The Raoul Wallenberg Institute sits inside the University of Michigan’s College of Literature, Science, and the Arts. It was created in December 2023 as part of a university-wide effort to counter antisemitism and support religious diversity, and it is named for Raoul Wallenberg, who took an architecture degree at Michigan in 1935 and later saved roughly twenty thousand Hungarian Jews from deportation.
The fellowship program brings scholars to Ann Arbor to research and speak publicly on ethnic and religious hatred and tolerance. Fellows hold a salaried appointment, keep a workspace at the Institute, join a weekly workshop, and take part in the wider life of the university.
Awards run for a single semester or a full year, and a year-long research fellowship can be renewed annually up to three years in total. Seven fellows are in residence at present, working on subjects that range from Jewish agrarian history in southern Ukraine to religious movements in West Africa.
Benefits & funding
- Starting annual salary of $68,000 USD, adjusted for experience.
- Eligibility for University of Michigan employee benefits.
- A research budget to use during the fellowship.
- Workspace at the Institute in Ann Arbor.
- Renewable annually to a maximum of three years, subject to meeting the terms of the award.
Eligibility
- Scholars and practitioners from any relevant discipline whose work concerns ethnic or religious hatred or tolerance.
- Open rank: early-career through senior scholars may apply.
- A PhD must have been successfully defended before the fellowship year begins (1 August in the two most recent cycles).
- Open to applicants of any citizenship or permanent-residency status.
- Fellows must be in residence in Ann Arbor for the term of the award.
- From the second year onward, renewed fellows teach one course a year or provide equivalent service such as curatorial work, student engagement, or outreach.
Can you apply?
Here's who can apply
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Education required
PhD
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Application process
- 1Watch the Institute’s fellowship page for the annual call, published in the autumn.
- 2Write a proposal of at most 1,000 words covering the project, the competencies behind it, how the fellowship helps complete it, how it advances the Institute’s goals, and what the applicant would contribute to campus.
- 3Assemble a curriculum vitae and a writing sample of roughly 30 pages.
- 4Supply names and contact details for two referees, who are approached only for finalists.
- 5Submit through Interfolio by the December deadline; questions go to Dr. Miriam Mora at the Institute.
Program timeline
2025-10
Call for 2026–2027 fellowships published
Application deadline for the 2026–2027 cycle
Dec 8, 2025
Offers extended to selected fellows
Spring 2026
PhD defence deadline for the 2026–2027 cycle
Aug 1, 2026
Fellowship term
2026–2027 academic year
Around 2026-10
Next call expected for the 2027–2028 cycle; both recent cycles closed on 8 December