APPLY ONLINE: CLICK HERE
(You must have current NWSA membership to access this application form)

The NWSA Distinguished Fellowship recognizes the achievements of members who have been in the field for some time and offers them further opportunities for professional growth by engaging in a sabbatical or other leave of absence project at the NWSA office in Maryland.  Each Distinguished Fellow will be honored by the President of NWSA at the conference the year of the fellowship term.

The NWSA Distinguished Fellowship is designed to promote research that contributes to the scholarship or public knowledge about feminism, women of color, Women’s Studies, NWSA, or Women’s Centers by providing NWSA members with opportunities to complete extended projects.  Projects will be designed with one or more of the following goals in mind: research and writing; capacity-building and leadership development; curriculum and pedagogical studies for general use.  For example, a fellow might spend a semester conducting research on the history of women of color in the organization, designing and implementing strategies for improving Provosts’ awareness of NWSA, or collecting K-12 curriculum activities in Women’s Studies. 

The Fellowship is not intended to support doctoral dissertations, the design of curriculum for individual institutions, or creative or performing art works.

Each year, the Executive Director, together with NWSA’s executive committee, will issue a request for proposals (RFP) for specific projects.  The RFP will include a budget for clerical items, not to exceed $150, for completing the projects.  The RFP will be available on the organization’s web site by July 1 two academic years before the fellowship is to be held (example: the RFP will appear by July 1, 2007, for fellowships in 2008-2009).  Individuals may design their own projects as well, but priority will be given to projects that best meet the needs and the budget of the organization.  Fellows will be selected by the Executive Director and President together with a subcommittee of the Governing Council.

Eligibility and application guidelines:

1. Applicants must be members of NWSA and retain their membership through their fellowship if they are selected.
   
   
2. Applicants may be faculty or staff members at colleges or universities or independent scholars or writers.  Applicants must be at least five years into their professional work and must plan to complete the fellowship five or more years before retirement.
   
   
3. Applicants must submit electronically a completed cover form, a vita of no more than eight pages, a summary of past NWSA activities (e.g., committee work), and a statement outlining the project and its importance to the field, including a timeline.  The maximum length for proposal statements will be 3 pages.  Three letters of recommendation should be submitted separately.
   
   
4. Proposals will be due by October 1 of the year prior to the requested fellowship.  Applicants will be notified about the fellowship by December 1.
   
   
5. If not stipulated in the request for proposals, individuals should identify in their proposals the length of the fellowship requested: summer (six weeks); one semester (fall or spring); or academic year, as well as their availability for full or part-time work.

Other information:

1. Ordinarily, fellows are expected to be in residence in Maryland for the duration of their projects.  NWSA will provide office space, a computer, a computer account, a copy budget for project-related documents, access to the University of Maryland libraries, and, if necessary, statistical software.  Long-distance telephone will be available for project purposes.  Parking may be arranged at the fellow’s expense. 
   
   
2. Fellows must provide their own housing and financial support, although the Executive Director of NWSA will provide a letter of support for any grants or other funds for which a fellow may apply.
    
   
3. All data collected in the course of a fellowship remains the property of NWSA; however, fellows may use the data in their own research if they acknowledge the organization.  In the event that the fellow prepares a manual, report, or other document specifically for NWSA, the fellow’s authorship will be acknowledged wherever the document may appear.
   
   
4. All fellows must provide a brief report on their accomplishments at the end of their term.
   
   
5. The names of fellows will be printed each year in the NWSA annual conference program.
   

APPLY ONLINE:
CLICK HERE
(You must have current NWSA membership to access this application form)