ADF Guidelines

Artist Development Fellowship Application

Academic Year 2023-2024 Application Deadline: Closed

For questions about the Artist Development Fellowship Program and application process, please contact the Office for the Arts.

Purpose

Artist Development Fellowships (ADF) are intended to nurture the artistic development of promising and/or accomplished students in the arts who, it is hoped, will one day look back on this opportunity and mark it as a significant contributor to their creative development.

Artist Development Fellowships are awarded annually by the Council on the Arts, a standing committee of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences. Fellowships support student development in the practice of the arts, including but not limited to work in the following disciplines: dance, literature, music, theater, studio art, film, mixed media and arts practices that are multi-disciplinary in nature. The Council will consider fellowship requests for:

  • research and development of individual artistic projects that are crucial to the development of the artist
  • domestic or international travel in order to apprentice and/or work with individual artists, programs and/or artistic companies
  • interdisciplinary work—not necessarily work that combines art forms, but work that links the artistic/creative process to a wholly different field in a way that sheds new perspective and/or understanding of each

Other types of funding requests will be considered, provided that individual artistic development is at the core of the proposal.

Selection Criteria

Candidates must demonstrate unusual accomplishment in the arts and/or evidence of significant artistic promise. The work outlined in the proposal must constitute a truly exceptional opportunity for artistic growth. The Council encourages applicants to seek funding for proposals from other sources in addition to this program.

The Council generally will not fund proposals supporting thesis projects, post-production work on film and video, attendance at conferences, housing costs alone or private music lessons that could be supported through the OFA's Music Lesson Subsidy Program.

Eligibility

The program is open to:

  • Current Harvard College undergraduates, sophomore through 1st semester senior Spring 2024
  • Enrolled full-time during Spring 2024.
  • In good academic standing at time of application and at the end of the spring semester

Keep in Mind

  • We encourage you to apply for all funding sources for which you are eligible. If you receive funding from another source, you must notify us immediately.
  • Please note that Harvard College students can only accept one funded summer experience each summer. For the latest information, see Harvard College’s Summer Funding Policy.
  • It is the responsibility of Fellowship recipients to ensure their ability to complete any programs that are part of their Fellowship proposal and that they are applying for funding.
  • Artist Development Fellowships are not transferable. If your project proposal or location changes significantly, please contact Stephanie Troisi, Student Services Coordinator to submit a repurposing request to seek approval for change of use of your Fellowship award.

Benefits

The ADF program supports the work of Fellowship recipients through:

  • Financial assistance: The number and amount of awards will vary each year, subject to program funding and individual project budgets. Awards will likely be in the $1,000 to $5,000 range. OCS awards for international experiences will be in the $5,000-$7,000 range depending on the country visited.
  • Community building: Each year, opportunities will be provided for Fellowship recipients to share their work, meet periodically and engage in discussion and exchange of ideas with visiting professional artists.

Fellowship Reporting Requirements

During their year-long Fellowship, recipients will be asked to:

  • Attend occasional artist fellows gatherings throughout the year
  • Submit a final report discussing work completed during the year, as well as samples of work, if possible
  • Share their work within the Harvard Community