Fellowships

The Medici Archive Project Fellowships 2026-2027

Application Deadline: 15 July 2026

The Medici Archive Project is offering twelve (12) short-term fellowships for graduate and pre-doctoral students, working on fields related to early modern Italy (preferably with an emphasis on Tuscany or Medici history).

TWO SAMUEL H. KRESS FELLOWSHIPS (2)

Thanks to the continued support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Medici Archive Project is offering two fellowships for graduate and/or pre-doctoral students to undertake specialized archival research on-site at the Archivio di Stato as well as other archival collections housed in Florence and across Tuscany.

These fellowships are especially aimed to provide graduate and pre-doctoral students in Art and Architectural History with the opportunity to examine original source materials, receive scholarly guidance from MAP Staff, present their findings at MAP-sponsored conferences and workshops, and enroll in MAP’s Paleography and Archival Studies Seminar.

Each fellowship will last for an uninterrupted period of no less than three months, taking place between 15 September 2026 and 20 December 2026 (FALL SEMESTER) or 4 January 2027 and 20 July 2027 (SPRING SEMESTER)

During this tenure, fellows will be asked to participate at academic and scholarly activities (conferences, workshops, lectures) at the Medici Archive Project.

The fellowship stipend is USD 8,000.

Fellows will be responsible for their travel and accommodations in Florence.

The scholarship requires a period of residence in Florence and is incompatible with any other work commitments during the same time.

Eligible candidates must either have American citizenship or be enrolled in graduate programs at universities in the United States.

FOUR EVA SCHLER FELLOWSHIPS (4)

Thanks to the generous gift from Joan A. McClure and Michael L. Schler, in honor of Michael’s late mother Eva, the Medici Archive Project is offering four short-term fellowships for graduate and/or pre-doctoral students of any nationality working on any field related to early modern Italy (preferably with a specific emphasis on Tuscany or Medici history).

This scholarly residence will be of considerable benefit in helping students to gain the necessary skills, experience and confidence to continue independent academic research in their academic specialization. While undertaking research on primary sources in Florence, fellows will benefit from the supervision of the MAP Staff as well as from academics drawn from a variety of disciplines, who are experts in archival research, paleography, and digital humanities. Fellowship recipients will attend the annual MAP Paleography and Archival Studies Seminar.

During this tenure, fellows will be asked to participate at academic and scholarly activities (conferences, workshops, lectures) at the Medici Archive Project.

The fellowship stipend is USD 8,000.

Fellows will be responsible for their travel and accommodations in Florence.

The scholarship requires a period of residence in Florence and is incompatible with any other work commitments during the same time.

The fellowships are open to candidates from all nationalities.

FOUR BEATRICE SOLOMON FELLOWSHIPS (4)

These four fellowships are especially aimed to provide graduate and/or pre-doctoral students in the field of early modern gender studies (preferably with a specific focus on Tuscany) and early modern Italian Jewry with the opportunity to examine/explore original source materials in Florentine archives and libraries, receive scholarly guidance from MAP Staff, present their findings at MAP-sponsored conferences and workshops, and enroll in MAP’s Paleography and Archival Studies Seminar.

During this tenure, fellows will be asked to participate at academic and scholarly activities (conferences, workshops, lectures) at the Medici Archive Project.

The fellowship stipend is USD 8,000.

Fellows will be responsible for their travel and accommodations in Florence.

The scholarship requires a period of residence in Florence and is incompatible with any other work commitments during the same time.

This fellowship is open to scholars of all nationalities.

TWO SAMUEL FREEMAN CHARITABLE TRUST FELLOWSHIPS (2)

Thanks to the support of the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust (SFCT) the Medici Archive Project is offering two short-term fellowships for pre-doctoral students who are in the early stages of their dissertation work in any field of the humanities or social sciences. The SFCT fellowships have been developed to enable students and fellows working on their dissertations or research projects to conduct primary research using the Mediceo del Principato and other collections housed in the Archivio di Stato or in other archives and libraries in Florence.

