be posted in "the coming weeks"

• 11/12 Website says: In the face of increasing financial uncertainty, the Institute regrets that it will not be able to offer new graduate-level and postgraduate-level fellowships for the 2009–2010 academic year.

Washington University in St. Louis, American Culture Studies

[29]

• 2 yr postdoc
• deadline 2/1/09
• status
• this is the first I've heard of this one. where did they advertise?
• American Studies Association website (see link above)
• Any word? A: None at all, not even an ack (3/15)
• I emailed a few weeks ago to check the status. Rec'd a quick reply saying that there were a lot of applications and that they didn't expect to make a decision until April.
• Any news? (4/8) -- not a word (4/9)
• Emailed admin who kindly replied they're in process of winnowing down to short list (5-6 candidates) from semifinalist list (20-30). will contact finalists within a week or 10 days (4/16)
• Thanks much for the info. Does that mean, then, there will be a round of interviews? A: She didn't specify, but it sounds like it, no? -- Yep, that's definitely what it sounds like. But it just seems SO late to be doing interviews!
• I suppose the ten days are up...
• Phone interview 5/4
• Congrats on making some progress! Q: Did they email you first to set up the interview, or just call you up? A: Thanks. We set it up via email and phone end of last week.
• Any news? Has an offer been made? A: Yes, an offer has been extended to a candidate.

Wash. U. St Louis African and African American Studies

• deadline 1/15
• 3/13: acknowledgement of application via postal mail
• 5/30: rejection

Washington University in St Louis, Mellon Postdoc in Modeling Interdisciplinary Inquiry

(info Deadline December 1, 2008)

• The website says "Dec 1 2007" -- is there an updated listing somewhere?

• Current ad posted last week on H-NET (ad), guess they have forgotten to update their website.(8/17)

• Receipt acknowledgement by email (11/15)

• Rec'd email acknowledgment on 12/10; also 12/11 (x2); also 12/12; also 12/16

• To those who received acknowledgments, did you contact them to confirm your application status? Or did they just write to confirm they had received your application?

• for me, the email ack was unsolicited. But they seem to be "rolling in," so no need to panic I'd say.

• Ok thanks, I think I'll panic anyway just for fun.

• MLA interview requested 12/13
• You sure you're in the right place? I didn't think Wash U interviewed for this fellowship at MLA.

Q: seconding the above question. Are you actually interviewing at MLA for this pdoc? that indeed doesn't make any sense - this postdoc is not specifically for MLA people

• While I agree that the timing of the interview reported is weird, I have known other cases where a postdoc committee interviewed at multiple conferences, including MLA & AHA. So the above is odd, but not impossible.
• I know that Wash U is interviewing at MLA for a Theatre Professorship---is that what you meant?

I'm also interviewing at MLA for this postdoc. It's definitely for the postdoc. Damn. What about us non-MLAers who applied?

• Any news on this one for non-MLA'ers? (1/12/09)

No news or anything at all for a non-MLA specialist (1/15/09).

I'm an MLA-er who wasn't asked for an interview at MLA and hasn't heard zip.

• • has anyone received either an offer or a rejection from this?
• (27 Jan) I haven't heard anything (x2)
• AHA-er here. Haven't heard anything either.

• • Still no word to anyone, either way?

Email notification that they're suspending the appointment because the endowment has fallen too low. The economy strikes again! (2/4 )X11 UUUGHHHHHHHHHHH! (Sorry, had to let it out).

• let me second that UGGGGHHHHHH! That app was an all-nighter plus a £40 courier.
• Wow. I was beating myself up in Dec. for missing this deadline. My sympathies to those of you spent the considerable time necessary to apply. Ugghh, indeed.
• I'm wondering why they're offering that all/most of us reapply? Clearly, they had a shortlist of interviewees.
• A: Obviously, it's a courtesy email sent to all who applied. No one's situation is going to be the same by December of next year, including those they interviewed. One would be an idiot to write to them in Dec '09 and say, "Yeah, I'd like you to reconsider my application from last year, since it's not like I've published anything, taught anything, or gone to any conferences in the space of the past year since I applied."

Q: Does being rude help in any way, shape or form????

