Knowledge Wins soldier climbing a stack of books

Silas Palmer Fellowship

Fellowships & Support

The application period for the Silas Palmer fellowship is now CLOSED.

Knowledge Wins soldier climbing a stack of books

Silas Palmer established a special fund for students “whose studies involve a substantial use of library and archives materials located in the Hoover Institution” in 1960 to honor his late wife Olive Holbrook Palmer, who had a love of history. 

The Palmers come from some of the “founding families” of the Bay Area, establishing their estate in Elmwood in Atherton. With no children of their own and hopes to support bright young people, they provided opportunities to fund students at Stanford, starting in the 1930s. Today, the Silas Palmer Fellowship is offered to both Stanford and non-Stanford students.

Award Description

The Silas Palmer Fellowship provides an award of up to $5,000 to support research based on our collections. Recipients are expected to spend a minimum of ten days at the Hoover Institution Library & Archives directly accessing collection materials in the reading room, and complete their research and post-visit summary report within the one year of the cohort.

Awards will be announced in May 2024. Recipients are expected to complete their research and submit a report between June 1, 2024, and June 1, 2025. Recipients unable to complete their research during the timeframe must reapply.

Eligibility & How to Apply

Undergraduate and graduate students currently residing in the United States are eligible* to apply for the Silas Palmer Fellowship.

Applicants are encouraged to learn more about the many ways to search our rare and unique collection of archival and library materials to better inform your selection of collection materials.

*US faculty, postdocs, independent scholars, and non-US faculty are eligible to apply for the Scholar Research Support Grant.

Application Requirements

All applicants are required to submit their applications onlineThe following materials must all be submitted by the deadline, including completed recommendation forms.

  • Contact information
  • Resumé or CV
  • A proposal of fewer than 750 words describing your research project, including the names of Hoover collections you plan to consult and why they are necessary for your project. To start your search, visit our page on How to Search our collections.
  • A citation list of Hoover collections you plan to consult (see template).
  • The names and email addresses of two individuals who will complete recommendation forms.

All materials, including completed recommendation forms, must be submitted by February 16, 2024.

Application Period is CLOSED

Fellowship recipients are expected to complete their visit, research, and post-visit summary report between June 1, 2024, and June 1, 2025. Decision announcements will be sent to applicants in May 2024.

Please follow us on social media or contact us to learn more.

Research by Our Silas Palmer Fellows
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Anjali Katta
Silas Palmer Fellow Examines 20th Century Monetary Aid in China
Dec 20, 2018

China, throughout the 20th century, experienced uncertainty and revolution that resulted in radical changes in government. During this time, China also experienced frequent natural disasters (floods and earthquakes) and famines.

Help China! Figure of Uncle Sam standing behind an Asian woman carrying a child
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Hoover Institution Library & Archives
2018 Annual Silas Palmer Fellowship Conference
Aug 9, 2018

The Hoover Institution Library & Archives Invites you to the Silas Palmer Fellowship Conference. The agenda for this gathering of Silas Palmer recipients past and present is listed below.

Knowledge wins soldier climbing books
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Portrait of Sarah Mellors
Sarah Mellors
Silas Palmer Fellow Sarah Mellors Situates International Population Planning Within Cold War History
Apr 28, 2016

Typically historians consider the Cold War in terms of prolonged and deadly proxy wars fought in places like Korea and Vietnam. But what if Cold War violence was enacted through ostensibly neutral public health regimes? 

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