The Wolf Humanities Center offers fellowships each year to standing faculty at Penn in the humanities and allied departments for research that relates to the Center's theme for the year in which the award is granted. Applications are now being accepted for 2027–2028 Penn Faculty Fellowships on the topic of Empire.

Fellows are required to attend the Wolf Humanities Center's weekly Mellon Seminars (Tuesdays, 12:00–2:00pm, September 2027–May 2028), where they will present their research at one seminar and serve as a respondent to a colleague's paper at another. In addition to Penn Faculty Fellows, seminar members will include Mellon Postdoctoral Fellows, Regional Faculty Fellows, Doctoral Fellows, and the Center's Director, Ayako Kano (East Asian Languages and Civilizations), and "Empire" Topic Director, Jennifer Ponce de León (English). 

Tenure-track assistant professors may apply for one of the following options:

• $5000 research fund
• $3000 research fund and one course relief, subject to departmental approval

Tenured professors may apply for one of the following options:

• $5000 research fund
• $3000 research fund and one course relief, subject to departmental approval
• Two course reliefs*, subject to departmental approval
  While we make every effort to accommodate applicants' selected award preferences, the Wolf Humanities Center reserves the right to offer one course relief and a research fund in place of two course releases for applicants who request the "Two Course Reliefs" option.

Approval of course relief requests is required from the applicant’s department chair by the application deadline. Requests for replacement funds from the Wolf Humanities Center must be made by the fellow's department chair or administrator, and funds must be used during the academic year of the fellowship appointment.

Penn Faculty Fellows must be in-service for the entirety of the fellowship, September–May.

Interested applicants are advised to check well ahead with their department/s to avoid conflicts in scheduling classes and other obligations. 

Call for Applications, 2027–2028 

Research Topic: Empire
Application deadline: October 1, 2026

Applications are now being accepted for research on the topic of Empire, the Center's topic for 2027–28. Please apply via the Interfolio application portal.

Applicants are required to submit an up-to-date CV and a single PDF including the following:

• Project Title
• Project Abstract (approx. 200 words)
• Project Proposal (approx. 1000 words)

If you are applying for course relief, please ask your department chair to email Sara Varney by October 1, 2026 with their written approval of your application and course relief request.

Decisions will be announced in November 2026.