Wesleyan University Center for the Humanities Postdoctoral Fellowship, 2009-2010 Theme: "War"

([30] Deadline November 3, 2008)

• Email sent to a list of fourteen people to notify them that Wesleyan has received and is currently reviewing their application materials. It strikes me as a bit strange that the list isn't BCCed -- the email addresses of the other applicants are all visible in the email. (12/9)
• Also received email acknowledging application (12/9) (x3)
• Looks like it could be a bloc of names that are roughly alphabetical (12/9)

• I agree. The email was sent by the administrative assistant, who could have been trying to send a few hundred notices out, one batch of fifteen or so at a time. Mistakes happen.

• Email to schedule phone interview (12/16)
• Tentative schedule: Finalists notified by end of Dec, campus visits end of Jan, offers mid-Feb
• Emailed them with an update for my app, admin asst told me that finalists had been selected and she'd sent out an email to that effect. Anybody get this email?
• Nope. Didn't get a thing since the opening ack. (2/23)
• Rejection email stating I was not a finalist (3/5)
• Friend received this (4/1)

Wheaton College, Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowship in Islamic and Environmental Studies

(Deadline: 15 January 2009)

-Don't suppose anyone has any information about this search? -Alas, not a peep yet. - Have not heard anything back either (3/7).

-- Invitation for campus interview 3/17

-- Have any final decisions been made? 4/12

Yale Agrarian Studies Postdoc

([31] Deadline January 5, 2009)

• Email notification that application was received 1/5/09 (5)
• Received rejection letter via email 1/22/09 (2)
• I haven't gotten anything since the 1/5 ack email (1/25). The website says that some candidates will get requests for more materials. Anyone hear anything?
• (from same poster as above, now on 1/28). Hm. Anyone else not heard anything?
• Received request for writing sample and letters 1/22/09
• Offer made

Yale Beinecke Library Postdoc

Has anyone gotten an acknowledgement that app was received? 2/18 I did/have not.

Awards are supposed to be announced in March. It is March 11th and I have not heard a word, yay or nay.

I haven't heard anything from them (including ack.)

Received snailmail letter on 3/17 stating that due to economic uncertainty, they would not be offering the postdoc this year.

Wow, are you serious!? They won't be offering any fellowships at all or are they just freezing the long-term, one-year postdocs?

A: I don't know. But they definitely are freezing the James Osborn postdoctoral fellowship this year.

Q: Has anyone who applied for a short-term fellowship heard anything? 3/22

A2: I received an acceptance letter (snail-mail) for a short-term fellowship on 3/30; the letter was dated 3/20. My fellowship is at last  year's rate, i.e. $4000.

Yale Center for Research on Inequalities and the Life Course postdoc

([32] Deadline April 3, 2009)

Yale Postdoc in the History of Medicine

(Deadline March 2, 2008)

rejection email received 4/24

Yale Postdoc in the Program in Ethnicity, Race, and Migration

(Deadline March 6, 2009)

• no acknowledgment received yet (3/19) (3/25)
• anyone hear anything yet? (4/9)
• nothing at all, and it's late in the season (4/9)
• still no news? (4/20)
• emailed the administrator on Friday but haven't heard back (4/20)
• offer received 4/17
• congrat's! any idea how many postdocs were offered? did you have an interview?
• i believe they offered three. i received an offer as well 4/17 and received a formal letter 4/23.

Discussion and Comments

• QUESTION - I have no idea how to format this, sorry. I'm wondering if others have any interest in gathering a list of postdocs with no campus interview. Would it be possible to mention it with each listing? Maybe it's just me, but the constant travelling gets to be not worth it after a while.
• I think such a list would be difficult to run (separately to this one), but feel free to note on any postdoc listings 'this one does not do campus interviews' or something similar. I'm not sure that complaining about the hassle of interviews is something that many people would be sympathetic to: plenty of us WOULD love to get an interview!!
• Fair enough, but the 'close but no cigar' treatment gets old fast too. Just thought people might find it more time-effective, but I definitely hear your point.
• Can we (meaning someone more technologically inclined than myself) borrow the model from last year, where the History lists the fellowship modified?
• Happy to, but not sure how! And some jerkoff just DELETED the whole wiki page from last year...

