The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies (SIMS) is pleased to announce that the call for applications for its 2026-2027 Visiting Research Fellowship program is now open. Guided by the vision of its founders, Lawrence J. Schoenberg and Barbara Brizdle Schoenberg, SIMS aims to bring manuscript culture, modern technology, and people together to provide access to and understanding of our shared intellectual heritage. Part of the Penn Libraries, SIMS oversees an extensive collection of premodern manuscripts from around the world, with a special focus on the history of philosophy and science, and creates open-access digital content to support the study of its collections.
SIMS-Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures Collaborative Fellowship
In addition to our usual Visiting Research Fellowships (see below for details), we are delighted to announce a new collaborative fellowship opportunity with the Centre for the Study of Manuscript Cultures (CSMC) at the University of Hamburg. The SIMS-CSMC Fellowship will allow the recipient to take advantage of the expertise and manuscript resources at Penn Libraries and CSMC’s expertise in the Humanities, material analysis and/or Computer Science for manuscript research. The one-month SIMS fellowship comes with a stipend of $5000 and must take place before the CSMC fellowship. The SIMS fellowship can be scheduled anytime from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. The CSMC fellowship offers a monthly stipend of between $2590–$4463 (depending on the number of years after the PhD) plus Hamburg-return travel costs for one to three months and can be scheduled any time from January 1, 2027, to December 31, 2027.
For more information about the SIMS-CSMC Collaborative Fellowship and to apply, visit this website. Applications are due Friday, May 1, 2026.
Visiting Research Fellowships
The Visiting Research Fellowship program offers $5000 to spend 1 month (minimum of 4 work weeks) at SIMS between July 1, 2026, and June 30, 2027. Up to 3 fellowships will be awarded. SIMS continues partnering with the American Trust for the British Library (ATBL) to offer SIMS Visiting Research Fellows the opportunity to apply to the ATBL for a further $2,500 to support research on the same project at the British Library. The ATBL fellowship will be awarded in the following year. If a SIMS fellowship is awarded, then the ATBL will reach out to the applicant and request that they apply.
For more information about the Visiting Research Fellowships and to apply, visit this website. Applications are due Friday, May 1, 2026.
