The Wolf Humanities Center is the University of Pennsylvania’s hub for interdisciplinary humanities research and public programming. It was founded in 2017 on a gift from Noelle and Dick Wolf and grew out of the Penn Humanities Forum that Wendy Steiner started in 1999. Each year the Center sets one annual topic and awards five Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Fellowships to early-career humanities scholars whose work speaks to it. The 2027-28 topic is Empire; the Center asks for treatments that are concrete and materialist, across any geographical region and any time period, and it welcomes histories of struggle against imperialism and colonialism. Fellows spend twelve months in residence at Penn, teach one course rostered in a humanities department, and meet weekly in the Mellon Research Seminar. Each fellow is assigned a faculty mentor and joins professional development workshops alongside the research year. Scholars anywhere in the world may apply; those based outside North America are appointed under a J-1 visa in Research Scholar status.
Benefits & funding
- A minimum stipend of US$67,000 for the twelve-month appointment, 1 July 2027 to 30 June 2028.
- A US$3,000 research fund. The Center does not publish what it may be spent on.
- Discounted single-coverage health insurance.
- A teaching appointment: one course rostered in one or more humanities departments of Penn’s College of Arts & Sciences, proposed by the fellow.
- An assigned faculty mentor, professional development workshops, and a role in planning the Center’s public symposium on the annual topic.
- Travel, relocation and housing are not covered. The Center publishes no support for these.
Eligibility
- A PhD, or its international equivalent such as the DPhil, received or to be received between May 2022 and December 2026. Scholars who will graduate in 2027 are ineligible.
- The doctorate is the only eligible terminal degree. An MFA, or another doctorate such as an EdD, does not qualify.
- The degree must be in the humanities or an allied field such as anthropology or the history of science. Social scientists, scholars in educational curriculum building, and performing artists are outside the call.
- In practice this means scholars no more than five years out of the doctorate.
- Open to scholars of any nationality. Applicants based outside North America are appointed under a J-1 visa in Research Scholar status.
- Penn’s own PhD graduates may apply if their degree falls inside the eligibility window.
- Fellows are required to be in residence for the term of the fellowship.
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Application process
- 1Read the Center’s statement on the 2027-28 annual topic, Empire, and shape the project around it.
- 2Prepare a research plan of no more than 1,000 words.
- 3Prepare a course proposal of no more than two pages for the undergraduate course the applicant would teach at Penn.
- 4Prepare a CV and a writing sample of roughly 20 to 25 pages.
- 5Arrange three confidential letters of recommendation.
- 6Submit all materials through Interfolio by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on 1 November 2026.
- 7Decisions are announced in February 2027.
Program timeline
Application deadline, 11:59 p.m. Eastern
1 November 2026
Decisions announced
February 2027
Fellowship begins
1 July 2027
Fellowship ends
30 June 2028
The Center publishes no opening date for the application portal and no interview stage.