• QUESTION -- Can anyone tell me where I can find information on how many applicants there are for the various postdocs? (I'm trying to communicate the difficulty of actually getting one to my significant other.)
• Last year's page has some figures for particular fellowships. Ballpark figures for the prestigious societies of fellows (Harvard, Princeton, Columbia) put it at around 800 apps. I believe. Rejection letters sometimes mention the number of applicants, for fellowships in history last year that I applied to (rather than humanities in general), they had 250-300 applications.
• The numbers usually mean nothing to your significant other, but good luck anyway.

• I see that above someone says some jackoff deleted last year's wiki page? Quelle disgustement. If that is true, you can still view the History, which will show you what it looked like. If you do so, please restore the page. Thanks!

• QUESTION - If, after applying for a postdoc, there is a change to my cv - a new publication - should I send a new cv to the SC? I know this is done for T-T jobs, but I haven't heard of anyone doing it for a postdoc. But given the long timescales of some of these postdoc searches, a lot can change on a cv in that time! Has anyone done this?

• A: I did it last year between an interview and decision in order to add two publications. It didn't work in my favor. But obviously other factors are always at play.

• QUESTION - What's the etiquette? Some of these fellowships have late notifications (like Princeton's Society of Fellows), so what if we're offered a T-T--it certainly wouldn't be something I'd want to decline (either way). Does that make any sense?

• A: First of all, if you are asking about what happens if you accept and then later reject, that goes way beyond *etiquette.* Do not even think about doing that, not even if your acceptance was "only" verbal. Second, you should have 2 weeks after an offer to draw things out, and negotiate. If you get a TT offer, take that time to negotiate your contract; mention that you're in the running for a big pdoc and ask if they'd consider giving you a year--if you do get the pdoc--to push your project forward before the tenure clock starts. Meanwhile, go over to the chronicle webpage and look under the Careers fora. This question has been covered ad nauseum under the Job Seeking experiences category (as have many others), so should be helpful for you.

• A?: I am not sure that the professionalism involved dictates an etiquette that is so absolute. Can you provisionally accept a postdoc and then decline if a TT position comes along? Or, if one of these most highly competitive/prestigious postdocs comes calling, I would imagine you could decline or postpone a (provisionally) accepted TT position if you so chose, assuming you hadn't signed a contract. If you are honest when offers come in, why not make the selection best for you. What do you all think?

• A: There is no such thing as a provisional acceptance, unless you think there is such a thing as a provisional offer. Let's hope that when an offer is made to you, it is not "provisional." Either you say "I accept" or you say "I cannot accept at this time." You will then be told how much time you have to make your decision, and that is how much time you have. At that point, the thing to do is contact places where you are already a semi-finalist and tell them that you remain very interested in their position/pdoc but that you have an offer and time is of the essence. And then you wait and see what happens. But once you have verbally accepted, then you have accepted. Verbal contracts are binding, and violating them is actionable, but more importantly it's considered very bad form. Keep in mind that breaching a verbal contract is not only unethical, you are damaging the chances for other jobseekers to be treated decently and humanely if you act unprofessionally and cavalierly. There are standards in place, and it's *not* a question of etiquette, it's a question of ethics. So, by all means, don't accept right away if it's not your first choice; verbal acceptances are expected to be held to.

• A: Yes, it's not as if this very circumstance doesn't arise, and often, and one has to make a decision to take something one isn't so sure about or to roll the dice by declining and hoping the desired thing comes through. Precisely because the circumstance does arise so often, there are indeed established ways of doing things. The academic world is smaller than it might seem, and your reputation as an ethical person is important. If a situation arises like this for you, don't accept right away (you'd never want to do that, anyway)...and contact your adviser for, well, advice.

• A: I have to disagree with some of the advice here. If you've accepted a postdoc and you get a good TT offer that will not let you defer, you should drop the postdoc and take the job. This happens, and people will understand. I have counseled my own students to do this. Be polite, of course, and ask your advisor to help.

• Q: When you have an offer, what is the best way (what is best to say) to contact other places/positions/fellowships you are a candidate for and might prefer?

• Q: Could someone add an entry for Rutgers University's CCA external postdoc? Not sure how to do so with current numbering system.
• A: When you add it in using three equal signs before and after, it will automatically number and put it in the table of contents part.

• Q: So, is anyone in the same boat as me? I struck out completely on the postdoc front--while getting several conference interviews and on-campus invitations. Has the world turned upside down or is my bewilderment just due to the fact that I'm new to the job market? Can it be that it is harder to get a post-doc than a t-t job?

