RBS promotes access to our courses through a variety of fellowships and scholarships, generously funded by our supporters, and offered for scholarly merit, service to the bibliographical record, and support of financial needs.
Rare Book School is a global community of practice. Each year over 500 students from around the world gather at UVA and with our many partner institutions for intensive, hands-on training with world-renowned bibliographical experts. Roughly 25% of students redeem an RBS-awarded scholarship or fellowship when attending a course.
Explore opportunities that support your goals and practice.
Scholarships
ABAA Southeast Chapter Scholarship
A full-tuition scholarship for one RBS course to an early-career bookseller doing business in Alabama, the District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, or West Virginia.
Bibliographical Society of America
Awarded to a candidate currently working on a bibliographical project that intersects with or is informed by content from an RBS course.
Bibliographical Society of the University of Virginia
This full-tuition scholarship to attend an RBS course is awarded to applicants from all fields whose work or interests focus on the study of the physical book.
Blue Whale Books
A full-tuition scholarship to attend one RBS course for applicants who are full-time booksellers.
Book Club of Washington Scholarship
An annual scholarship for applicants who reside in Washington state or work at a Washington-based institution and demonstrate interest in the history of books, bibliography, or book arts.
Cathleen A. Baker Scholarship
A full tuition scholarship for applicants who self-identify as a full-time independent scholar or researcher.
Directors’ Scholarship
Awards full tuition for an RBS course to approximately 20 first-time RBS students each year. RBS invites applications from those whose work is centered in the book, its materials, and history.
James Davis Scholarship
Awarded to an applicant who shows an especially strong record of good citizenship and stewardship in the bibliographical community, and who has not previously attended RBS.
Jeremy Norman Scholarship
This full-tuition scholarship to attend one RBS course is awarded to applicants from all fields whose work or interests focus on the study of the physical book.
Kenneth Karmiole Scholarship
This full-tuition scholarship to attend one RBS course is awarded to applicants from all fields whose work or interests focus on the study of the physical book.
Kress Foundation Art of the Book in Europe Scholarship
Awarded to RBS students working in art history or museum studies, with a focus on the arts in Europe from antiquity through the early nineteenth century.
T. Kimball Brooker/Caxton Club Scholarship
Awarded to a first-time RBS attendee living in the Midwest who has professional interests in bibliography, book history, or the book arts.
William T. Buice III Scholarship
Provides full RBS tuition for returning students with demonstrable financial need. Applicants from all fields are invited to apply.
The 2026 Scholarship Committee comprises Kate Siebert Medicus (Special Collections Cataloger and Associate Professor, Kent State University); Laura Perrings (Director of Programs & Education, Rare Book School); Rachel Budge (Assistant Program Manager, Rare Book School); Agnieszka Czeblakow (Head of Research Services, Tulane University Libraries); and Sam Lemley (Curator of Special Collections, Carnegie Mellon University).
Outside Scholarship Opportunities
Several other bibliographical organizations generously offer scholarships towards RBS course tuition. Each organization has its own criteria and selection process; however, eligibility may be contingent on admission to an RBS course. Please refer to the providing organization’s website for full details.
ABAA Scholarship
The Elisabeth Woodburn Fund offers annual scholarships for RBS course tuition. ABAA scholarship funds are open to full and associate members of the ABAA, as well as employees of members.
IOBA Scholarship
Two annual scholarships to IOBA members that may be used for Rare Book School, California Rare Book School (Los Angeles), or London Rare Books School.
George Robert Kane Scholarship
The Northern California Chapter of the ABAA (NCC/ABAA) accepts applications for funding to attend courses offered by Rare Book School, designed to promote professionalism and education relevant to the book trade.
Fellowships
SoFCB Junior Fellows Program
As part of the Society of Fellows in Critical Bibliography (SoFCB), Junior Fellows form a thriving community of scholars working across disciplines to advance the study of texts, images, and artifacts as material objects.
The M. C. Lang Fellowship
Open to faculty and librarians at liberal arts colleges and small universities in the United States, the M. C. Lang Fellowship in Book History, Bibliography, and Humanities Teaching with Historical Sources teaches educators how to discern and convey the human presences in original textual artifacts and inculcate wonder in students.
RBS-UVA Fellowship Program
Open to students at the University of Virginia to enhance UVA student research employing special collections, including written, printed, and born-digital materials. The fellowship includes a stipend and the opportunity to compete for an annual prize.
E. Ph. Goldschmidt Fellowship
RBS awards Goldschmidt Fellowships to promising individuals who are starting their careers in rare books, the antiquarian book trade, and related fields. During RBS summer sessions, Goldschmidt Fellows attend courses and work as program staff members or lab instructors.
Reese Fellowship in the Print Culture of the Americas
Open to graduate students, beginning antiquarian bookseller, or early-career book professionals. Supports several weeks at RBS in a position that combines staff duties with the opportunity to take an RBS course focusing on American themes.
Previous Offerings
The Andrew W. Mellon Fellowship for Diversity, Inclusion & Cultural Heritage
A $1.5 million grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation in support of a six-year program to advance multicultural collections through innovative and inclusive curatorial practice and leadership. Forty-five fellows who identified with underrepresented communities and/or who worked primarily with collections that document minority, immigrant, and non-Western cultural traditions participated in this program.
