The Occidental College Department of History funds the Billington Summer Research Fellowships in US history for undergraduates conducting faculty-mentored archival/primary source research in US history.
About the Billington Fellowship
The Billington Summer Research Fellowships in U.S. History are funded by the Occidental College History Department and supported by the estate of historian Ray Allen Billington. These competitive fellowships support undergraduates conducting faculty-mentored archival and primary-source research on the history of the United States, from the colonial era to the recent past. History majors who have completed their junior year are given some preference, and American Studies students using historical methods are also encouraged to apply. Through the fellowship, students gain advanced research and analytical skills by engaging in original research using archival materials, oral histories, and special collections, often in research sites across the Los Angeles area.
Please direct any questions about the Billington Summer Research Fellowship to Marla Stone, History Dept. Chair, at mstone@oxy.edu.
Fellows will receive:
- Study award of $6000
- Subsidized on-campus housing and meal plan based on financial need.
- Up to $400 in consumable materials (itemized budget due with application).
Application
Interested students should apply using the Summer Research Program Fellowship process.
Applications are due on February 2, 2026, by 5:00 pm. Visit the SRP Fellowships page for the link to the application form.
Recent Recipients
2025
- Nathan Harris (History, '26), "Shooting the Messenger: U.S. Empire, Narrative Control, and the Evolving Global Mediasphere" [Mentor: Michael Gasper]
2024
- Henry Kinskey (History, '25), "Solidarity with Central America: Oral Histories of Jesuit Transnational Activism in the Pacific Northwest, 1980-1990s " [Mentor: Alexandra Puerto]
- Sophie Prado-Tucker (History, Art History, '26), "Imperial Educators: American Missionary Women in China (1842-1912) " [Mentor: Sasha Day]
2023
- Thea Wilson (History, '24), "Labor, Colonization, and Confinement: The WWII Incarceration of Japanese Americans on the Colorado River Reservation " [Mentor: Jane Hong]
- Mikayla Woods (Black Studies, American Studies, '25), "Black Motherhood within the Antebellum Legal System: The Legal History of Sojourner Truth" [Mentor: Julie Prebel]