Founded in 1981, the Council of American Overseas Research Centers (CAORC) is a private nonprofit federation of independent overseas research centers (ORCs) that promote advanced research, particularly in the humanities and social sciences, with a focus on the conservation and recording of cultural heritage and the understanding and interpretation of modern societies. CAORC fosters research projects across national boundaries, encourages collaborative research and programmatic and administrative coherence among member centers, and works to expand their resource base and service capacity.

The Andrew W. Mellon Mediterranean Regional Research Fellowship supports Mediterranean-focused research in the humanities and related social sciences in countries bordering the Mediterranean and served by the following American overseas research centers: the American Academy in Rome; the American Center for Oriental Research in Amman; the W.F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem; the American Institute for Maghrib Studies, with centers in Tunisia, Morocco, and Algeria; the American Research Center in Egypt; the American Research Institute in Turkey; the American School of Classical Studies at Athens; the Cyprus American Archaeological Research Institute; the Palestinian American Research Center; and the American Research Center in Sofia.

Applicants must be US Citizens or Permanent Residents.

Applicants must be a doctoral candidate or scholar who obtained his/her PhD within the last ten years (September 2005 or later).