Application Procedures

The LFP has determined to pause the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program selection process for one year and therefore will not recruit Lilly Graduate Fellows in the 2022-23 academic year.  This pause will allow the LFP to assess a number of questions regarding changes in graduate education, the academic job market, and higher education more generally that impact the nature of the program and the process of recruitment. 

The LFP Staff is also pursuing opportunities to begin a graduate fellowship program in STEM fields to complement the ongoing program in the humanities and the arts. Look for updates on these developments.


Eligible candidates for the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program must be nominated by their LFP National Network Undergraduate Institution. Each Network Institution can nominate up to three nominees. To inquire about nomination, please contact the LFP Network Representative at your Undergraduate Institution. You can find your representative's name and contact information here

Once nominated, the complete application, including all supplementary materials, must be submitted no later than January 12, 2021. Further application instructions are below.

All materials must be received by January 12, 2021, to be considered for the Lilly Graduate Fellows Program.

For an Eligibility FAQ, click here.


Directions:

1. Complete and submit the Application Form, with the Application Essay, at SlideRoom. Nominees receive a link to the SlideRoom application page in the e-mail from the Lilly Fellows Program National Office informing them of their nomination. This form includes the prompt for the Application Essay.  If you need the link to the SlideRoom page, please request this via email (lillyfellows.program@valpo.edu) or 219-464-5317. You can also download a copy of the Application Essay Prompt here.

2.  In addition to the Application Form and Application Essay, please also submit the following at the SlideRoom site:

  • Electronic transcripts from all undergraduate and graduate schools attended.
  • CV or Resume
  • Three letters of recommendation (recommenders can submit these directly to SlideRoom). For applicants who have attended graduate school, at least one of the three letters must come from the applicant’s undergraduate institution and at least one must come from the applicant’s current graduate program. The letter from the graduate program need not address issues of church-relatedness or Christian faith but rather should address the applicant’s preparation and qualifications for further graduate work.
  • MFA, DFA, or DMA Applicants Only: submit portfolios of work on SlideRoom. Be brief but show your best work and include a “Read Me First” document or cover page, if necessary, that provides some orientation and, if appropriate, background information for the material you include. Applicants pursuing an MFA in creative  writing must indicate in their Application Essay their intent to continue on to a PhD program in creative writing or in a similar discipline.

If electronic versions of any of these materials are not available or if for some reason cannot be submitted on SlideRoom, please email them here or mail to the following address:

LGFP Selection
Lilly Fellows Program
Valparaiso University
Linwood House
1320 South Chapel Drive
Valparaiso, IN 46383

Noteworthy News

February LFP Update

The Current LFP Update for February 2023 is now available. Click here.


Call for nominations for the 2023 LFP Book Award

The Lilly Fellows Program invites nominations for the tenth biennial Lilly Fellows Program Book Award for 2023. The deadline for nominations is March 1, 2023. Click here for more information and to nominate a book.


Announcing the winner of the 2022 Arlin G. Meyer Prize

We are pleased to announce Gordon Johnston, Professor of Creative Writing at Mercer University, as the winner of the 2022 Arlin G. Meyer Prize in Imaginative Writing for his book of poetry, Scaring the Bears. For more information and to see the finalist for this prize, click here.


Grove City College Conference March 30-April 1, 2023

Grove City College's conference entitled "Christianity and Core Texts at Global/Cultural Crossroads" will take place March 30-April 1, 2023. For more information, click here.


Lilly Network of Church- Related Colleges and Universities

If you are interested in learning more about membership in the Lilly Network of Church-Related Colleges and Universities, please contact us here.


New edition of Leading Lives that Matter released

In their second edition of Leading Lives That Matter, editors Mark Schwehn and Dorothy Bass compile a wide range of texts—from ancient and contemporary literature, social commentary, and philosophy—related to questions of vital interest for those who are trying to decide what to do with their lives and what kind of human beings they hope to become. Leading Lives that Matter has been an important text in many of our fellowship and grant programs, and it contains excellent resources. Click here for more information and an excerpt.