Visiting Fellows Program

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Last Updated: Aug 26, 2026, 03:59 PM

John Dewey with friends and colleagues in China

Visiting Fellows

Apply to Visiting Fellows Program

The Center for Dewey Studies has an open call for applications to our Visiting Fellows Program. Selected Fellows will visit the Center for one or two terms during the academic year (Fall or Spring). Visits for substantially less than a 15-week semester are not eligible for a Visiting Fellowship, but are welcome to arrange a shorter-term visit. Visiting Fellows have no teaching or administrative duties at SIU, but are here to pursue their own research and interact informally with our scholarly community. The program is designed for self-funded scholars including, but not limited to, faculty who are on paid sabbatical or who are recently retired, postdoctoral scholars with external funding for a postdoctoral fellowship, advanced doctoral students on dissertation fellowship, and scholar-practitioners with independent funding.

We encourage applications from scholars of all disciplines working on the life, work, or legacy of John Dewey, as well as scholars and scholar-practitioners whose work is broadly Deweyan in spirit, and who would benefit from interaction with a community of Dewey scholars, such as those working on progressive educational reform, deliberative and participative democracy and community life, aesthetic experience and the built environment, or science and technology as practical arts for the public good.

Program Benefits

  • A supplementary stipend of $900 per month, as needed, to help defray costs of temporary relocation (4 months for single-term fellowship, 9 months for two-term fellowship).
  • A desk / work space in the Center for Dewey Studies, located in the Morris Library at SIU.
  • Library and computer privileges at SIU.
  • Basic office support.
  • Access to regular talks, discussions, conferences, workshops, and other activities at the Center.
  • Ability (with instructor permission) to sit in on graduate seminars at SIU.
  • Participation in the scholarly community of other visiting fellows, affiliated SIU faculty and graduate students, and local associates of the Center, providing a rich environment for discussions of Dewey studies, pragmatism, American philosophy, and related areas of inquiry.

Expectations

Fellows are expected to:

  • Pursue their own research project based on their application.
  • Give one Lunchtime Talk per academic term.
  • Participate in the scholarly community of the Center through talks, workshops, discussions, reading groups, and other activities.
  • Reside in Carbondale, IL for the term of their fellowship.
  • Make daily use of their assigned work space in the Center.

Fellows will be encouraged to be available for discussions with and advice for graduate students. Typically, fellows should arrive before the start of the semester in which their visit starts (see SIU Calendar) and depart no earlier than the end of the last full month of the term (November and April, respectively). Alternate visit schedules should be discussed in advance.

Application Process

Visiting Fellows should have a doctoral degree or equivalent in a relevant field of study, or should be in the dissertation research and writing phase of their doctoral studies; alternatively, scholar-practitioners should have at least five years of professional experience prior to the start of the fellowship.

Applicants should be prepared to supply the following:

  1. A brief description of the research project to be undertaken during residence (500-1000 words)
  2. A description of the source and amount of funds available to support your visit (and the status of any funding application), as well as an indication of need for supplementary funds, if needed. (Some preference is given to completely self-funded applicants.)
  3. A curriculum vitae
  4. Sample of written work or other relevant projects.
  5. A letter of reference from a colleague or mentor familiar with your work, emailed directly to DeweyCenter@siu.edu.

Application Form

For fullest consideration, applicants for the 2026-27 academic year should apply before April 15, 2026, whether they plan to come for Fall, Spring, or both semesters. After that date, applications for any remaining spots will be considered on a rolling basis.

Housing

Once selected and notified, Center staff will make a reasonable effort to help you find local housing during the period of your stay. Pending availability, this might include a furnished apartment in on-campus graduate housing, in which case the Center can make direct payments and deduct the amount from your stipend. Please reach out after your award if you have specific concerns or needs with your housing situation. 

Extended Visits

Visits may be extended through the summer through prior arrangement, though stipend and office support will not be available during the summer.

Returning Fellows Policy

A Visiting Fellow can hold a fellowship at the Center for at most two semesters every six years. In other words, after your first semester-long Fellowship, you can spend another semester as a Center Fellow in the six years following. If you have spent an academic year at the Center, you have to wait six years to be eligible for another Visiting Fellowship at the Center for Dewey Studies. After six years, the clock is reset. Those ineligible for the Visiting Fellows Program are still welcome to come to the Center as visiting researchers.

The Center for Dewey Studies Visiting Fellows program has been inspired by similar programs at the Center for Philosophy of Science at the University of Pittsburgh, the Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, and the Minnesota Center for Philosophy of Science.

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