Graduate Awards

Departmental support is available in the form of conference and research travel funding, support for co-teaching and research assistantships, dissertation research, and dissertation writing, as well as for intensive language study, and invited talks and symposiums. Additionally, museum internships and university-wide awards are also available. Please see below for more information on each of the following:

  • Departmental Awards
  • Museum Internships
  • University & School of Humanities Awards

Please note: Depending on the type of award, additional funding may be considered taxable income. At the end of the year awarded students may receive a 1099 or 1098-T form depending on how their award was paid out and their award may be taxed.

Departmental Awards

Students applying for any awards through the department should adhere to the following guidelines:

  • Students should be in good academic standing when applying for any funding.
  • Applications should be complete and submitted by the appropriate deadline and in advance of any travel. Language funding requests may be submitted on a rolling basis.
  • Students should make sure to follow all individual application requirements.
  • A letter of support from the student's advisor may be required for some awards and should be included in the application.
  • Students must submit a one-page report to the department within 30 days of the completion of their award and/or travel.
  • Applications for travel should comply with the Graduate Student Travel Funding Policy. Please review before submitting a budget.

How to apply:

  • Students should submit applications for Departmental Awards using the forms below, where applicable.
  • Budgets are required for all travel funding requests and must follow the Graduate Student Travel Funding Policy. Please include any outside funding sought/awarded. Allowable expenses:
    • conference registration/membership
    • airfare (including baggage)
    • trains, buses, and other forms of transportation between destinations
    • ground transportation to/from airport
    • lodging
    • 50% per diem (for meals and local transportation)

Please use this BUDGET TEMPLATE (downloadable Excel spreadsheet) with your application for travel.

Conference and Exhibition Travel Award

(Due October 15 & March 1)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Graduate students in any year of study may apply for funds to cover the costs of attending a conference, presenting at a conference, or visiting an exhibition or museum collection related to research in their field of study. This also includes fees for online conferences.
  • Award specifications: Conference attendance awards will not exceed $750 for domestic conference attendance and $1,000 for international conference attendance. Exhibition travel awards will not exceed $1,000 total. Conference presentation awards will not exceed $1,500 for domestic conference presentations and $2,000 for international conference presentations. Applications must be submitted in advance of travel and each type of funding may only be awarded twice during a student’s time in the program. Funds are not guaranteed.
  • Application requirements: Students must submit a proposal, budget, and letter of support from your advisor must be uploaded with the application (not emailed separately).

APPLY for the Conference and Exhibition Travel Award

Brown Foundation Research Assistantships

(Due October 15 & February 1)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Graduate Students who will be in their third to sixth year (Museum Professionals students in their fourth to seventh year) are eligible to apply to be a research assistant, and work on a project with a faculty member for one semester.
  • Award specifications: Research assistantships require up to 10 hours of work per week and receive a $5,000 stipend during the semester that they work, and may qualify for a tuition waiver. Two research assistantships are available each year, and a student may only receive the award once during his/her time in the program.
  • Application requirements: Students should submit a proposal describing the project, accompanied by a statement from the faculty member with whom they would like to work about the student’s potential contribution to the project.

APPLY for the Brown Foundation Research Assistantship

Methods Co-Teaching Award

(Due September 15)
  • Purpose and eligibility: This award supports a graduate student to co-teach an undergraduate methods course with one faculty member. The course focuses on developing students' ability to write and speak about art, research skills, and applying different theories and methods to analyze artworks. Candidate must be in their fourth year or beyond, advanced in candidacy, and comfortable explaining complex ideas, planning micro-lectures, contributing course content, and assisting with grading and feedback.
  • Award specifications: One award of $7,500 is offered per spring semester, paid as a stipend. Recipients may qualify for a tuition waiver during the semester they co-teach.
  • Application requirements: Advisor consent is required. Students must be in their fourth year of the program or beyond at the time of teaching. Not available to students on the Museum Professionals track. Co-instructors share full responsibility for all course aspects including syllabus development, teaching, and grading.

