The Program in Agrarian Studies at Yale fosters the interdisciplinary study of agrarian societies, historically and across the world. We aim to be the crossroads for the best work in the humanities, the social sciences, environmental studies, and related professional fields that breathes new life into the study of farmers, agriculture, and rural society and captures the texture of lived experience as well as contributing to theoretical and conceptual advances.
The Agrarian Studies Program will appoint up to two Graduate Affiliate Fellows for the 2025-2026 academic year, chosen for the promise of their research and its potential to contribute to campus conversations on Agrarian Studies. If selected as one of the Graduate Affiliate Fellows you will be required to attend the weekly colloquium regularly and present a paper, most likely in the Spring Semester. You will be invited to work with other Fellows and Postdoctoral Associates in the Program to plan and organize a small workshop in Spring 2026, with some support from the Program in Agrarian Studies to include non-Yale participants.
To apply you must be a full-time registered PhD student at Yale, in your fifth, sixth, or seventh year of study during the academic year 2025-26 and engaged primarily in writing your PhD dissertation.
This appointment will not provide any financial support or compensation but does invite you to join the Agrarian Studies community as a formally included member and we can also provide shared workspace in our offices at 230 Prospect Street. We usually provide some support for research and/or professional development subject to adequate budgets being approved.
Along with our visiting, competitively selected Postdoctoral Associates, of which we will have three such appointments in 2025-26, you will constitute the core Agrarian Studies community at the colloquium and be encouraged to engage in other collaborative activities in consultation with the Program co-Directors.
Graduate Students, in eligible years of study, who are completing a PhD in relevant social science and humanities departments of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences may apply for this opportunity. We also welcome applications from PhD students in the Yale School of the Environment, and doctoral students in the Yale Law School.
The due date for a first-stage application for 2025–2026 Graduate Affiliate Fellows is Monday, February 24, 2025 at midnight EST. This is a firm deadline.
First-stage applications require a two-page proposal and a two-page CV. If more is submitted the selection committee will only read the first two pages of each of these two documents. Applicants short-listed for the second stage will be asked to send no more than 25 pages of a writing sample and a letter from their dissertation director.
For details on Agrarian Studies, please consult the website: https://macmillan.yale.edu/agrarian