Summary

The Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP) offers in-residence opportunities for independent research and study related to Smithsonian collections, facilities, and/or research interests of the Institution and its staff. Fellowships are offered to graduate students, predoctoral students, and postdoctoral and senior investigators to conduct independent research and to utilize the resources of the Institution with members of the Smithsonian professional research staff serving as advisors and hosts.

Applicants to the SIFP who propose a primary advisor at the Smithsonian American Art Museum will automatically be considered for the following named SAAM fellowships:

• The Will Barnet Foundation Fellowship is awarded biennially and funds a full year of research on a topic related to American modern art, including its influence on later generations.
• The Joe and Wanda Corn Fellowship is endowed by their former students Mike Wilkins and Sheila Duignan and supports scholars whose research interests span American art and American history. The recipient is jointly appointed at SAAM and the National Museum of American History and draws on the resources of both museums.
• The Douglass Foundation Fellowship in American Art provides for a full year of dissertation research at the museum.
• The Helen Frankenthaler Foundation Fellowship advances research on modern and contemporary art. Residency is available for twelve months at the predoctoral level or nine months at the postdoctoral or senior level.
• The Patricia and Phillip Frost Fellowship supports a year of research in American art and visual culture.
• The George Gurney Fellowship funds a six-month research appointment in American sculpture in honor of SAAM’s late curator emeritus of sculpture. Residencies should take place June–December 2027 or January–August 2028. Contribute to this fund
• The Virginia Mecklenburg Fellowship supports a six-month research appointment in honor of SAAM’s head curator emerita. Residencies should take place June–December 2027 or January–August 2028. Contribute to this fund
• The Joshua C. Taylor Fellowship is intermittently awarded and is supported by alumni and friends in memory of the museum’s former director and founder of the fellowship program. Contribute to this fund
• The William H. Truettner Fellowship provides for six months of research in honor of SAAM’s late curator emeritus whose career at the museum spanned nearly fifty years. Residencies should take place June–December 2027 or January–August 2028. Contribute to this fund
• The Windgate Foundation supports a yearlong fellowship for the study of American craft.
• The Wyeth Foundation Predoctoral Fellowship is awarded for the advancement and completion of a doctoral dissertation that concerns the study, appreciation, and recognition of excellence in all aspects of American art. The Wyeth Foundation for American Art provides publishing grants of up to $5,000 for first-time authors who have held a Wyeth Fellowship.

Key Details

Stipend: $10,000/for 10-week graduate student fellows; $45,000/year for predoctoral fellows and $57,000/year for postdoctoral and senior fellows (prorated if less than 12 months)

Duration: 10 weeks for graduate student fellows; 3–12 months for predoctoral, postdoctoral, and senior fellows. Tenures must take place between June 1, 2027, and August 31, 2028.

Deadline: October 15, 2026

Eligibility

Graduate Student Fellowships: When they apply, students must be formally enrolled in a graduate program of study at a degree-granting institution. Before the appointment begins fellows must still be enrolled and must have completed at least one full-time semester or its equivalent. Graduate Student Fellowships are intended for students who have not yet been advanced to candidacy if in a doctoral program.

Predoctoral Fellowships: Students enrolled in a university as candidates for the Ph.D. or equivalent are eligible for predoctoral fellowships. By the time the appointment begins, the university must approve the undertaking of dissertation research at the Smithsonian Institution and certify that requirements for the doctorate, other than the dissertation, have been met.

Postdoctoral Fellowships: The doctorate degree must be completed by the time the fellowship begins.

Senior Fellowships: Applicants must have held a Ph.D. or equivalent for at least 5 years. Applicants who have received the Ph.D. or equivalent before October 15, 2021 are eligible to apply for senior fellowships. If you have taken a “leave of absence” from research and wish to apply under the postdoctoral fellowship application instead of senior fellowship application, you will need to provide a justification in the additional information section at the end of the application.

About

The Smithsonian American Art Museum, the nation’s first collection of American art, is an unparalleled record of the American experience.The collection captures the aspirations, character, and imagination of the American people throughout three centuries. The museum is the home to one of the largest and most inclusive collections of American art in the world. Its artworks reveal key aspects of America’s rich artistic and cultural history from the colonial period to today.

Return to search

Tagged as: Research