APPLY for the Methods Co-Teaching Award

Brown Foundation Co-Teaching Awards

(Due January 15)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Beginning in their fourth year, students may apply to co-teach a course with a faculty member in the upcoming academic year (this application should be generated in partnership with a faculty member). Graduate students serving as co-instructors share in responsibility for every aspect of the course, including syllabus development, teaching and grading evaluation. Not open to students on the Museum Professionals track. At the time of the course, students must be in their fifth-year of the program or beyond; preference will be given to students applying to teach in their fifth or sixth year.
  • Award specifications: One award may be offered every semester. The award is $7,500, to be paid out as stipend, and may qualify the student for a tuition waiver in the semester that the course is being taught.
  • Application requirements: The student should submit a proposal describing the course accompanied by a statement from the faculty co-instructor describing the student’s role as a co-teacher.

APPLY for the Brown Foundation Co-Teaching Award

Art History Graduate Student Symposium & Invited Speakers

(Due March 1)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Graduate students in any year of study, who are interested in organizing invited lectures, half-day colloquia or workshops, or a biennial symposium or conference, may apply.
  • Award specification: Up to $15,000 annually for all proposals.
  • Deadline: please contact Jenny Ustynik about application deadlines
  • Application requirements: Students should email a proposal and detailed budget to the Graduate Program Administrator, Jenny Ustynik - ju10@rice.edu

Summer Research

(Due March 1)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Students in their first, second, or third year may apply for summer research funds to cover costs of travel and research for their qualifying paper or potential dissertation topics.
  • Award specifications: Awards up to $5,000 are possible but not guaranteed; if such an award is granted twice to the same student, the total amount of both will not exceed $5,000.
  • Application requirements: The student should submit a one-page proposal and budget.

APPLY for the Graduate Summer Research Award

Brown Foundation Dissertation Research Award

(Due March 1)
  • Purpose and eligibility: Students who expect to pass their Qualifying Exams and advance to candidacy may apply for a Brown Foundation Dissertation Research Award. The primary purpose of the award is to allow students to travel and undertake research necessary for their dissertation.
  • Award specifications: Awards up to $10,000 are possible, but funds are not guaranteed; if such an award is granted twice to the same student, the total amount of both will not exceed $10,000. Final confirmation of the award and the release of funding will occur only after the student has the qualifications to advance to candidacy.
  • Application requirements: Students must present a detailed proposal (no more than four pages) and a budget. The student must also show proof of application to outside funding sources.

APPLY for the Brown Foundation Dissertation Research Award

Intensive Language Study

(Rolling Deadline, preferably 1-2 months before start of each semester)
  • Purpose and eligibility: The Department of Art History will support graduate students who need funding for language study. The language must be a target language in the student’s field of research, and students should be at a level higher than basic at the time of application. Preference is given to languages not taught at Rice during the academic year. Students should discuss intensive language study with their advisor and DGS.
  • Award specifications: The department can award grants of up to $1,500 per semester, including summer, for intensive language study.
  • Application requirements: Students should submit the application for each semester they wish to secure funding; students applying for continued support should include a statement from their tutor or instructor regarding the progress that has been made thus far. For the Advisor Support Letter, a copy of an email is fine, but a PDF must be uploaded with the application (not emailed afterwards).

APPLY for Language Funding - please notify your Graduate Program Administrator (Jenny) when you apply for this award.

Museum Internships

William A. Camfield Fellowship for Graduate Students at the MFAH

  • Graduate students in any year may apply for a museum internship at the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston (MFAH), to work on a specific project or exhibition defined by the museum curators. The project or area of research changes every year and is determined by the MFAH.
  • Finalists chosen by the Department of Art History will be interviewed by the curators of the MFAH for final selection. Award is $10,000 per year.
  • Online applications (1-2-page letter of interest, CV, unofficial transcript) for 2026-27 fellowships will open on March 1, 2026 and the deadline for applications is March 22, 2026 (11:59pm CST).

