Postdoctoral Fellow in Byzantine Coins at Dumbarton Oaks/Harvard University

Dumbarton Oaks invites applications for a Postdoctoral Fellow in Byzantine Coins to work with the museum team on projects relating to cataloguing, publication, and exhibition of the coin collection. The successful candidate will receive training in digital cataloguing, collections management, exhibition planning. They will catalogue the newly acquired Mansfield and Shaw collections of early Byzantine coins, describing, recording, and publishing these coins in the Online Coin Catalogue. They will also work with the Registrar to accession and house the coins and help with the re-photographing of the collection. Building on the work of nomisma.org, the Postdoctoral Fellow will be involved in the establishment of a federated database to catalogue and digitize Byzantine coin holdings in various collections worldwide. In partnership with the Curator and the Manager of Exhibitions, they will help to create temporary exhibits of the coin collection and take part in the planning and execution of educational activities. The fellowship offers unique opportunities to build career skills in digital humanities, museum curation, and collections-based education. The Fellow will participate fully in Dumbarton Oaks’ dynamic community of scholars and programming in Byzantine Studies and may devote 20% of the fellowship appointment to personal research.

Major Responsibilities

This is a one-year fellowship appointment, with the possibility of renewal for two additional years. Applicants must have fulfilled all the requirements for the PhD by the start date of the appointment. The Postdoctoral Fellow would report to the Curator of Coins and Seals.

The Postdoctoral Fellow will have access to the outstanding resources of the institute and become part of the larger research community at Dumbarton Oaks. The Fellowship carries a stipend of $67,600 per year with an additional $3,000 annual, taxable research allowance. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will be eligible for medical insurance through the Dumbarton Oaks Fellows’ plan and will be provided with an office space, access to the library and museum collections, and complimentary weekday lunches, among other privileges of our community of fellows.

Interested candidates should submit a cover letter, CV, a brief research proposal, and two to three references’ names and contact information. Applications must be received by July 5, 2026.

For more information, please visit the Dumbarton Oaks website or reach out to [email protected].

The preferred start date for this fellowship is September 2026 to January 2027.

Please note: This position is contingent upon funding and satisfactory performance.

Jonathan Shea
Curator of Coins and Seals

Courtney Randolph
Manager of Academic Programs

1703 32nd St NW
Washington, DC 20007

The Fellowship carries a stipend of $67,600 per year with an additional $3,000 annual, taxable research allowance.

Coins, Byzantium, Byzantine Studies, museums