Fund Details
Paul Mellon Fellowship
Competition Type
Yale

Brief Description:

Fellowships are offered to two members of the Senior Class in Yale College for study at Clare College, Cambridge, for the coming academic year. Fellowship recipients may request a second or third year depending on their academic program.

Description:

Fellowships are offered to two members of the Senior Class in Yale College for study at Clare College, Cambridge, for the coming academic year. Fellowship recipients may request a second or third year depending on their academic program (see more below).

An Applicant
  1. Must demonstrate a genuine interest in Britain or in subjects that can best be approached by study in England.
  2. Must agree that in the summer following their first year at Clare College they will devote some time to travel in the British Isles or on the Continent, and will not ordinarily expect to return to the United States during that time.
  3. Must have a strong academic record at Yale.
  4. Must have demonstrated qualities of leadership at Yale.
The Mellon Fellowship will pay directly to Clare College all tuition and college fees, including board and room expenses. Additionally the Mellon Fellow will receive round-trip transportation from their home to Cambridge and a stipend of not less than £15,000 per year, payable in quarterly installments.

*To avoid disappointment, bear in mind that only highly qualified candidates have a chance to win the fellowship, for which the committee typically receives 30 to 40 applications.



Application Information:

Applications should be submitted via the Henry/Mellon/Kings Common Application accessible via the Apply link.  A completed application includes:
  1. A 1000-word personal statement.  Please describe your academic and other interests.  The statement should describe the specific area of proposed study and reasons for wishing to study at Cambridge.  If you applying to a 'taught' program, please describe how the courses are relevant to your objectives.  If you plan to pursue research, please outline your research proposal.
  2. Three letters of recommendation.  At least two of these letters should be from those who have taught you and/or supervised research.  The third letter may also be academic or from someone who can comment on character/leadership.  Either way, please choose people who know you well.
  3. Résumé. No more than two pages long.
  4. Transcript.  Unofficial Yale transcripts will be sufficient for the campus competition.  Please include any relevant transcripts from other universities attended.
  5. Evidence of application to Cambridge for the course of study proposed to begin the following autumn. NOTE: If also applying for the Yale-Kings Scholarship, applicants may list Claire and King's as college preferences in their Cambridge application in any order. This is not a requirement and, if awarded the grant, fellowship administrators will help with college placement
* Concerning eligible proposed programs of study for the Paul Mellon:

  • Under the university's regulations it is NOT possible to undertake two MPhil degrees at Cambridge. Instead, applicants for the Paul Mellon Fellowship may, for example, propose to undertake a single one-year MPhil degree or a PhD (the Paul Mellon could fund up to 3 years of doctoral research, but not more).  In some cases it might be possible to do a taught MPhil followed by a one-year master's degree by research, when such a degree is available in an appropriate subject (this is more likely to be an option in STEM fields).  It is also possible to propose a second bachelor's degree in two years, called an affiliated degree. 

  • All applicants should read carefully the graduate admissions information provided by Cambridge.

  • The best-qualified candidates will be called in March for an interview with the Committee, and they will be notified of the results of the competition shortly afterward.

    The Mellon Fellowship Committee includes the Head of College of Berkeley, Davenport, and Saybrook Colleges.

    Questions about the Paul Mellon Fellowship may be referred to Sarah Layedra, Operations Manager of Berkeley College at sarah.layedra@yale.edu or 203-436-2899.

Special Eligibility Requirements:

  1. Must demonstrate a genuine interest in Britain or in subjects that can best be approached by study in England.
  2. Must agree that in the summer following their first year at Clare College they will devote some time to travel in the British Isles or on the Continent, and will not ordinarily expect to return to the United States during that time.
  3. Must have a strong academic record at Yale.
  4. Must have demonstrated qualities of leadership at Yale

Restrictions to Use of Award:

Under the university's regulations it is NOT possible to undertake two MPhil degrees at Cambridge. Please see note above, under Application information, concerning eligible proposed programs of study for the Paul Mellon.

Applicants for the Paul Mellon who would require a student visa to pursue postgraduate study in the UK (US citizens, for example) may not propose to pursue a part-time degree course at Cambridge, as visas will only be granted for full-time degree courses.

Links to Additional Information:

University of Cambridge Graduate Admissions Website
Clare College Cambridge Website
Berkeley College Yale Website

Contact Information:

For questions about this application, please contact Sarah Layedra at sarah.layedra@yale.edu

Search Filters:
Current Year of Study
  • Senior
    Term of Award
    • Academic Year
    • Multi Year
      Grant or Fellowship Purpose
      • Study Abroad
        Global Region or Country
        • -- United Kingdom (Western Europe)
          Citizenship Status
          • U.S. citizens are eligible
          • Non-U.S. citizens are eligible
            Begin Accepting Applications Date:
            12/11/2023
            Deadline Date (EST Time Zone) :
            2/02/2024 1:00 PM