program Description

The Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for the Advancement of Women Scholars

The Joan and Joseph Birman Fellowship for the Advancement of Women Scholars is a midcareer research fellowship specially designed for the mathematics community with the goal of advancing the participation and success of women in mathematics. This program is made possible by a generous gift from Joan and Joseph Birman. One award will be made for the 2026–2027 academic year in the amount of US$75,000. AMS membership also will be offered to the recipient for the duration of the Fellowship.

The fellowship seeks to address the paucity of women at the highest levels of research in mathematics by giving exceptionally talented scholars extra research support during their midcareer years, with a focus on those whose research achievements and activities have advanced the participation, retention, and success of women in mathematics. The most likely awardee will be a midcareer scholar whose achievements demonstrate significant potential both for further contributions to mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of women in mathematics. 

Applicants must have a statement regarding their overall program of research, past and planned, that is meaningful to mathematicians who are not specialists, and should also describe how their record advances women in mathematics. The statement should be no more than three pages, including bibliographical references. Special circumstances (such as time taken off for care of children or other family members) may be taken into consideration in making the award.

Awardees may use the fellowship in any way that most effectively enables their research — for instance, for release time, participation in research programs, travel support, childcare, etc. The award is issued through the recipient's institution, but institutions may not charge costs of any kind to AMS fellowships, such as fringe benefit rate, indirect costs, or overhead.

Fellowship Amount:

One award will be made for the 2026-2027 academic year in the amount of US$75,000. AMS membership will also be offered to the recipient for the duration of the fellowship.

Eligibility:

Any mathematician currently holding a tenured, tenure-track, postdoctoral, or comparable (at the discretion of the selection committee) position at a U.S. institution is eligible to apply. In particular, there are no restrictions based on race, ethnicity, national origin, and gender, in accordance with non-discrimination laws. As indicated below, the applicant should demonstrate through their submitted materials how their research achievements and activities have advanced the participation, retention, and success of women in mathematics and demonstrate their potential both for further contributions to mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of women in mathematics. The AMS recognizes that there are many informal and underrecognized ways that an individual can advance the participation and success of women in mathematics, including informal mentoring and acting as a role model, and commits to valuing these in the evaluation process.

Under normal circumstances, the fellowship cannot be deferred.

Required Materials:

• Research Statement: a statement regarding the applicant's overall program of research, past and planned, that is meaningful to mathematicians who are not specialists. The statement should be no more than three pages, including bibliographical references.
  
• Research Plan: a detailed research plan for the fellowship period that is contextualized by the research statement. The plan should include a description of how the fellowship will support the applicant's success. The plan should be no more than one page.
  
• Key Professional Accomplishments: a list of up ten publications and/or other professional activities that demonstrate the applicant's contributions to the mathematics profession and, where applicable, to the advancement of women in mathematics. This list should be no more than one page. 
  
• NSF-style summary of current and pending support: to create an NSF Current and Pending Support document, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Current and Pending (Other) Support" format, and download the PDF.
• NSF-style biographical sketch: to create the NSF-style biographical sketch, visit https://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sciencv, log into your NSF account, follow the prompts in the walk-through form, select "Create new document," choose the "NSF Biographical Sketch" format, and download the PDF.
• References: a list of three reference writers who can address the applicant’s accomplishments and research potential, both to research mathematics and to advancing the participation and success of women in mathematics. Use the email links on the coversheet to send a password and instructions directly to the writers.
• Institutional Verification: This prompt in the application will send an email to the administrator at your institution (preferably a representative in your office of sponsored programs or equivalent) who may coordinate the administration of your award if your application is successful. 

THE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS IS 11:59 P.M. EASTERN TIME ON MONDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2025. Reference letters and institutional verification will be accepted until October 6, 2025 (11:59 p.m. ET).