Leonard A. Lauder Fellowships in Modern Art

• Graduate students pursuing a doctoral dissertation (who are currently enrolled in a PhD program) should apply for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship, while students who have received a PhD within seven years should apply for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship.
• Post-Doctoral Fellows normally apply to transform their dissertation into a book manuscript or to develop a new project.
• Applicants for the Mid-Career Fellowship should be established scholars with a record of publications commensurate with their career stage.
• We encourage applications from those pursuing research in art history and in other humanities disciplines like history, anthropology, philosophy, and comparative literature, as long as they are focused on the visual arts. We accept applications from scholars originating from any accredited international university.
• You may not apply for a Leonard A. Lauder Pre-Doctoral Fellowship and a Leonard A. Lauder Non-Residential Doctoral Dissertation Completion Fellowship in the same year.
• All projects must focus on modern art. By ‘modern art’ we mean architecture, drawing, design (including exhibition, graphic, interior, and stage design), film, painting, performance, photography, prints, and sculpture in the period from the last third of the nineteenth century through the 1960s, from any country, region, or culture.
• Individuals who are neither US citizens nor permanent residents are eligible to apply for The Met Fellowship Program, provided that they have or are able to obtain valid work authorization under applicable US visa regulations. If you are an international student, fellow, or worker currently in the US on a visa sponsored by another entity (e.g. a university, another museum, or employer), we strongly encourage you to speak to your university’s foreign student office or visa sponsor before applying. If you are currently in the US on an F-1 visa sponsored by a US college or university, you may request CPT or OPT from your school to participate in the Fellowship Program. Please contact your university’s foreign student office prior to applying.
• If you are not currently in the US, The Met may be able to sponsor successful applicants as part of the J-1 Exchange Visitor Program, if they are eligible. Please note that the J-1 Exchange Program has specific regulations about repeat participation in the program; if you currently hold or have held a J-1 visa in the past, we strongly encourage you to visit the BridgeUSA website (j1visa.state.gov) and your current sponsor’s visa office to determine your eligibility to apply for another J-1 visa. Please note that The Met does not reimburse or cover costs incurred during the visa application process.

Stipend:

• $50,000 for Pre-Doctoral fellows
• $60,000 for Post-Doctoral fellows
• $70,000 for Mid-Career fellows

Travel: During the fellowship period and at the Museum's discretion, Leonard A. Lauder Fellows receive a travel stipend of $6,000.

Health Insurance: Fellows also receive an additional monthly payment to offset the cost of health insurance.

Application deadline: Thursday, October 15, 2026, 5 pm ET

Notification date: All applicants will be notified by the end of January following the application deadline.

Fellowship period:

• Pre-Doctoral Fellowships are for 24 months and must take place between September 1, 2027, and August 31, 2029.
• Post-Doctoral Fellowships may be 12 or 24 months in duration and must take place between September 1, 2027, and (depending on the length of the fellowship) August 31, 2028, or August 31, 2029.
• Mid-Career Fellowships are for 12 months and must take place between September 1, 2027, and August 31, 2028.

All applications must be submitted online and in English. All Leonard A. Lauder Fellowship in Modern Art applications must include (as .docx or .pdf files):

• A research proposal, not to exceed 1,000 words. Please describe your research rationale or arguments, the focus of your project, and what you wish to accomplish during the fellowship. You may wish to include discussion of the research methods of your project, including how the project will benefit from the resources of the Research Center or The Met (e.g., its departments, collection, and libraries).
• A critical bibliographic statement, not to exceed 500 words. It should describe the key literature (the state of the field and/or interpretive frameworks) that forms the context for your proposal or planned research. It should also demonstrate how your contribution is original or develops a new perspective.
• A personal statement, not to exceed 500 words. This is an opportunity for you to share information about you and your work that cannot be learned from a school transcript or CV.
• A brief schedule of work to be accomplished during the fellowship period. (Applicants for the Post-Doctoral Fellowship should indicate whether they are applying for a one- or two-year period.)
• A brief schedule of travel for research visits (maximum of six weeks) during the fellowship period. Note that if you do not need to travel to complete the research for your project, it will not negatively affect the assessment of your application.
• Curriculum vitae of education, professional experience, honors, awards, and publications
• Three letters of recommendation. Applicants must submit 3 academic recommendations. These letters should be uploaded directly by the recommenders, none of whom may be current Met staff, contactors, or volunteers. Recommenders must submit their letters in English.
• Official transcripts (undergraduate and graduate)—for Pre-Doctoral Fellowship applicants only
  If you have not yet completed your PhD, you must upload a copy of your undergraduate transcript and any graduate transcripts. If you have transcripts from more than one institution, please upload them as one combined file.
• An application profile (This section can be updated at any point throughout and after the application process).