  • 2026-27 Graduate William A. Camfield Fellowship Project Description

    The Rice University Camfield Graduate Fellow will work with the curator and collector on the catalogue and exhibition, About Face: Portrait Miniatures from the Cecily E. Horton Collection, scheduled to open at the MFAH in early 2028. This is an excellent opportunity for a Camfield Fellow to obtain hands-on experience as we work on a project that closely examines portraiture “in little” over 300 years. The collection includes European and American works as well as images produced by painters working in India and the Caribbean. Portraits painted on vellum, fired in enamel or rendered as watercolor on ivory are all included in the survey. The fellow will assist with many aspects of the project. Tasks will include object research, label writing, tracking object photography and conservation as well as museum database checklist production. Excellent organizational skills and the ability to work independently as well as collaboratively within the department and across museum departments such as Curatorial, Conservation, Registration and Publications are required. The supervisor will be Christine Gervais, Curator, Decorative Arts at the MFAH.

Contemporary Arts Museum Houston Fellowship

  • Graduate students in any year may apply for a museum internship for one academic year at Contemporary Arts Museum Houston (CAMH) under the guidance of CAMH's Assistant Curator. The fellow will gain professional museum experience by assisting the curatorial department, focusing primarily on a major upcoming exhibition and publication that will survey the work of a renowned Houston-based contemporary artist.
  • Award is $3,000 per year.
  • Online applications (1-2-page statement of interest, CV, unofficial transcript) for 2026-27 fellowships will open on March 1, 2026 and the deadline for applications is March 22, 2026 (11:59pm CST).

Jameson Fellowship for American Decorative Arts

  • The Jameson Fellowship gives undergraduate and graduate applicants an opportunity to intern at the Bayou Bend Collection of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston for an academic year.
  • The annual stipend is $15,000, and additional funds (up to $2,000) are reserved for a research trip during the time of the fellowship.
  • Online applications (one-page letter of interest, CV, letter of support, unofficial transcript) are due on March 24, 2026, 4:00pm ***extended deadline***.

Rice University Internship Program, The Menil Collection

  • Available to one undergraduate or graduate student in the Department of Art History at Rice University per academic year (September–May), the program offers the opportunity to work as an intern in the curatorial department at The Menil Collection. Areas and field of research will fall under either the Permanent Collection Research or Exhibition Projects.
  • Finalists chosen by the Department of Art History will be interviewed by the curators of TMC for final selection. Award is $3,000 per year.
  • Online applications (one-page letter of interest, CV, unofficial transcript) for 2026-27 fellowships will open on March 1, 2026 and the deadline for applications is March 22, 2026 (11:59pm CST).

Please note: Internships are not open to students on the Museum Professionals track

For additional MFAH opportunities, please see the museum's website on Internship & Fellowship Opportunities.

University & School of Humanities Awards

Rice University Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship Program

  • James T. Wagoner ‘29 loved to travel, and he loved Rice, so he made provisions that after his death a study-abroad scholarship for students would be established in memory of his late wife and parents. The Wagoner Foreign Study Scholarship provides students and alumni the opportunity to conduct research abroad for a minimum of eight weeks to one year.
  • For application and deadline information, please see https://graduate.rice.edu/academics/finance/wagoneraward.

Graduate & Postdoctoral Studies' Gradstarter Awards

  • GradStarter is a dynamic platform designed to help graduate students develop and launch innovative ideas that enhance the graduate student and postdoctoral intellectual community at Rice. Rice community members are invited to submit proposals for projects that promote graduate and postdoctoral scholarship, training, and development.
  • For more information, please see http://gradstarter.rice.edu.

Humanities Research Center (HRC) Funding

  • Since its establishment in 1987, the Humanities Research Center has been committed to fostering connections among diverse disciplines while promoting the research goals of the humanities broadly construed. This commitment includes generous and varied funding opportunities for graduate students, including opportunities for research, travel, teaching, and fellowships.
  • Please visit http://hrc.rice.edu/calls-deadlines for an up-to-date list of calls and deadlines.

Rice University Fondren Library Research Awards

  • Fondren Library’s annual Research Award program is funded by the Friends of Fondren Library and recognizes students who demonstrate extraordinary skill and creativity in the application of library and information resources to original research and scholarship.
  • For information, please visit https://library.rice.edu/research-awards

Certificates & Special Seminars

PhD students in our program have the opportunity to complete formal certification in interdisciplinary programs and to participate in interdisciplinary special seminars.