The Cultural Heritage Informatics Initiative invites applications for its 2010-2011 Cultural Heritage Informatics Fellowship program.

The Cultural Heritage Informatics Fellowships offer MSU graduate students in departments and programs with an emphasis on cultural heritage (Anthropology, History, Art History, Museum Studies, Historical & Cultural Geography, Classics, etc.) the theoretical and methodological skills necessary to creatively apply information, computing, and communication technologies to cultural heritage materials. In addition, the fellowships provide graduate students with the opportunity to influence the current state of cultural heritage informatics, and become leaders for the future of cultural heritage informatics.

During the course of their fellowship (which lasts an academic year), students will collaboratively develop a significant and innovative cultural heritage informatics project. Projects might include (but are certainly not limited to) a serious game, a mobile application, a digital archive, or a collaborative digital publication. To support their work, fellows will receive a stipend of $2000 per semester. In addition, fellows will have the opportunity to be appointed as assistants during the Cultural Heritage Informatics Field School (offered during the summer through the Anthropology Department), for which they will receive an additional $1000 stipend. As the fellows will be expected to present their work at professional conferences and meetings, they will receive an additional $1000 in travel funds. All fellows will be in residence at MATRIX: The Center for the Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online. While applicants may have previous technical experience, such experience is not required to apply.

The Cultural Heritage Informatics Fellowship program is generously supported by the Michigan State University Graduate School, The College of Social Sciences, and the Department of Anthropology, and is administered by the Department of Anthropology and hosted by MATRIX: The Center for the Humane Arts, Letters, and Social Sciences Online.

PLEASE NOTE: Due to unforseen scheduling issues, applications for the first cohort of fellows must be submitted on or before November 15, 2010. Announcements of fellowship recipients will be made by December 15, 2010. The first year of the fellowship program will take place during the spring semester and summer of 2011 (as opposed to the regular fall/spring semester cycle). In this first year of the fellowship program, students will receive a $2000 stipend during the spring semester and a $2000 stipend during the summer. Fellows who assist the Cultural Heritage Informatics Field School during the summer of 2011 will receive an additional $1000 stipend.

For more information, including eligibility and application requirements, check out the full program description.