History of Art and Architecture

Dean's Summer Research Travel Grant

The Graduate Dean’s office has made available to the Department of History of Art and Architecture $36,000 in new summer grants for dissertation development. These funds may be used to conduct research, to travel to collections, to improve language skills,* or to engage in any other professional enhancement necessary to the development of the dissertation topic and prospectus.

The grants will be reserved for doctoral students to use in the summer after their second or third year in residence, or, for those students who enter with an MA from another institution, after their first or second year in residence. They will be awarded competitively for the purposes of conducting research, traveling to collections, improving language skills, or engaging in any other professional enhancement necessary to the development of the dissertation topic and prospectus. Dissertation Development Grants recognize above all the importance of early field research and study in fostering outstanding dissertation work in our discipline.  Ideally, therefore, students should apply for Dissertation Development funds in the summer immediately following completion of the MA, whether at this institution or at another university, in order to begin acquiring the research and other experiences that will contribute to success in subsequent grant applications for the support of dissertation work. Proposals will be evaluated by a department faculty committee and awarded competitively. Awards will range up to $3000 maximum.

Eligibility Requirements:

For students who enter the program without an MA:

  • Students are eligible to apply in their 4th semester or their 6th semester. If applying in the 4th semester, award of the grant is conditional on passing the 4th semester review.

For students who enter the program with an MA from another institution:

  • Students are eligible to apply in their 2nd semester or 4th semester.

In addition to the above, no student may use a Dissertation Development Grant after holding the dissertation prospectus meeting, at which point other moneys (Friends of the Frick Fine Arts, Wilkinson, and other university grants) are available to support research travel. All students who apply must be making satisfactory progress toward the degree.

Students who are awarded grants must use the funds in the summer of the award year.

Interested students must submit:

  1. A two-page (double-spaced) description of the activity to be undertaken with the grant funds* including specific reference to its importance to the development of the dissertation. This description must carry the approval signature of the student’s dissertation advisor.
  2. A detailed budget outlining how the funds are to be spent.
  3. A list of all previous Dissertation Development Fund grants, Friends of the Frick Fine Arts Travel grants, and Wilkinson Fund grants the student has received in the past, when, for what purpose, and their dollar amounts.

On completion of the funded activity, the student must submit to the Fellowships Director a one-page description of what was accomplished with the Dissertation Development grant; a copy will be placed in the student’s file.

*All students who apply to use the Dissertation Development grant for  language acquisition must also apply for a FLAS summer language grant if their intended language of study is supported. CREES, CLAS, and Global Studies offer summer FLAS fellowships so consult with the appropriate center to see a list of the currently eligible languages.