Summary

The Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art is the only center for scholarship on modern art located in an encyclopedic museum.

Each year, the Research Center offers four fellowships:

1. a two-year Pre-Doctoral Fellowship;
2. a Post-Doctoral Fellowship, which may be one or two years in duration;
3. a one-year Mid-Career Fellowship for an established scholar with publication record commensurate with their career stage;
4. and, a one-year Non-Residential Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship. Learn more about the Non-Residential Fellowship.

Fellowships with The Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art offer an exceptional opportunity to conduct focused research on an independent project while contributing to the life of the Research Center.

Key Details

Compensation: $50,000 stipend (pre-doctoral fellows); $60,000 (post-doctoral fellows); $70,000 stipend (mid-career fellows); + $6,000 travel stipend

Term: (see below)

• Pre-Doctoral Fellowships are for 24 months and must take place between September 1, 2027, and August 31, 2029.
• Post-Doctoral Fellowships may be 12 or 24 months in duration and must take place between September 1, 2027, and (depending on the length of the fellowship) August 31, 2028, or August 31, 2029.
• Mid-Career Fellowships are for 12 months and must take place between September 1, 2027, and August 31, 2028.

Schedule: FT

Deadline: October 15, 2026 (5 PM ET)

Eligibility

• Graduate students pursuing a doctoral dissertation (who are currently enrolled in a PhD program) should apply for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, while students who have received a PhD within seven years should apply for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship.
• Post-Doctoral Fellows normally apply to transform their dissertation into a book manuscript or to develop a new project.
• Applicants for the Mid-Career Fellowship should be established scholars with a record of publications commensurate with their career stage.
• We encourage applications from those pursuing research in art history and in other humanities disciplines like history, anthropology, philosophy, and comparative literature, as long as they are focused on the visual arts. We accept applications from scholars originating from any accredited international university.
• You may not apply for a Leonard A. Lauder Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Leonard A. Lauder Non-Residential Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship in the same year.
• All projects must focus on modern art. By ‘modern art’ we mean architecture, drawing, design (including exhibition, graphic, interior, and stage design), film, painting, performance, photography, prints, and sculpture in the period from the last third of the nineteenth century through the 1960s, from any country, region, or culture.
• Individuals who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents are eligible to apply for The Met Fellowship Program, provided that they have or are able to obtain valid work authorization under applicable US visa regulations. If you are an international student, fellow, or worker currently in the US on a visa sponsored by another entity (e.g. a university, another museum, or employer), we strongly encourage you to speak to your university’s foreign student office or visa sponsor before applying. If you are currently in the US on an F-1 visa sponsored by a US college or university, you may request CPT or OPT from your school to participate in the Fellowship Program. Please contact your university’s foreign student office prior to applying.
• If you are not currently in the US, The Met may be able to sponsor successful applicants as part of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, if they are eligible. Please note that the J-1 Exchange Program has specific regulations about repeat participation in the program; if you currently hold or have held a J-1 visa in the past, we strongly encourage you to visit the BridgeUSA website (j1visa.state.gov) and your current sponsor’s visa office to determine your eligibility to apply for another J-1 visa. Please note that The Met does not reimburse or cover costs incurred during the visa application process.

About

The Met presents over 5,000 years of art from around the world for everyone to experience and enjoy. The Museum lives in two iconic sites in New York City—The Met Fifth Avenue and The Met Cloisters. Millions of people also take part in The Met experience online.

Since its founding in 1870, The Met has always aspired to be more than a treasury of rare and beautiful objects. We are committed to fostering a collaborative and respectful work environment with a staff as diverse as the audiences we engage. Our staff members are art lovers who are passionate about working toward a common goal: creating the most dynamic and inspiring art museum in the world.

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