Founded in 1970, the Folger Institute is a center for advanced study and research in the humanities, which is sponsored by the Folger Shakespeare Library and a consortium of 40 universities in the U.S. and abroad. The Institute's multi-disciplinary and cross-cultural programs are conducted as gatherings of mature scholars, faculty, and graduate students from affiliated universities. Participants in Institute programs are encouraged to find their own connection to the topic designated for investigation in any given program and to pursue their individual research interests within the scope of that topic.
With an endowment from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, sustaining grants from the National Endowment for the Humanities, and additional support from a variety of other generous sources, the Folger Institute has embarked on its fourth decade of helping to set the agenda for research and teaching in the humanities.