Digital Humanities Fellowship

The application for the 2025 Digital Humanities Fellowship cohort is closed. We are currently selecting candidates for interviews and will be providing updates in early March.

Overview

Musselman Library invites current undergraduate Gettysburg College students from any major or discipline to apply for our paid, residential, summer research fellowship. Fellows learn Digital Humanities tools and methods, both independently and as part of a structured curriculum, and apply them to a public-facing digital project. Applicants propose a research question or topic based in humanistic inquiry to explore issues related to advocacy, social justice, or community engagement, and/or uses materials in Musselman Library’s Special Collections and College Archives. Fellows participate in a community of practice and share their learning experiences throughout the duration of the fellowship. There are three openings for this 8-week fellowship program, which will run from June 2 to July 25, 2025. Fellows will live and work on campus during this time.

What are the Digital Humanities?

Digital Humanities encompasses any humanistic inquiry facilitated by digital technologies. Digital humanists use tools for mapping, data visualization, text analysis, online exhibits, digital collections, storytelling, and more to interpret, analyze, and present research across all disciplines to a broad audience. Digital Humanities work is characterized by collaborative approaches, public engagement, openness, and transparency. We value process and experimentation as well as scholarly outcomes.

What is Humanistic Inquiry?

Traditionally, the concept of the “humanities” is grounded in the idea of disciplines that study human culture and society. History, philosophy, religion, anthropology, language, literature, and the arts are often categorized as humanities disciplines in an attempt to distinguish them from the sciences. However, humanistic inquiry is more than this—it’s the stories we make and tell, it’s how we understand our place in the world, it’s how we seek to improve and better ourselves. The humanities are interdisciplinary as well, meaning we can mix and match disciplines, both from the humanities and the sciences, to help us ask and answer questions.

What is a Community of Practice?

An important aspect of this fellowship is the development of a community of practice that includes students and library staff. In addition to working independently, fellows will be expected to work as a cohort to support each other's work, learn digital tools, solve problems, and discuss issues related to the Digital Humanities. Additionally, for the first 4 weeks of the experience, fellows will develop a collaborative micro-project using materials from Special Collections and College Archives. Fellows are expected to engage in topics related to inclusion and diversity in the practice of the Digital Humanities and commit to maintaining a culture of mutual respect.

Required Qualifications and Skills

  • Interest in Digital Humanities as a mode of scholarly inquiry and output
  • Ability to create a research topic or question grounded in humanistic inquiry and apply research skills towards answering it
  • Desire to learn Digital Humanities tools and methods
  • Strong communication, interpersonal, time management, and organizational skills
  • Ability to work effectively as an independent researcher and as part of a diverse team

Expectations, Duties, and Responsibilities

Fellows will:

  • Conduct independent research to create a digital project
  • Work independently, and with the support of the 2025 cohort, librarian partners, and Special Collections and College Archives, to plan, design, and create a Digital Humanities project that addresses issues related to advocacy, social justice, or community engagement, and/or uses materials in Musselman Library’s Special Collections and College Archives.
  • Participate in an 8-week program designed to support the development of a humanistic research question, apply research skills, and introduce a wide range of Digital Humanities tools and methods
  • Participate in a community of practice to foster a supportive learning environment
  • Develop a collaborative micro-project using materials from Special Collections and College Archives
  • Provide weekly updates on their projects to the fellowship cohort and discuss issues in the field of Digital Humanities
  • Communicate their experiences to demonstrate the value of undergraduate Digital Humanities research
  • Write short reflective essays that address a question or issue in the field of Digital Humanities; these essays are publicly posted on the 2025 website
  • Present their projects in a public session at the conclusion of the fellowship

How to Apply

Submit your statement of interest via Handshake (Job#9597118) by Sunday 11:59pm February 23, 2025. Your statement should address the following (approximately 750 words):

  1. Why are you interested in the fellowship, and what do you hope to learn and accomplish?
  2. What single research question or topic would you like to investigate, and how does address issues of advocacy, social justice, community engagement, and/or use materials in Special Collections and College Archives?
  3. Tell us about digital tools you are interested in using or learning more about that will be most effective for your proposed research question or project, and why they are appropriate.
  4. Provide us the name and email address of a Gettysburg College faculty member who is familiar with your work and research capabilities and is willing to serve as a reference. Faculty may email R.C. Miessler, Digital Initiatives Librarian (rmiessle@gettysburg.edu), if they have questions about the fellowship.

Application Tips

Eligibility

Applicants must be current undergraduate Gettysburg College students in good academic standing with at least one semester of coursework left to complete as of the end of the Spring 2025 semester. Gettysburg College is an at-will employer. Your employment with Gettysburg College is a voluntary employment-at-will relationship for no definite period of time. You maintain the right to terminate your employment with or without cause at any time, and for any reason. Gettysburg College retains the same right.

Interviews

Potential fellows will be selected from the first round of the application process to participate in a 30-minute interview. Interviews will be scheduled for the week of March 3, 2025.

Selection

Selected fellows will be informed in mid-March, 2025. A follow-up meeting with the cohort will be scheduled in late April/early May 2025.

Schedule

The fellowship will begin on June 2, 2025 and ends on July 25, 2025.  Fellows are expected to treat the experience as a full-time job, 37.5 hours per week (8:30am-5pm Monday-Friday, with one hour for lunch). Fellows are expected to perform the work of this fellowship on campus, primarily in Musselman Library, and attend all scheduled workshops and group meetings. A remote option will not be provided.

Stipend and Housing

A stipend of $4,000 will be paid in four bi-weekly installments during the 8-week program. If you have questions about the taxation of the stipend, refer to the Scholarships and Fellowships Taxation Guide and contact studentaccounts@gettysburg.edu if you have additional questions. On-campus housing is provided at no cost to Fellows. Housing will include kitchen facilities; no meal plan is provided.

Evaluation Process

Students will meet weekly with a librarian partner to discuss their progress. Students will also participate in two program evaluations, one at the mid-point of the program, and one at the end.