Summer Fellowship in Community Archives
We are inviting applications for our 2025 Summer Fellowship in Community Archives, an exciting in person opportunity for undergraduate students entering their junior or senior year or students enrolled in a master’s program to receive hands-on training in community-based archival work.
SAADA is at the forefront of advancing a community-driven approach to archival collecting, where archival work is done by, with, and for our community. Over the past sixteen years, SAADA has grown from a modest digital repository to a powerhouse of South Asian American stories. Our archive, storytelling projects, artistic partnerships, walking tours, lesson plans, films, and books help ensure that South Asian Americans are recognized as an essential part of the American story. For more information about SAADA, visit our website; find us on Instagram; check out “Memories We Carry,” an exhibit created by one of our Archival Creators Fellows; or, listen to the soundtrack to our Revolution Remix walking tour of Philadelphia.
SAADA Summer Fellows will contribute to SAADA’s archive while being immersed in a practicum-style learning environment. This fellowship will complement humanities studies and offer guidance on career opportunities in libraries, archives, and museums. The program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Fellowship Dates
July 7, 2025, through August 29, 2025: This eight-week fellowship includes six weeks in person and two weeks remote.
Fellowship Commitment
During the fellowship, fellows will be responsible for:
Fellowship Support
Fellows will receive:
Eligibility
This fellowship program is open to all U.S.-based individuals with valid work authorization who are members of the community they will archive or which they otherwise have deep existing relationships.
Applicants must be entering their junior or senior year in an undergraduate program or entering or currently enrolled in a master’s program for the 2025-2026 academic year.
No formal archival training is necessary, but applicants should have a demonstrated interest in the South Asian American community, community-based archives, and the preservation and care of humanities collections.
Application Timeline
If you are eligible, and able to meet the requirements of the fellowship, please fill out the application form by Sunday, January 12, 2025 by 11:59pm (your local time zone). Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.
The application form is below. Please note, as the application form will not automatically save your information while in progress, we encourage you to enter application information into the Word version, then when completed, copy that over to the live application form below.
Find answers to frequently asked questions: FAQ Page
We are inviting applications for our 2025 Summer Fellowship in Community Archives, an exciting in person opportunity for undergraduate students entering their junior or senior year or students enrolled in a master’s program to receive hands-on training in community-based archival work.
SAADA is at the forefront of advancing a community-driven approach to archival collecting, where archival work is done by, with, and for our community. Over the past sixteen years, SAADA has grown from a modest digital repository to a powerhouse of South Asian American stories. Our archive, storytelling projects, artistic partnerships, walking tours, lesson plans, films, and books help ensure that South Asian Americans are recognized as an essential part of the American story. For more information about SAADA, visit our website; find us on Instagram; check out “Memories We Carry,” an exhibit created by one of our Archival Creators Fellows; or, listen to the soundtrack to our Revolution Remix walking tour of Philadelphia.
SAADA Summer Fellows will contribute to SAADA’s archive while being immersed in a practicum-style learning environment. This fellowship will complement humanities studies and offer guidance on career opportunities in libraries, archives, and museums. The program is made possible with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities.
Fellowship Dates
July 7, 2025, through August 29, 2025: This eight-week fellowship includes six weeks in person and two weeks remote.
- July 7, 2025 - August 15, 2025: Fellows will work in person in Philadelphia
- August 15, 2025 - August 29, 2025: Fellows will work remotely and also attend the Society of American Archivists annual meeting (August 24-27, 2025) in Anaheim, CA
Fellowship Commitment
During the fellowship, fellows will be responsible for:
- Creating an archival collection focused on a community of which they are a member of or with which they have a deep existing relationship
- Enhancing SAADA’s archive through digitization, metadata creation, transcription of oral histories, conducting research, and writing introductions to collections, along with other tasks
- Supporting SAADA staff in organizing a virtual event with speakers on a theme related to community-based archives, oral histories, or South Asian American history
- Leading a brown bag lunch session with the cohort and staff to share project findings
- Documenting their experience for sharing to SAADA’s networks
- Creating a presentation for students and faculty at their academic institution, showcasing what they learned during the fellowship, with a focus on their specific collection
- Attending the Society of American Archivists annual meeting in Anaheim, CA
Fellowship Support
Fellows will receive:
- A stipend of $7,000 to cover living expenses
- Training in community-based archival operations, including:
- Digitization standards
- Metadata creation
- Oral history methodology
- Ethical issues in community-based archival work
- An individual mentor who will provide personalized guidance and support throughout the fellowship
- Exposure to career-readiness opportunities
- Ongoing support from staff throughout the fellowship
Eligibility
This fellowship program is open to all U.S.-based individuals with valid work authorization who are members of the community they will archive or which they otherwise have deep existing relationships.
Applicants must be entering their junior or senior year in an undergraduate program or entering or currently enrolled in a master’s program for the 2025-2026 academic year.
No formal archival training is necessary, but applicants should have a demonstrated interest in the South Asian American community, community-based archives, and the preservation and care of humanities collections.
Application Timeline
- October 24, 2024: Call for fellowship applications is made available online
- January 12, 2025: Fellowship application deadline
- February 28, 2025: Notification of application status
If you are eligible, and able to meet the requirements of the fellowship, please fill out the application form by Sunday, January 12, 2025 by 11:59pm (your local time zone). Please direct all questions and inquiries to fellowships@saada.org.
The application form is below. Please note, as the application form will not automatically save your information while in progress, we encourage you to enter application information into the Word version, then when completed, copy that over to the live application form below.
Find answers to frequently asked questions: FAQ Page