Biography Fellowships

Established by a generous gift from the Leon Levy Foundation and envisioned as a hub for writers, scholars, students and readers of biography, the Leon Levy Center for Biography at The Graduate Center, CUNY, offers four resident fellowships for the academic year beginning September 2011. Awards will include writing space, full access to research facilities, and a stipend.

Generously funded by the Leon Levy Foundation, the Leon Levy Center for Biography aims to cultivate a lively interdisciplinary discussion about the craft of biography in our time, both within and outside the academy. Applications are thus welcome from established and emerging biographers, writers moving to biography from other genres, and artists working on biography in film or other media.

During the academic year-in-residence, Biography Fellows will devote their time to their projects and be expected to participate in the monthly seminars designed expressly for the Fellows. They will also be expected to attend the annual lecture and the annual conference, as well as partake of the dynamic intellectual community at the CUNY Graduate Center and attend the public programs produced by the Leon Levy Center. Fellows may not teach or partake in other full-time employment, but each fellow will receive a stipend of $60,000.

The 2012-2013 Biography Fellowship application deadline has passed. Application results will be announced April 2012.

Biography Dissertation Fellowships

The Leon Levy Center for Biography also offers Biography Dissertation Fellowships for two PhD candidates at the CUNY Graduate Center. Applications are welcome from students in any discipline, but to be considered, an applicant's dissertation project must be devoted to biography. Biography Dissertation Fellows are expected to participate in monthly seminars designed expressly for the Fellows. They will also be expected to attend the Leon Levy Center for Biography's annual lecture and the annual conference.

Application forms will be available from the Provost's office in December 2011. The application requires a statement of purpose to the Leon Levy Center for Biography, a dissertation proposal, a bibliography, two letters of reference and a CV. Applications are due to the Provost's Office by February 1, 2012. Though applications are received through the Provost's Office, they are reviewed by the Leon Levy Center for Biography.