The fellowship: 1) developed skills for documenting and interpreting visual and textual materials in special collections and archives; 2) raised awareness within professional communities about the significance of multicultural collections; 3) built connections with communities through strategic programming, outreach, and advocacy; and 4) advanced careers by establishing new pathways and skills for professional growth.
RBS-UVA Presswork Fellowship Program
Made possible thanks to a generous grant from The Jefferson Trust, an initiative of the UVA Alumni Association, and in partnership with UVA Special Collections. UVA students shared the history, craft, and technology of historical printing presses with the University community and beyond. Presswork Fellows received specialized training and instruction to print with unique historical printing presses. They then took on teaching roles themselves, helping to lead printing demonstrations for UVA classes and the general public.
IMLS-RBS Fellowship Program
Thanks to a grant from the Institute of Library and Museum Services, the IMLS-RBS Fellowship for Early-Career Librarians allowed young professionals with excellent potential for professional achievement to attend an RBS course and to increase their professional involvement at the national level. The program awarded 40 fellowships over two years to help fellows acquire skills relevant to professional work in special collections and build important professional networks.
RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program
The RBS-RBMS Diversity Fellowship Program continued the work of the IMLS-RBS Fellowship Program, awarding six recipients over a three-year period. The Rare Books and Manuscripts Section (RBMS) of the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) helped fund this fellowship.
San Garde Fellowships
From 1999 to 2019, the San Garde Fellowship provided free RBS course tuition to a staff member currently working with rare materials at Oxford University’s Bodleian Library. In 1989 (and again in 1998), the Bodleian Library allowed RBS to choose unwanted material from a large collection of printed materials donated to the Library in the 1970s by the San Garde family.
Ian Willison Fellowship
From 2001 to 2009, the Willison Fellowship made available free RBS course tuition to a staff member currently working with rare materials at the British Library. The Willison Fellowship marked the many contributions made to American research librarianship in general (and to the Book Arts Press and Rare Book School in particular) by Ian Willison, head of English language materials at the BL until his retirement in 1986.
Geiss-Hsu Foundation Scholarship
The Geiss-Hsu Foundation Scholarship funded professionals whose work focuses primarily on the study or care of cultural artifacts from East Asia, as well as non-specialists wishing to develop an interest in this area, to attend a Rare Book School course on Asian books.
Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship
The Tavistock Books Educational Scholarship was a full-tuition scholarship opportunity for antiquarian booksellers admitted to Joel Silver’s course, L-25: Reference Sources for Researching Rare Books. This scholarship was awarded each year that this course was offered. Preference was given to individuals in the early stages of their careers and to those who would not otherwise be able to attend RBS without scholarship assistance.
Scholarship & Fellowship Terms & Conditions
Participation in Rare Book School’s scholarship or fellowship programs implies acceptance of the following terms and conditions:
- RBS scholarships and fellowships apply only to courses administered by Rare Book School, based at the University of Virginia, and are not transferable to related programs (e.g., California Rare Book School, London Rare Books School, &c.).
- Most RBS scholarship/fellowship awards cover tuition (including deposit) for one in-person RBS course, or for either one 22-hour online course or two short online courses (the length of which are to be determined). In most cases, a single award may not be broken over multiple years; recipients who elect to redeem an award for a single short online course may not reserve remaining funds for a subsequent year. The recipient is responsible for any other expenses related to the acceptance of the scholarship and attendance at RBS. Some awards include additional funds (these are noted on the individual scholarship/fellowship pages).
- RBS awards scholarships and fellowships without reference to admission to any particular course. Admission to RBS courses is by competitive application; receiving an RBS scholarship/fellowship does not guarantee admission to any particular RBS course. Recipients will have credit that they can then use to pay for any course to which they are thereafter admitted.
- RBS scholarships and fellowships have no cash value.
- Scholarships are awarded and take effect in early January, and are redeemable for two calendar years, unless otherwise noted. Scholarship/fellowship recipients must claim their awards within two years (e.g., scholarships awarded in January 2022 must be claimed by 31 December 2023), unless otherwise noted.
- Recipients may only hold one active RBS scholarship or fellowship at any given time.
- The decision of all selection committees is final. Because of the large volume of applications, the committees cannot provide additional information about their decisions.
- All information provided in the scholarship/fellowship application is confidential. RBS will not share address or contact information with third parties; however, RBS may report some personal information, such as recipient name, year of award, and course taken (e.g., on the RBS website, on grant/donor reports, &c.). RBS may disclose other information, provided it cannot be used to identify an applicant.
- It is the responsibility of scholarship/fellowship recipients to notify RBS of any changes in contact information that may affect RBS’s ability to reach them during the award period. If, after a reasonable attempt, RBS is unable to contact the recipient, the recipient will forfeit the award, and may risk eligibility for future awards.
- In most cases, scholarship recipients are expected to submit a brief testimonial following completion of their RBS course or courses to rbs_scholarships@virginia.edu. Testimonials are shared with the Friends of Rare Book School, without whose generous support these awards would not be possible.
- If a scholarship/fellowship recipient (1) misrepresents information on the application or (2) withdraws from a course less than two weeks before the course begins, the recipient will forfeit the award and may risk eligibility for future awards.