Deadline: October 23, 2019
Applications are open for the Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art 2020/2021. The Fellowships are designated for graduate students at any stage of PhD dissertation research or writing. Ten fellowships are available for a non-renewable, one-year term beginning between June and September 2020 for the 2020-21 academic year.
The fellowships may be carried out in residence at the fellow’s home institution, abroad, or at another appropriate site for the research. The fellowships may not be used to defray tuition costs or be held concurrently with any other major fellowship or grant.
Benefits
- The total award of $40,000 includes a stipend and additional funds for travel and research. This program is made possible by funding from the Henry Luce Foundation.
Eligibility
Applicants must:
- Be a PhD candidate in a department of art history in the United States. A student with an appropriate project whose degree will be granted by another department is eligible only if the principal dissertation advisor is in a department of art history. (Students preparing theses for the Master of Fine Arts degree are not eligible.)
- Have a dissertation focused on a topic in the history of the visual arts of the United States. Projects should be focused foremost on the art object and/or image and employ an art-historical or visual studies approach. Although the topic may be historically and/or theoretically grounded, proposals whose emphases are predominantly socio-historical will not be considered.
- Have completed all requirements for the PhD except the dissertation before beginning fellowship tenure.
- Have not previously applied for this fellowship more than once.
- Be a US citizen or permanent resident.
Evaluation Criteria
Scholars asked to review applications in this program are instructed to use the following three criteria:
- The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
- The potential of the project to advance the field of study in art history, both generally and in the specific field(s) it engages.
- The applicant’s record of scholarly engagement and potential for scholarly achievement.
Application
Applications must be submitted online and must include:
- Completed application form
- Proposal (no more than five pages, double spaced, in Times New Roman 11-point font)
- Illustrations (no more than three pages) [optional]
- Bibliography (no more than two pages)
- List of publications, exhibitions, and/or presentations (no more than two pages) [optional]
- Two reference letters, one of which must come from the applicant’s dissertation advisor
- A statement from the applicant’s institution (preferably from the applicant’s department chair, director of graduate studies, or dean). The provided form asks the institutional representative to confirm that the applicant is a doctoral candidate in good standing and that all requirements for the PhD except the dissertation will be completed by the beginning of fellowship tenure. Most importantly, the institutional representative should confirm that (1) the normal academic year tuition payments for the awardee will be waived or will be provided by the awardee’s university, and that (2) the university will continue to provide the student with appropriate access to its research resources and facilities. The person submitting the statement should not be one of the reference letter writers.
For more information, visit Luce/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships.
