A group of students conduct research in the reading room of HNOC's Williams Research Center.

Fertel Graduate Student Travel Award

Awarded annually, this followship provides support to graduate-level students seeking to conduct research at HNOC’s Williams Research Center.

About Details & Eligibility Apply FAQs

About

HNOC is excited to offer the Fertel Graduate Student Travel Award to students currently enrolled in graduate-level work in history or a related field. Eligible recipients receive a stipend of $2,000 to travel to New Orleans and conduct at least one week of research at HNOC’s Williams Research Center.

This program is funded by the Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, which supports education in Louisiana, including public, private, and parochial schools; special programs designed to serve students from kindergarten through college; and other high-impact educational initiatives.

Three people sit at a wooden table with books and red folders open. They are engaged in discussion, surrounded by notebooks and other documents. The floor has an intricate, colorful patterned carpet. The scene is viewed from above.

Eligibility

The Historic New Orleans Collection (HNOC) will offer three (3) graduate student travel awards for 2027. Each grant provides a stipend of $2,000 for awardees to travel to New Orleans and conduct at least one week of research at HNOC’s William Research Center.

These awards are intended for students currently enrolled in graduate-level work—master’s or doctoral programs—in history or a related field. Because this is a travel grant, applicants must have a permanent address that is more than 100 miles away from the Williams Research Center (i.e. the French Quarter of New Orleans). Applicants who do not reside in the US must indicate their citizenship. Applicants must be US citizens or already hold the J-1 or equivalent documents that will allow them to accept the stipend. HNOC cannot facilitate visas.

While visiting other local archives is permitted, priority will be given to applicants whose research will be facilitated primarily by HNOC’s archival holdings.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online via the form on this page. For academic year 2026–27, applications will be accepted from Thursday, October 15, through Friday, December 18, 2026.

Applications must include the following components:

Cover Letter
Curriculum vitae of no more than four pages
Description of the research project with an indication of the specific archival collections at HNOC that the project will utilize. (Please keep this to 1,200 words or less, excluding any bibliography or works cited.)
One letter of recommendation should also be submitted. The letter should come from a faculty member at the school where the applicant is enrolled who is familiar with the applicant’s work and the project being proposed.

Successful applicants will be notified of their award by the end of March 2027.

Applicants should NOT apply for this grant as well as the Woest Fellowship, also awarded by HNOC, in the same award cycle. If an applicant applies for both awards, the application will be considered for the Woest Fellowship only.

Apply

For academic year 2026–27, applications will open Thursday, October 15, and close Friday, December 18, 2026. Please read our Frequently Asked Questions on this page before applying.

Applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or any other protected status.

Support

A person wearing a cap sits at a wooden table, reading a book in a library. The table is spread with more books, a tablet, a smartphone, a pencil holder, and a notebook. The floor has a patterned carpet. The date on the tablet reads 16.

Frequently Asked Questions

Students enrolled in a graduate program in history or a related discipline who reside outside of Southeast Louisiana (at least 100 miles from New Orleans) are eligible to apply.

Applicants should provide a cover letter, a CV, a project description with an indication of the specific HNOC archival collections the project will utilize, and one letter of recommendation from a faculty member at the applicant’s school. The CV should be no more than four pages. Please keep project descriptions to 1,200 words or less excluding a bibliography or works cited. Submissions should be made via the online application portal.

Visit HNOC’s online catalogOpens in new tab to identify collections that will support the proposed research project. Applicants are also encouraged to contact HNOC reference staff for help identifying relevant collections at reference@hnoc.org.

No, it is free to apply for the Fertel Graduate Student Travel Award.

Award winners receive $2,000 to support their travel and research at HNOC’s Williams Research Center.

Yes, please apply via the online application form on this web page.

The award committee will notify applicants via email when their applications are received and marked complete. HNOC will make a good-faith effort to alert applicants when submissions are missing letters of recommendation in advance of the final deadline.

We are looking for projects that would substantially benefit from research access to our institutional collections. We encourage prospective applicants to familiarize themselves with our holdings, whether by exploring our online catalog or connecting with our research staff via email (reference@hnoc.org). The most successful research proposals will be those that complement our institutional mission to steward the history and culture of New Orleans and the Gulf South.

Although visiting other local archives is permitted, priority will be given to applicants whose research will be facilitated primarily by HNOC’s unique archival holdings.

Yes, as long as the applicant is an enrolled graduate student and the creative project utilizes HNOC’s archival holdings.

Applicants who do not reside in the United States must indicate their citizenship. Applicants must be US citizens or already hold a J-1 visa or equivalent documents that will allow them to accept the award. HNOC cannot facilitate visas.

We do not offer housing as part of the award. HNOC refers award recipients to local real estate websites that offer short-term rental accommodations at weekly or monthly rates. We are happy to offer advice on specific areas of the city that may be more convenient for accessing the Williams Research Center or other desired amenities.

The Ruth U. Fertel Foundation, established in the will of Ruth’s Chris Steak House founder Ruth Fertel, supports education in Louisiana, including public, private, and parochial schools; special programs designed to serve students from kindergarten through college; and other high-impact educational initiatives.

Scholars may reapply if they are still enrolled in a graduate program and located at least 100 miles away from New Orleans.

No. If an applicant applies for both fellowships in the same year, only the Woest Fellowship application will be considered. Scholars may apply for the Woest Fellowship in subsequent years.

Yes, the award committee does not transfer letters from previous applications.

Research