Silas Palmer Fellowship
Fellowships & Support
The application period for the Silas Palmer fellowship is now open.
Applications are due April 15, 2025.
Silas Palmer established a special fund for students “whose studies involve a substantial use of library and archives materials located in the Hoover Institution” in 1960 to honor his late wife Olive Holbrook Palmer, who had a love of history.
The Palmers come from some of the “founding families” of the Bay Area, establishing their estate in Elmwood in Atherton. With no children of their own and hopes to support bright young people, they provided opportunities to fund students at Stanford, starting in the 1930s. Today, the Silas Palmer Fellowship is offered to both Stanford and non-Stanford students.
Award Description
The Silas Palmer Fellowship provides an award of up to $5,000 to support research based on our collections. Recipients are expected to spend a minimum of ten days at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives directly accessing collection materials in the reading room, and complete their research and post-visit summary report within the one year of the cohort.
Recipients are expected to complete their research and submit a report between September 1, 2025 and August 31, 2026. Recipients unable to complete their research during the timeframe must reapply.
Eligibility & How to Apply
Undergraduate and graduate students currently residing in the United States are eligible* to apply for the Silas Palmer Fellowship.
Applicants are encouraged to learn more about the many ways to search our rare and unique collection of archival and library materials to better inform your selection of collection materials.
*US faculty, postdocs, independent scholars, and non-US faculty are eligible to apply for the Scholar Research Support Grant.
Application Requirements
All applicants are required to submit their applications online. The following materials must all be submitted by the deadline, including completed recommendation forms.
- Contact information
- Resumé or CV
- A proposal of fewer than 750 words describing your research project, including the names of Hoover collections you plan to consult and why they are necessary for your project. To start your search, visit our page on How to Search our collections.
- A citation list of Hoover collections you plan to consult (see template).
- The names and email addresses of two individuals who will complete recommendation forms. Once you have submitted your completed application, each individual will be sent an email requesting a recommendation on your behalf. You will receive an email notification when each letter has been submitted but you will not have access to view the confidential letters.
- Please note that all submissions are final. Once you submit your application, you will not have the option to make any edits.
All materials, including completed recommendation forms, must be submitted by April 15, 2025.
Application Period is OPEN
Fellowship recipients are expected to complete their visit, research, and post-visit summary report between September 1, 2025, and August 31, 2026. Decision announcements will be sent to applicants in July 2025.
Please follow us on social media or contact us to learn more.
Research by Our Silas Palmer Fellows
Anjali Katta
Silas Palmer Fellow Examines 20th Century Monetary Aid in China
China, throughout the 20th century, experienced uncertainty and revolution that resulted in radical changes in government. During this time, China also experienced frequent natural disasters (floods and earthquakes) and famines.
Hoover Institution Library & Archives
2018 Annual Silas Palmer Fellowship Conference
The Hoover Institution Library & Archives Invites you to the Silas Palmer Fellowship Conference. The agenda for this gathering of Silas Palmer recipients past and present is listed below.
Sarah Mellors
Silas Palmer Fellow Sarah Mellors Situates International Population Planning Within Cold War History
Typically historians consider the Cold War in terms of prolonged and deadly proxy wars fought in places like Korea and Vietnam. But what if Cold War violence was enacted through ostensibly neutral public health regimes?
