AMS Fellowships

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Application Deadline: 11:59pm EST, 3 February 2025

ELIGIBILITY

There are 3 fellowships offered by the AMS:

Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Dissertation Fellowship:

The Society makes available three funded AMS 50 dissertation-year fellowships each year. Any student registered in good standing for a doctorate at a North American* university who has completed all formal degree requirements except the dissertation at the time of full application is eligible to apply. The fellowships are not intended for support of the early stages of research: it is expected that a Fellow's dissertation will be completed within the fellowship year.

Any submission for a doctoral degree in which the emphasis is on musical scholarship will be eligible.

Holmes/D'Accone Dissertation Fellowship in Opera Studies:

The Holmes/D’Accone Fellowship for dissertation research recognizes academic achievement and future promise in the study of opera. Any full-time graduate student registered in good standing for a doctorate at a North American* university who has had a dissertation proposal in the subfield of opera studies approved at the time of the application is eligible to apply, regardless of the stage of dissertation work.

Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship:

The Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship was established by friends of the late Howard Mayer Brown on the occasion of his sixtieth birthday. Intended to increase the presence of minority scholars and teachers in musicology, the fellowship supports one year of graduate work for a student at a U.S. or Canadian university who is a member of a historically underrepresented group, including, in the U.S., African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans, and, in Canada, aboriginal peoples and visible minorities (as defined by Canadian legislation). Preference will normally be given to candidates who are citizens or permanent residents of a North American* country. The award will not be made to those who already have full funding roughly equivalent to the amount of the Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship, regardless of whether it includes a teaching assignment, except on a non-stipendiary basis.

Students are eligible who have completed at least one year of full-time graduate work, intend to pursue a Ph.D., and are in good standing at their home institution. They should show evidence of academic excellence and promise of continuing achievement in music scholarship. Students in any stage of the degree are welcome to apply, but those in the earlier stages are particularly encouraged to apply. Students at a U.S. or Canadian university who are a member of a historically underrepresented group, including, in the U.S., African Americans, Native Americans, Hispanic Americans, and Asian Americans, and, in Canada, aboriginal peoples and visible minorities (as defined by Canadian legislation) are encouraged to apply. There are no restrictions as to research area, age, or sex.

*includes all 23 countries in the North American continent

COMPETITION AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES

Please note: AMS Fellowships now use a common application. If you are eligible for and wish to apply for more than one AMS fellowship, you may do so by completing a single common application. You must indicate on the form for which fellowship(s) you are applying.

To apply for the Alvin H. Johnson AMS 50 Dissertation Fellowship and/or the Holmes/D'Accone Fellowship, the following materials are required:

  1. A brief (1,000 character) dissertation project description.
  2. A current dissertation proposal of 2,000-4,000 words, double-spaced, in 12-point font. The proposal should include a detailed rationale of the project (supported by, but not limited to, an assessment of relevant secondary literature) and an overview of each chapter. It should be a sourced document with footnotes, endnotes, and/or bibliography. Word count does not include footnotes, endnotes, or bibliography. This document should include the name of your project, but omit personally identifying information, such as your name and institution.
  3. A timeline (1-2 pages) for completion of the dissertation, including information about progress to date. The timeline should indicate all milestones (completion of exams, proposal approval, etc.) that are relevant for your program/institution. This document should include the name of your project, but omit personally identifying information, such as your name and institution.
  4. A sample chapter or excerpt (preferably not an introductory chapter reviewing the literature). This chapter or excerpt should be one that clearly represents or bolsters your overall thesis, and should not exceed 60 double-spaced pages in length. This document should include the name of your project, but omit personally identifying information, such as your name and institution.
  5. You must also arrange for a letter from the registrar or departmental Director of Graduate Studies, attesting to ABD (all-but-dissertation) status. This must be requested using the reference request feature included in the application form, so have your attestor's name and email handy when filling in the form. You may send this letter request at any time, even before you are ready to submit the application.

Note: Letters of recommendation, a curriculum vitae, and a bibliography are not required for the AMS 50 or Holmes/D'Accone Fellowships.

To apply for the Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship, the following materials are required:

  1. A personal statement (not to exceed 1,000 words) summarizing the applicant's musical and academic background and stating why they wish to pursue an advanced degree in music studies. Areas of research or specific topics that the applicant would pursue in the 2024–2025 academic year if supported by a Howard Mayer Brown Fellowship should be identified and discussed.
  2. A curriculum vitae.
  3. A sample or samples of the applicant’s work (not to exceed 30 pages total), such as term paper(s), thesis chapter(s), or any published material. Writing samples should be clearly labeled as to their date and the purpose for or context in which they were originally written.
  4. One letter of support from a faculty member. The letter should address the applicant's general intellectual and musical ability and how these might contribute to a successful career in scholarship and teaching. The letter of support must be requested using the reference request feature included in the application form, so have your reference name and email handy when filling in the form. You may send this request at any time, even before you are ready to submit the application.
     

IMPORTANT NOTES:

  1. For AMS 50 and Holmes/D'Accone Fellowships, Applicants must submit items 1-4, above, in an anonymous form, i.e., without name or evidence of institutional affiliation in any document (including text, headers, footers, footnotes, and document properties). Please be particularly careful not to name university-based sources of funding or other institutional information in the prospectus and timeline.
  2. Start your application process early. You may save an incomplete form and continue later.  
  3. You MUST click the 'Submit' button at the end of the form to submit your application. Applications not submitted by the deadline cannot be considered.
  4. Upon submission of your application form you will receive an email confirmation. You may also check the status of your application by signing into your Submittable account and clicking "My Submissions". 
  5. If you have any questions about your application, please contact the AMS office at ams@amsmusicology.org. For technical questions about Submittable, please visit submittable.com/contact.

AWARDS

All AMS fellows receive a twelve-month stipend, currently set at $25,000. AHJ AMS 50 Fellowships and Holmes/D'Accone Fellowships are awarded solely on the basis of academic merit, and AMS 50 and Holmes/D'Accone fellows are expected to focus on completing their dissertations and not to undertake more than twenty (20) hours each week of paid or unpaid employment during the fellowship term. 

Recipients of any of all of these fellowships may elect to accept the award on a non-stipendiary basis (thus freeing scarce resources for others). Fellowships are intended for full-time study. An equivalent major award from another source may not be held concurrently or consecutively unless the AMS award is accepted without a stipend. Fellowships are not deferable or renewable. There are no provisions for the payment of tuition: it is hoped that graduate schools will provide tuition fellowships or waivers.

Fellows are selected in the spring and announced in the summer.

Application Deadline: 11:59pm EST, 3 February 2025

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