Each summer, Bryn Mawr College awards up to 15 students a summer fellowship of $4500 to undertake an independent research project in the humanities or humanistic social sciences. The research may either be the beginning of the senior thesis or a project that stands alone, but is relevant to their intellectual interests and must be supported by a faculty advisor.
The Fellows participate in a three-day seminar at the outset of the summer. Faculty and staff run sessions on a range of topics, including organizing your time, writing and research, dealing with dead-ends and writer’s block, online reference resources, and much more. The summer program includes weekly meetings with two graduate student mentors to workshop ideas and writing, and to discuss research more generally.
The program concludes in the fall with a conference during which the Fellows present on their findings and/or on the experience of doing independent summer research.
This research program is supported through the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in honor of Bryn Mawr alumna Hanna Holborn Gray, '50 who served as Chair of the foundation's Board of Trustees. Holborn Gray was the first woman to serve as president of a major university in the United States, serving as president of the University of Chicago from 1978 – 1993.