Research Fellowships

SAAM Fellows
Join Our Community of Scholars

SAAM hosts a number of fellows each year through the Smithsonian Institution Fellowship Program (SIFP), and also awards its own named fellowships to candidates from this general pool. The deadline for applications is October 15th. Residencies are available at the graduate, doctoral, postdoctoral, and senior levels.

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      For more than fifty years, the Smithsonian American Art Museum's (SAAM) fellowship program has provided graduate students and postdoctoral scholars of U.S. art and visual culture with financial aid, unparalleled research resources, and a world-class network of colleagues. In this informative how-to video, SAAM Chair of Academic Programs, Amelia Goerlitz, introduces prospective fellows to the program and demystifies its application process. Learn about SAAM's holdings, related Smithsonian collections, and various fellowship opportunities available to scholars. Goerlitz reviews the eligibility requirements and levels of support and closes with detailed advice on how to craft a strong SAAM proposal.

      Applications are due October 15th for the following academic year.

      Errata: This video has outdated stipend information. It also instructs candidates to submit one SIFP application for all SAAM Fellowships; however, candidates for the Betsy James Wyeth Fellowship in Native American Art or the Audrey Flack Short-Term Fellowship must submit separate applications.

      In this informative how-to video, SAAM Chair of Academic Programs, Amelia Goerlitz, introduces prospective fellows to SAAM's fellowship program and demystifies its application process.
       

      SAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years

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          For more than fifty years, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has fostered new scholarship through its preeminent fellowship program, the oldest and largest in the world for the study of American art.

          For more than fifty years, the Smithsonian American Art Museum has fostered new scholarship through its preeminent fellowship program, the oldest and largest in the world for the study of American art.

          Fellows Directory

          SAAM has hosted fellows and visiting scholars from more than 230 institutions in 43 states and 26 foreign countries. The alumni directory is searchable by year, type, and affiliation.

          See Where Our Scholars Are Now

          SAAM fellows and visiting scholars go on to shape the global art world as museum directors, curators, professors, critics, artists, and conservators. Alumni of our program are active in 30 foreign countries, 40 US states, and the District of Columbia. Learn how SAAM’s fellowship program impacted their scholarship and career paths.

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              • SAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Wanda M. CornSAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Wanda M. Corn
              • SAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Alex J. TaylorSAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Alex J. Taylor
              • SAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Asma NaeemSAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Asma Naeem
              • SAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Richard J. PowellSAAM Fellowships: Celebrating Fifty Years with Richard J. Powell
              Links
              A map showing where fellows are in the United States
              Map of Fellows and Visiting Scholars

              Alumni of our program are active in 30 foreign countries, 40 US states, and the District of Columbia. Learn how SAAM’s fellowship program impacted their scholarship and career paths.

              A fellow lectures in front of a group about media art
              Make A Gift To The Next Generation

              Contribute to SAAM's Fellowship Program and help advance the study of American art—now and for the future.

              A group of about a dozen pose in the Kogod Courtyard
              Research and Scholars Newsletter

              Sign Up to receive news and notice of upcoming scholarly programs from Smithsonian American Art Museum and the Renwick Gallery.

              A group of fellows pose in front of a large abstract blue and white painting
              Fellowship Timeline

              Established in 1970 by former director Joshua C. Taylor, the museum’s fellowship program traces its origins to the dynamic leadership of Smithsonian Secretary S. Dillon Ripley. Learn more about the program’s more than 50-year-long history and the events and figures key to its formation and development through our interactive timeline.

              A group of over a dozen fellows pose outside the Smithsonian American Art Museum
              Annual Fellows Lectures

              Each year, SAAM's research fellows present new scholarship on a range of topics and time periods, media and messages. Listen to presentations by this new generation of American scholars.

              A man lectures in front of a Frank Romero painting
              A Half Century of Fellowship: Wyeth Foundation Symposium

              This 2020 symposium chronicled the development and impact of the oldest and largest fellowship program in the world for American art. Watch the webcast to hear research talks by distinguished former fellows and listen to a series of PechuKucha-style fast-paced presentations that highlight efforts to expand the field in the age of Black Lives Matter, decolonization, climate change, globalization, and digital scholarship.

              For More Information

              Amelia Goerlitz, Chair of Academic Programs
              Telephone (202) 633-8353
              Email SAAMFellowships@si.edu