Postdoctoral Fellowship Application Deadline October 15th

Are you an early career theological educator who is looking for a two-year job placement opportunity with both vocational and professional formation experience? The Postdoctoral Fellowship can provide that opportunity while you explore your own vocation as a theological educator.

The Louisville Institute is now accepting applications for the 2024 Postdoctoral Fellowship, which provides early career theological educators with vocational and professional formation through a two-year job placement, usually as a visiting professor at ATS-accredited theological schools or a college or university in the United States and Canada. Applicants are typically scholars studying Christian faith and life, the practice of ministry, religious trends and movements, Christian and other faith-based institutions, and religion and social issues. As part of the Louisville Institute’s Vocation of the Theological Educator Initiative (VTE), Postdoctoral Fellows participate in intentional, focused, professional formation as they explore a calling to be a theological educator.

The Louisville Institute understands theological education broadly, encompassing the academic study and teaching of religion and its practices, as well as formation for ministry, leadership, social justice and public service, nonprofit and other agency work, etc. Preference for fellowships is given to doctoral students or recent graduates who demonstrate an interest in theological education as a vocation, who express an understanding of the current challenges and opportunities of theological education, and who articulate connections between their doctoral work and these trends and dynamics.

The Postdoctoral Fellowship provides a stipend of US$30,000 each of the two years of the placement, as well as insurance, housing, and moving benefits (note: postdoctoral placements often require relocation). Postdoctoral Fellows receive ongoing peer mentorship in their placement sites, and join with a peer cohort of other fellows for three formational gatherings each year (October, February, and May) as part of the Vocation of the Theological Educator Initiative (VTE). All expenses for participants in the VTE gatherings, which are held in Louisville, KY, are covered by the Louisville Institute. You can read more about previous Postdoctoral Fellows and their placements on our website.

• are scholars based in the United States and Canada who will complete all Ph.D./Th.D. work, defend their dissertations, and receive their degrees no later than June 30 the year the fellowship begins (i.e., 2024)
• demonstrate appreciation for the Christian church and a commitment to theological education, and are able to articulate how their doctoral work and other experiences have prepared them to be a theological educator
• come from diverse fields such as history, systematic and practical theology, pastoral studies, social sciences, ethics, or biblical studies, or bring interdisciplinary approaches to their scholarship
• are aware that postdoctoral placements often require relocation in order to match fellows with appropriate schools/departments

Additional Eligibility Information:

• If you anticipate completing your doctoral program after June 30, 2024, we encourage you to apply for a Postdoctoral Fellowship next year. Previous LI Doctoral and/or Dissertation Fellows are eligible to apply to be Postdoctoral Fellows. Preference for Postdoctoral Fellowships is given to recent doctoral graduates.
• If you have previously received another Louisville Institute grant, you are eligible and encouraged to apply, but all program and financial reports for any earlier grants must be submitted by July 1. 
• If you have questions about eligibility or other stipulations of the fellowship, please email fellowships@louisville-institute.org.

• Visit our website and read all of the application materials and eligibility requirements.
• Learn more about previous Postdoctoral Fellowship placements.
• Applications are due by October 15, 2023 (11:59 p.m. EDT)