Eligibility

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.


 In addition, nominees must meet the following eligibility requirements:

  • Nominees must have earned or be in the process of earning a baccalaureate degree from a LFP network institution.

  • Eligibility for the fall 2021 Cohort is open to seniors graduating during 2020-2021 academic year, or to anyone having received a baccalaureate from a network institution after April 2016.

  • Nominees must be U.S. Citizens.

  • In order to receive this Fellowship, nominees must have been accepted into a PhD, MFA, ThD, or equivalent program by June 1, 2021.  The school must be located in North America.

  • Eligible disciplines are: art; art history; creative writing; history; interdisciplinary studies; languages and literature; music; music history; philosophy; religion; rhetoric; theater history; theater arts, and theology. Those applicants pursuing an MFA in creative writing must indicate their intent to continue to a PhD program.

  • Finalists must attend an Interview Conference April 8-10, 2021. (overseas applicants please contact us). Fellows must attend an Inaugural Conference August 2-5, 2021. If selected, Fellows begin the program in fall 2021. The LGFP will cover all expenses for these events.

For more information, contact us via e-mail or call 219-464-5317. For an FAQ on Eligibilityclick here, and Application Procedures, click here.

Noteworthy News

September LFP Update

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


Registration is now open for the 2023 National Conference

Registration is now closed for the 2023 National Conference, "Contemplating Integral Ecology for the Common Good," on October 20-22 at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Click here for more information about the conference, including the schedule. 


Registration is now open for the 2023 Administrators Workshop

Registration is now closed for the 2023 Workshop for Senior Administrators on the topic, "Fostering Hope in a Polarized Age," October 19-20, at Aquinas College in Grand Rapids, MI. Click here for more information about the workshop, including the schedule.


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.


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.