• A well, some of the general humanities postdocs listed above have as many as 1000 applicants (some more, some fewer). And the search committee isn't necessarily looking for a person in your field or subfield, so yes, in that sense they tend to be much more competitive than a tenure track job which might have 50-400 applicants from a particular field or subfield.

• A If you've already struck out on the postdoc front, it sounds like you may have only applied to a few, or only the big ones. The vast majority of them, and nearly all of the smaller ones, have not made their decisions yet. So maybe next year apply more broadly?

• A There are lots of different kinds of postdocs. Humanities-wide Mellon postdocs are often much more competitive than tenure-track jobs. They also look for different things in a candidate, like interdisciplinarity and/or "trendiness" of research rather than an impressive teaching portfolio.

• A Oh, hey, I'm glad to see I'm not the only one! I was sure that my somewhat trendy topic would make me a strong candidate for postdocs (though admittedly, I only applied to a few top ones), but that I wasn't at all in the running for jobs. I've so far had no success on the postdoc front, but a few campus visits at R1s. (Lest this seem too much like bragging, I'm in a bit of shock -- I hadn't even prepared a job talk until I got the calls!) That said, I have to say that at some of the fancy pants postdocs, the fellows seem to hold two PhDs and have a ridiculous number of articles out, if not a book. My sense is that hiring committees are willing to think about a promising candidate a little more. Though I *never* would have thought this a year ago!

• Q: Does anyone know about any junior fellowships, other than those at Cambridge or Oxford? I mean jrfs you can apply for / start before obtaining your PhD.
• A: There are some dissertation or 'predoctoral' fellowships offered at some institutions in the States - try Google. But many of the postdocs listed on this page can be applied for before completing the PhD. It's pretty common for people who will be finishing in the summer to be applying for postdocs with a deadline the October before (if you read the regs. of many of them, it will state you have to have finished by the time you take up the postdoc, or July of that year, but you don't need to have finished at the time you apply).
• A: gosh, your adviser should really be advising you...if you're wanting ones abroad/worldwide, the site you want is www.jobs.ac.uk
• A: Thanks for the advice; much appreciated.
• Q: Why no Wenner-Gren entries? Have no one here applied?
• A: Because nobody has added them. I don't know anything about that program, but if you want to see something on here, ADD IT YOURSELF.*I added two fellowships and someone deleted them. Again.  WTF is up with that?  What were the fellowships you added?  And to whoever used the caps, thanks for that.  8 years of higher ed and you think people need to see caps to take your point.  

QUESTION: Does anyone know of any good resources (articles etc.) on negotiating salary for postdocs?

• A: As far as I know, salaries for postdocs (at least, humanities postdocs) are not negotiable. They are published in the call and that is exactly what you get paid. You could perhaps try negotiating research funds, but I doubt it would very effective. Others may disagree, but that is my opinion.

*A: The person above is correct. I suppose one can always ask for something, but don't think about it as negotiating. And realize that things *are* almost certainly non-negotiable (for real, unlike with jobs where they tell you it's non-negotiable but they're really just posturing). It's different from jobs, where there's a salary range rather than a set salary listed in the ad and one can negotiate w/in whatever the range may be. With the postdocs, salary is set.

• Can someone add the Charlotte NEWCOMBE fellowship to this list???
• (4/3) Charlotte Newcombe added to the list.

QUESTION: Is there a place where the recipients are posted, besides individual announcements for different schools (like a wiki page)? I am just curious who actually gets these things.

Q: Are most of you ABD or PhD? Just curious, since this years market is so wacky....

A: No idea what the Charlotte NEWCOMBE is, sorry. Please read about four comments above yours, about adding things yourself. (and yes, it seems that even with capitals, people with '8 years of higher ed' still don't get it...)

A: Are most of us ABD or PhD? A reliable survey of the number of users of this page is not possible, I am PhD in hand, on a postdoc now. My unscientific sampling of others using this page suggest a lot are in VAP or Postdoc positions, although of course some (VAPs for instance) may still be ABD.

*I can't believe its April and I'm still waiting to hear back about postdocs. This can't make any plans for next year with everything up in the air. This system is so stupid. [/gripe]

Q: I just accepted a postdoc and realized I don't know if the tenure clock starts during the postdoc. Does it? Or, is a postdoc considered still being in training?

