The Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education at the University of Southern Maine offers fellowships to assist researchers, artists, and educators in accessing our rich and varied collections, which include nearly half a million cartographic items that are global in scope and date back to 1475.
New in 2025, we are pleased to offer annual visiting fellowships in honor of Dr. Harold L. Osher and Mrs. Peggy L. Osher. These short-term visiting fellowships offer fellows the opportunity to visit the library and spend time with the collections.
Additionally, we offer our popular Teaching with Maps Fellowship Program to both University faculty teaching in Maine (during the fall and spring semesters) and Middle and High School educators in the state of Maine (during the summer). Since 2018, “Teaching with Maps” Fellowships have provided nearly 200 educators and thousands of students in Maine with the opportunity to experience primary source research and high impact learning experiences from the Osher Map Library’s collections.
The Dr. Harold L. Osher Research Fellowship supports advanced research in the humanities, social sciences, and related disciplines that would benefit from engaging with cartographic materials. Projects that explore underrepresented narratives in history are especially encouraged. While our Short-Term Research Fellowships are open to scholars at any stage of their career, Ph.D. students must be ABD and in the dissertation stage of the program in order to receive a fellowship (or the equivalent for another terminal academic degree, e.g. M.F.A., etc.). We welcome independent scholars and museum/library professionals to apply as well. Harold L. Osher Research fellows spend a total of two weeks at the Osher Map Library, immersing themselves in our cartographic and reference collections. These fellowships are intended to provide time for research, writing, and thinking. Fellows are invited to be active participants in the intellectual life and community of the Osher Map Library and the University of Southern Maine during their stay, including giving a lunchtime presentation on their research project.
Applicants selected for the Dr. Harold L. Osher Research Fellowship will be awarded $2,500 for a two-week fellowship to take place on site at the Osher Map Library and Smith Center for Cartographic Education in Portland, Maine. While the two weeks spent onsite do not have to be consecutive, they both must take place between December 2025 and December 2026 for the 2025-2026 award cycle.
Fellows are encouraged to offer a brown-bag lunch talk during their second week on site and required to submit a 250-500 word report at the conclusion of the fellowship.
Note: Fellows receive half of the stipend ($1250) upon scheduling their fellowship visit/s, and the other half ($1250) upon completion of the fellowship and submission of the report.
Applicants must fill out the Application Form online.
Applications for the Dr. Harold L. Osher Visiting Research Fellowships are due by Monday, December 1, 2025 (11:59pm EST). Applicants must include how they plan to use the collections and the season(s) they intend to be on site. In addition to the online application form, graduate student applicants must submit one brief letter of recommendation (250-500 words) from an advisor/mentor.
Please note that at this time, unfortunately, we cannot sponsor visas for fellowships.
We will award two Osher Visiting Research Fellowships for the 2025-2026 cycle. All applicants will be notified of their status by January 1, 2026.
Depending on availability and timing of the visits, housing at the University of Southern Maine’s Gorham Campus (in our Visiting Artist House) may be available [at no additional cost to the fellow]. The Gorham Campus is 25 minutes from the Osher Map Library on the Portland Campus, and can be accessed by city bus (every 30 minutes) or by car.
Questions about the Harold L. Osher Research Fellowship program can be directed to Louis Miller, Assistant Director for Research and Fellowship Programs: louis.miller@maine.edu
Beginning in 2024-2025, the Osher Map Library has hosted a visiting artist for a short-term fellowship established in honor of Peggy L. Osher. These short-term fellowships/residencies at the Osher Map Library (typically two weeks) are designed to further the artist’s visual or performing art through the study of cartography.
Currently visiting artist fellowships are by invitation only, and are offered to artists actively engaged in work with maps and mapping (broadly conceived) as part of their practice. Fellows received a $2500 stipend and assistance with housing while in residence, and generally give a public lecture or workshop as part of their residency. Visual and performing artists interested in being a Peggy L. Osher Visiting Artist at the Osher Map Library should contact our Executive Director, Dr. Libby Bischof, who coordinates this program: elizabeth.bischof@maine.edu
2024-2025 Peggy L. Osher Visiting Artist: Billy Gerard Frank
(painting/film/multimedia)
2025-2026 Peggy L. Osher Visiting Artist: Adrienne Ottenberg (illustration/cartography/textiles)
The Osher Map Library is a member of the New England Regional Fellowship Consortium (NERFC), a collaboration of 30 major cultural agencies in New England who award 25+ $5000 research fellowships annually. Fellowship awards are open to U.S. citizens and foreign nationals who hold the necessary U.S. government documents. Grants are designed to encourage projects that draw on the resources of several agencies.
NERFC grants support work in a broad array of fields, including but not limited to: history, literature, art history, African American studies, American studies, women and gender studies, anthropology, sociology, philosophy, religious studies, environmental studies, oceanography, and the histories of law, medicine, and technology. Member institutions hold collections that offer a historical perspective on topics in all of these fields and more.
For more information on fellowship requirements and how to apply for a NERFC fellowship (annually, in February), please visit the NERFC website.
