Financial Support

The Department of Art History, the Graduate College, and several outside donors and/or agencies offer a number of graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, research assistantships, and tuition scholarships. All of these awards are determined each spring by means of competitive application. Applicants for admission to the program must indicate their wish to be considered for financial aid with their application. Continuing students in the program must indicate their request for financial aid in the coming year by February 1st.

All graduate fellowships, teaching assistantships, and research assistantships are accompanied by a grant of the full cost of tuition and include a stipend. Tuition scholarships carry no stipend. For more information about our financial support policy, see the Graduate Program's Rules and Regulations. You can also find more information about Competitive Awards from the Graduate College.

Through the Center for Material Culture Studies (CMCS), a limited number of $4500 ten-week summer fellowships will be awarded to M.A. and Ph.D. students in the arts, humanities, and social sciences pursuing research in material culture studies at the University of Delaware. The DELPHI fellowships aim to support material culture research while also promoting public engagement in the interpretation and preservation of our cultural heritage.

The Center for Material Culture Studies also provides funding to graduate students through these grant opportunities:

The CMCS Graduate Research Travel Fund

The CMCS Graduate Research Presentation Fund

The CMCS Graduate Research Publication Subvention Fund

Collections-Based Seminar or Workshop Grant

The Finkel Fund

The Friends of Rockwood Fund

For more information, visit the Center for Material Culture Studies graduate funding page.

Students in their final year of dissertation writing may also apply to the Sewell C. Biggs Diss​ertation Writing Award Committee. An announcement with the details will be made during the spring semester.

Each year our Department nominates several students for competitive external fellowships. Below you will find a list of those fellowships. Please carefully read their respective descriptions and rules before submitting your nomination proposal to the Assistant to the Chair. We suggest that you work closely with your advisor in writing up the proposal, following the CASVA application format (even if you are not applying for a CASVA fellowship) and submitting a short cover letter with a list of the grants for which you would like to be nominated.

CASVA Predoctoral Fellowships

Kress Foundations Predoctoral Fellowships in the History of Art

Dedalus Foundation Dissertation Fellowship

The following grants also require Departmental nomination, but have later deadlines. Please check with our administrative office for details:

CASVA Predoctoral Fellowships for Historians of American Art to Travel Abroad

Carter Manny Award, Graham Foundation

We also encourage our students to apply for outside aid. Below is a partial list of external grants and fellowships that are open to all students and to which you can apply on your own. Be aware that the Department, and especially your primary advisor, can offer you valuable assistance in formulating your application. Note: Deadlines listed below are approximate and may change from year to year.

ACLS Competitions (Deadline: check individual grants)

Center for Craft: Craft Research Fund Graduate Grant and Craft Research Fund Project Grant (Deadline: October 1st)

Henry Luce Foundation/ACLS Dissertation Fellowships in American Art (Deadline: late October)

Getty Research Grants (Deadline: November 1st)

Art History Fellowships at the Metropolitan Museum of Art (Deadline: November 1st)

The Rome Prize, American Academy in Rome (Deadline: November 1st)

International Dissertation Research Fellowships, Social Science Research Council (Deadline: November 10th)

Bibliographical Society of America Fellowship Program (Deadline: December 1st) 

Fellowships at the Walters Art Museum (Deadline: December 1st)

Wolfsonian Fellowship Program (Deadline: December 31st)

Winterthur Research Fellowship Program (Deadline: January 15th)

Smithsonian American Art Museum Fellowships (Deadline: January 15th)

CAA Professional Development Fellowships (Deadline: January 31st)

Newberry Library Short-Term Fellowships (Deadline: March 1st)

National Gallery of Art Graduate Curatorial Internships (Deadline: May 1st)

Society of Architectural Historians Fellowships (Deadline: check individual grants)

Our Department also provides some support for graduate students who are presenting papers at scholarly conferences, or conducting research with primary materials away from the University campus. Funds are awarded twice each year, on the basis of applications made to the Department, the deadlines for the receipt of applications being October 15th and April 15th. For more information about departmental travel grants, see our Forms for Graduate Students. We also encourage students to seek other travel support opportunities, through the Graduate College or other external agencies.

Students must be aware that there are many grant and fellowship opportunities besides the ones listed above. You may want to consult the following sites to find grants suitable to your specific field:

CAA Online Career Center