During this tenure, fellows will be asked to participate at academic and scholarly activities (conferences, workshops, lectures) at the Medici Archive Project.

The fellowship stipend is USD 8,000.

Fellows will be responsible for their travel and accommodations in Florence.

The scholarship requires a period of residence in Florence and is incompatible with any other work commitments during the same time.

This fellowship is open to scholars of all nationalities.

APPLICATION PROCESS

There is no application form for the fellowships.

Candidates are invited to send t0 education@medici.org the following documents in a single PDF by 15 July 2026:

1) A cover letter specifying the selected months for the fellowship.

2) A short essay (no more than two pages) on how the candidate’s project will benefit from archival research.

3) A curriculum vitae (no more than two pages).

4) The name and email address of a scholar in the field, preferably the candidate’s supervisor, who can address the applicant’s qualifications as well as the merits of the research proposal (please do not include letters of recommendation with the application).

Applicants are invited to apply to only one fellowship.

To apply for these fellowships, the following material should be sent electronically to education@medici.org with the heading: SAMUEL H. KRESS FELLOWSHIP 2026-2027; BEATRICE SOLOMON FELLOWSHIP 2026-2027; EVA SCHLER FELLOWSHIP 2026-2027; SAMUEL FREEMAN FELLOWSHIP 2026-2027.

Please do not include supplementary material (publications, papers, syllabi, etc.).

All application material must be submitted in English.

Applicants will receive notification regarding the final decision on their applications on 27 July 2026.

For further information, contact Dr. Federico Giglio: education@medici.org.

Although MAP is actively engaged with the digitalization of this vitally significant (yet still only minimally explored) archival collection, we strongly believe in the critical value of direct access to original documents. Most importantly, MAP understands the necessity to open its scholarship and resources to a wider audience. It is for this reason that we provide pre-doctoral and graduate students from diverse disciplines – the next generation of scholars – with the opportunity to have exposure to original source materials. Size, texture, context and the relation of objects on recto and verso of a folio are all elements that are lost through digitization, but that can potentially impact our understanding and interpretation of documents and their content. For this reason, MAP provides fellowships for graduate and pre- doctoral students to join MAP for a set period of time to undertake specialized research on-site at the Archivio di Stato in Florence.

Since 2013, the Medici Archive Project has supported graduate fellows working at the archive. With the generous support of the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, the Samuel Freeman Charitable Trust and the Eva Schler Fund, MAP has assisted doctoral students at every stage of their research: from constructing an interesting and relevant research trajectory in the archives, taking advantage of under-used collections, to seeking out documents to plug holes in a dissertation nearing completion.

Time at the Medici Archive Project offices at the Archivio di Stato offers Fellows various opportunities for professional developments. Of particular note is the potential for establishing important contacts in their fields of interest. Fellows will have numerous opportunities to meet and work with the many international senior scholars who gravitate around MAP.

Fellows have ample time to conduct research for their dissertations and benefit from the supervision of MAP Staff, all of whom are experts in archives, paleography and digital humanities. Our team currently comprises art, military, social and medical historians, all conversant in inter-disciplinary approaches. MAP Staff, with decades of experience assisting graduate students, guide Fellows, not only in their exploration of the Medici Grand Ducal Archives, but also provide them with instruction for using many other archival collections housed in the Archivio di Stato and elsewhere in Florence. In recent years, MAP has supported and promoted the research of graduate fellows through their inclusion in MAP-sponsored panels at international conferences such as the Renaissance Society of America and the Sixteenth Century Society Conference.

With this aim in mind, MAP offers short-term fellowships of around three months to eligible students who demonstrate a need and enthusiasm to engage with archival material in their research. Longer-term fellowships are available as non-stipendiary junior research fellowships.

These calls tend to be made over the winter, with fellowships offered for the spring/summer and fall/winter of the following year.