FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – September 15, 2025
Media Contact: J.A. Lyon, Director of Marketing & Communications, jlyon@monticello.org
CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA – The Thomas Jefferson Foundation, the private nonprofit that owns and operates Monticello, is pleased to announce that applications are now open for its Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies (ICJS) fellowship program.
Established in 1994, Monticello’s ICJS is a multidisciplinary research center that leads the study of Thomas Jefferson and his world and supports the ongoing work of preservation and education at Monticello. To date, the ICJS has awarded more than 600 fellowships to researchers from around the country and the globe.
“This year, Monticello explored ways to better support the scholarship that comprises Jefferson Studies and how this information answers the questions of public interest,” said Andrew M. Davenport, Vice President for Research and the Saunders Director of the ICJS. “This fellowship program will catalyze the next generation of Jefferson Studies scholarship, especially as the country revisits its founding history during the 250th celebrations in 2026.”
As part of this effort, the ICJS will also introduce two newly developed cohorts of fellows: the Semester Cohorts and Yearlong Hybrid Cohorts.
Residing in Charlottesville, Virginia, for the duration of the fellowship, Semester Cohort fellows will use the on-site resources at ICJS, where they will have access to Monticello’s Jefferson Library and nearby institutions such as the University of Virginia’s Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library. Semester Cohorts will take place each fall and spring, lasting four months.
Fellows in the Yearlong Hybrid Cohorts will conduct research primarily offsite while taking part in structured virtual gatherings, supplemented by occasional visits to Monticello. These terms will begin in the summer and last 12 months.
ICJS is committed to supporting scholars of all levels and encourages those with a variety of career backgrounds to apply. Applications close November 17, 2025. Find details at monticello.org/fellowship.
About The Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello
The Thomas Jefferson Foundation was incorporated in 1923 to preserve Monticello, the home of Thomas Jefferson, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Today, the foundation seeks to bring history forward into national and global dialogues by engaging audiences with Jefferson’s world and ideas and inviting them to experience the power of place at Monticello and on its website. Monticello is recognized as a National Historic Landmark, a United Nations World Heritage Site and a Site of Conscience. As a private, nonprofit organization, the foundation’s regular operating budget does not receive ongoing government support to fund its twofold mission of preservation and education. For information, visit monticello.org.