CAMRA Mellon Fellowship Program
Applications for the 2023–2026 cohort are now open!
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The CAMRA Mellon Fellowship Program seeks to harness the potential of visual methods to democratize the production of knowledge in academic spaces. The program’s fundamental objective is to increase the national pipeline of undergraduate students who pursue graduate careers that engage with both the theoretical and practical underpinnings of multimedia-based research and scholarship. These students aim to complete Ph.D. programs in core fields that interrogate the politics of representation, the affordances of multimodal (e.g., film, photography, performance, auditory) scholarship, and in popular media. As a three-year pipeline, the program also aims to increase the presence of individuals from underrepresented groups pursuing Ph.D. programs in college and university faculties. In this sense, the program strives to help democratize and broaden both what counts as “scholarship” as well as who we think of as “scholars.”
CAMRA Mellon applicants must be highly motivated towards conducting multimodal research, towards gaining a Ph.D., and teaching at the university level. The CAMRA Mellon Fellowship Program is open to students with a demonstrated commitment to eradicating racial and other social justice disparities with media, including students who, though not from traditionally underrepresented groups, have otherwise demonstrated a commitment to the goals of the program. While students must show interest in media-based research projects, they need not have prior formal training in visual and sonic media methods. The CAMRA Mellon Fellowship Program provides undergraduate students with support in the following interrelated areas: (1) the production of multimodal research projects, and (2) applying to and persisting in graduate programs. The CAMRA Mellon Fellowship Team—including both program scholars and graduate mentors—provides the Fellows with sustained, individualized mentorship and small-group support. Ideally, during the first year (when Fellows are Juniors), Fellows gain multimodal research and visual media methods experience by assisting with their graduate mentor's multimodal research project. They also work to develop plans for their own undergraduate multimodal research project and begin to prepare applications for graduate school. During the second year (as Seniors), Fellows complete and present their own multimodal research projects, using documentary film, photography, audio recordings, and other modes of communication to conduct their research and share their findings. Preference will be given to projects that focus on social justice themes. The second-year project can be for a course requirement, an independent project, or a senior thesis. Fellows also work with their mentors and the wider CAMRA Fellowship Team to prepare their applications for graduate school. During the third year of the pipeline, the program will continue to support participants through their first year in graduate school. Eligibility and Qualifications: This program is open to all rising juniors at the University of Pennsylvania, as well as Howard University and the University of Southern California. We ask students to apply while they are matriculated in the second (spring) semester of their sophomore year and therefore start the program in their junior year. Fellows must be full-time students. The program is designed to encourage Fellows to enter Ph.D. programs that prepare students for academic careers, so we welcome applicants who have a serious interest in multimodal scholarship and who plan to pursue that interest through graduate education. While students must show interest in individual media-based research projects, they need not have prior formal training in visual methods. We strongly encourage students from groups traditionally underrepresented at the graduate level and first-generation college students with demonstrated financial need to apply. Expectations and responsibilities: Each CAMRA Mellon Fellow will become part of the CAMRA community and will be expected to participate in the three-year pipeline program (typically the final two years of their undergraduate degree and the first year of graduate school). The program follows the schedule and calendar of the University of Pennsylvania. Fellows in other time zones should factor in that schedule while planning their participation. Fellows are expected to:
Additionally, Fellows may receive program support for the following activities:
Please note that in response to the ongoing global disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the CAMRA Mellon Fellows Program may have to change and adapt in the future. Changes will be communicated to participants. Please note that in response to the ongoing global disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the CAMRA Mellon Fellows Program may have to change and adapt in the future. Changes will be communicated to participants. About CAMRA: CAMRA Mellon Fellows will be part of the CAMRA (Collective for Advancing Multimodal Research Arts) community, a Penn-based institute that (i) trains undergraduate and graduate students to use multimedia in their research, (ii) mounts multimedia undergraduate and graduate courses that graduate students help to conceptualize, organize, and teach, (iii) collaborates with other units across campus to produce multimedia research, and (iv) organizes an annual academic conference (the Screening Scholarship Media Festival) that attracts hundreds of graduate students and faculty from all around the world. Learn more at www.camrapenn.org. CAMRA Fellows Program Team Dean John L. Jackson, Jr. Amitanshu Das Jezenia Romero |
You can find the CAMRA Mellon Fellowship application here.
Applications are due Monday, April 3, 2023, 11.59pm EST/ EDT
If you have questions about the program, the application process, or an application you have already submitted, please contact Amitanshu Das at [email protected].