A: The tenure clock does not start until after you have begun a tenure-track position. That being said, you are expected to make significant progress on your research during a post-doc. The best strategy is to get the ball rolling on a few publications (esp. the book) during the post-doc, but to delay the final publications until after you have started your tenure-track job. (IMHO)

A (the correct A, since the person above is wrong, or just oversimplifying): It could go either way. If your postdoc is one year, and you're applying for asst. prof. jobs next year, then no, the tenure clock didn't start during your postdoc. If, on the other hand, you have a two-, three-, or four-year postdoc, and you make significant progress on your research, then you can negotiate with the department at whatever job you take, and they will likely hire you as an advanced asst. prof. with those postdoc years already under your belt.

A: That's a  good point - I was thinking of a one-year postdoc.

A2: The penultimate poster, despite his or her bravado, is equally "wrong", at least in terms of the original questioner's apparent intent. What was being asked is whether having a postdoc will require one to come up for tenure earlier, once the individual is hired on the tenure track. The answer is "no"--the default position at almost every school is that newly-hired assistant professors have six years to prepare for the tenure decision. The penultimate poster is correct in noting that a t-t hire CAN try and have his or her postdoctoral years counted as service towards tenure, thus shortening the "clock". That the hiring institution will do so, however, is far from guaranteed--many schools, particularly SLACs but also some R1s, don't like to abbreviate the tenure clock, either because they privilege time spent teaching and advising in their system, or because they just don't want to promote candidates quickly (and thus pay them quite a bit more).

      ---- Thanks (I posted the question).  Sorry I was not clear; I wanted to know if I would be in the position to come up for tenure earlier and if there was any way that doing the    
                 postdoc could in any way hurt my chances because it is more time that I am not yet on the tenure track.  I appreciate everyone's responses.  Does anyone know of discussion
                 threads and/or articles on postdocs and tenure strategies?  I tried looking in the Chronicle of Higher Ed but could not find anything.  Good luck in finishing up everyone's                
                 semesters and thanks to who ever started this wiki; it has been a huge help throughout the process.

A (follow-up, "correct A" again): Perhaps our divergence on this question arises out of disciplinary differences. (A2 is clearly not in a discipline that emphasizes careful interpretation or the discernment of intent, but we will leave that alone.) The original question, we see from the re-post above, was whether one would be in a position to come up for tenure earlier following a postdoc, and the answer is yes, but not absolutely yes. One can negotiate a shortened tenure clock with the hiring department, but it is not required, and as A2 suggests, it might be difficult to do. In my field, such negotiations are fairly common, and when a department *really* wants you, they're usually willing to give you those years. Anyway, the answer to the question is not a univocal "no," as the original answerer expressed it. Hence my correction. (And apparently my "bravado.")

THANKS for the info, but no need to get into fight!

Q: I was a finalist for a Mellon (Berkeley). The administrator told me I was on a list of 10, but they selected 5 in the end. What are the rules around putting things on your cv? Can I put "finalist" or "semi-finalist" (is it technically semi-finalist if you made the short-short list i.e. there were 3 cuts made and I made it through 2 of them?)? Thanks.

Q: What is the etiquette here on cv's and being finalists for prestigious awards?

 ---  GOOD QUESTION.  I have another CV Question: How do you list job talks on your CV for positions you didn't get?  Invited lecture??   Apologies if this is a "job" question and not a "postdoc" question, but I'd imagine the same would apply for postdocs with invited interviews/ jobtalks....

• A: It's not considered good form to list jobs talks for which you didn't get the job, so I'd leave them off. If you list them as "invited talks" with dates around the time when flybacks take place, people will know what they "really" were.
• A: If you were giving a talk to a smaller cadre of folks perhaps it is somewhat disingenuous to indicate you were an invited lecturer. On the other hand, it's an honor (especially in this market) to get a job talk; I don't see it as a bad thing to indicate that you gave a talk (even if unsuccessful). In my case, my job talk was publicized on and off campus. Also, it was at ivy league--I really would like to advertise that I gave that talk given the prestige of the university and the type of job talk it was..I think it might help (not hurt) me get *the* job.

• I thought I deleted something but the page seems OK- I hope so!