Other Significant Fellowships

Huntington Fellowship

As a result of a partnership agreement between the Faculty of Arts and Humanities and the Huntington Library, California, we are delighted to announce the award of a fellowship to a member of our academic staff. This fellowship recognises the recipients’ outstanding research profiles and will provide valuable opportunities to engage with the Huntington Library’s internationally renowned collections and scholarly community. The awards also reflect the Faculty’s ongoing commitment to fostering international research collaboration and supporting excellence in the arts and humanities.
Amanda Hsieh (Associate Professor of Musicology) has been awarded a fellowship to be taken during the 2026–27 academic year, with her project entitled Singers of the Japanese Pacific: Southern California and the East Asian Empire’s Actor Networks.

Amanda Hsieh

Huntington Fellowship

Associate Professor of Musicology, Durham University,

Smithsonian Fellowship

As a result of the institutional MOU between the University and the Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in North America, we are delighted to announce the award of a one-month fellowship.
This fellowship has been granted to a member of our academic staff and will support research and scholarly engagement with the Museum’s outstanding collections and expertise.
Dr Kris Fire Kovarovic, Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology has been awarded a fellowship and will advance research focused on fossil mammal assemblages and their critical role in reconstructing the ancient environments in which early humans evolved.     Fire will take up the fellowship in the academic year 2026/27.

Kris “Fire” Kovarovic

Smithsonian Fellowship

Associate Professor in the Department of Anthropology, Durham University,

Tom McLeish Fellowships

Durham University is delighted to invite applications from outstanding researchers for the prestigious McLeish Visiting Fellowships, hosted by the Centre for Creation, Natural Philosophy and Science (CCNPS).
The Fellowships provide an exciting opportunity for scholars whose research engages the relationships between theology, the natural sciences, philosophy, and the humanities, and who wish to contribute to a vibrant interdisciplinary academic community at Durham.
The Centre for Creation, Natural Philosophy and Science was established at Durham University in 2025 to celebrate and advance the intellectual legacy of Professor Tom McLeish, whose pioneering work explored the intersections of theology, medieval natural philosophy, and contemporary science.

Applications are welcomed from researchers with an established track record of excellence and a demonstrated interest in interdisciplinary scholarship relevant to the aims of the Centre.

For application details, eligibility criteria, and deadlines, please visit here

Past Fellows

26/27

2025/26

April

Adam Bridgen

Huntington Fellowship

Leverhulme Trust Early Career Fellow, Department of English Studies, Durham University,

May

Barry Shiels

Smithsonian Fellowship

Department of English Studies, Durham University,

Loading Fellow

My time as a Lord Crewe PhD Fellow was invaluable to the development of my dissertation and my growth as a scholar. The archival holdings at Durham University, specifically Thomas Combers papers and material from the Routh Collection, allowed me to further develop the arguments of several chapters of my dissertation. The ability to partake in the IMEMS' weekly coffees allowed me to feel like I had an academic home away from home, as did the opportunity to be associated with St. Chad's College (the formal dinner at the high table was truly a joy!). I had an incredibly productive...
Amelia Rosch
Lord Crewe Visiting Fellowship (Queens University, Canada)
I am grateful for the opportunity to spend an inspiring research month in Durham and make a great use of an astonishing collections of Durham libraries, especially Palace Green and Ushaw College. Early modern old prints as well as an impressive range of current scholarship’s books on the shelves enabled me to explore a great number of sources crucial for my research in just one month. I was really impressed by the library holdings, professional services as well as its facilities. I am grateful also for the chance to consult the matter of my project with Durham University staff and...
Martina Kastnerova
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of West Bohemia in Pilsen, Czech Republic and Slovakia)
Nearly five years after my time in Durham, I still remember that time fondly. It was an incredibly productive month for me, since it allowed me the concentrated time to be able to engage with colleagues, access a world-class library, and have the time and space to pursue my research and writing without interruption.
Professor Jeremy Hutton
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA)
I was honoured to be granted a Visiting PhD Bursary at the DRRL. Durham University staff gave me a warm welcome and helped me all throughout my research stay. This fellowship was a great opportunity to work on the Poor Clares Darlington Collection held in Palace Green Library. With the assistance of the archivists and librarians, I was able to consult a great number of manuscripts. These primary sources allowed me to analyse and compare different aspects of female lived spirituality within English Poor Clare convents which is at the heart of my PhD. Last but not least, this award...
Claire Schiano-Locurcio
PhD Bursary (Aix-Marseille Université, France)
I was awarded the Durham Research fellowships twice, in 2017 and in 2019. Both times I had a first-class experience as I could enjoy an excellent staff which helped me from the organization of my journey to my stay in Durham. The archival resources at Ushaw College are outstanding and I could see and collect all the material with ease. I also enjoyed the conferences and seminars organized by the department of history as I learned so much in such a short time. Overall, it has been a wonderful research experience and I’m looking forward to coming back!
Matt Binasco
Holland Visiting Fellowship (Università per Stranieri di Siena, Italy)
While a Visiting Fellow at the DRRL I worked on two early modern topics relating to central and eastern Europe. I was able to study the English reception of the works of an Augsburg-born Jesuit, the different editions of the translation being available at Ushaw. I was also able to consult the collections in Durham Cathedral Library to explore the life of a chaplain to King Charles I, who was active in Transylvania in the mid-seventeenth century. The collection includes Hungarian-language original documents, testifying to the global reach of the collections in Durham. The whole research experience was hugely enjoyable,...
Dr Toth Zsombor
DRRL Visiting Fellowship (Hungarian Academy of Sciences, Hungary)
My time as a Durham Collections Fellow was deeply transformative. The opportunity opened me to so many firsts – first time doing archival research, first time staying in the U.K. for a month, first time embedding with a College structure so deeply with St. Chad’s. I also had an opportunity to volunteer cataloging headstones at a local cemetery during my fellowship. I was able to access archival materials from the Cremation Society of Great Britain to include in my latest book on death equity, and I still have material for forthcoming projects. I am so thankful for the time I...
Staci Zavattaro
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Central Florida, USA)
The fellowship was excellent – the resources at Ushaw were exceptional and really helpful to my work.
Dr Karly Kehoe
Holland Visiting Fellowship (St Mary ‘s University, Canada)
I was successful in obtaining a Barker Fellowship which allowed me to spend a month researching in the fantastic libraries attached to Durham University. A wonderful month of not just intense research but also I was made very welcome by staff and students and was able take full part in university life. A very rewarding experience.
Professor Jack Cunningham
Barker Visiting Fellowship (University of Lincoln, United Kingdom)
The Durham Residential Library Fellowship provided crucial support for my research. I was able to benefit from the Library’s extensive rare books collections to advance my project. The Library staff were incredibly helpful and patiently answered my questions.
Luke Roman
Barker Visiting Fellowship (Memorial University Newfoundland, Canada)