Guggenheim Fellowships are prestigious individual awards from the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation that support mid-career professionals with significant records of achievement in the creative arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. Roughly 190 fellowships are awarded annually, typically ranging from $40,000 to $55,000, to support projects lasting six months to one year.

Award funds may be used flexibly for living expenses, travel, materials, and equipment. Eligible applicants are citizens or permanent residents of the United States or Canada who are not current students; previous fellows are ineligible. Independent scholars, writers, and artists without academic affiliations are welcome to apply.

The 2027 competition application deadline is September 15, 2026.

Application Guidelines — Guggenheim Fellowship — Guggenheim Fellowships: Supporting Artists, Scholars, & Scientists The Guggenheim Fellowship is an annual competition celebrating exceptional achievements in the arts, sciences, and humanities. Roughly 190 Fellowships are awarded each year. The 2026 United States and Canada competition is now closed.

The 2027 competition will open for applications in late summer 2026. A record of past accomplishment, the promise of future achievement The Guggenheim Fellowship supports individuals who have achieved notable success in their careers across the creative arts, humanities, sciences, and social sciences. It is designed for mid-career professionals whose work is well-established.

Potential Fellows have already made significant contributions to their field and are eager for time and resources that will allow them to further their meaningful work. While many applicants are affiliated with an academic institution or university, independent scholars, writers, and artists are eligible to apply.

A Guggenheim Fellowship term may last from six months to one year, although the proposed project does not need to be completed within that period We do not require academics to be on sabbatical leave or free from administrative or teaching duties during the Fellowship period, but it’s fine if they are. Also, we do not commit to replacing full salaries or guaranteeing specific costs.

The award funds can generally be used for any purpose related to the pursuit of the Fellow’s project – living expenses, materials, travel, equipment, etc. All applicants must be citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. or Canada at the time of application. Individuals who have already received a Guggenheim Fellowship are not eligible to reapply.

Guggenheim Fellowships are not open to students (undergraduate, graduate, or postgraduate). Our awards are intended for individuals only; they are not available to organizations, institutions, or groups. The Foundation accepts applications from individuals proposing scholarly or creative projects in the creative arts, humanities, sciences, social sciences, and a range of interdisciplinary fields.

Please note the following exceptions: Guggenheim Fellowships are not available for the creation of residencies, curriculum development, or any type of educational program, nor are they available to support the development of websites or blogs. Anthology, oral history, e-book, or textbook projects are not supported by our awards.

We regret that our awards are not available to support the writing of literature for children or young readers, or support any other type of work (e.g., films, plays, etc.) intended for young audiences.

Published writing not regarded as appropriate for our competition includes self-published works, publications for which the author has paid, and publications by publishers who do not engage in a process of critical review of submitted work. In addition, genre work (e.g., mysteries, romance, fantasy, etc.) is not within our scope.

In the arts, we support only the creators of works, not individuals who perform or interpret works created by others. For example, we provide Fellowships to composers but not conductors, singers, or instrumentalists; choreographers but not dancers; filmmakers, playwrights, and performance artists who create their own work but not actors or theater directors.

We also accept applications for collaborative projects from two individuals who are working together on the same project, i.e., joint applications. If you would like more information about applying jointly, please contact us at competition@gf. org .

Applicants should begin by creating an account on the Guggenheim Fellowship application portal. (This is only available when the competition is open.) During this time, you will craft your application (project proposal, career narrative, and list of works), reach out to potential references, and gather the work samples that best reflect your achievements.

Please note: The staff at the Guggenheim Foundation cannot advise you on the content of your application or work samples. Work Examples & References This phase focuses on showcasing the depth and quality of your achievements. The Guggenheim Foundation will contact you with instructions on submitting your chosen work samples, which are critical for evaluation.

Separately, we will contact all of your references, asking them to upload reference letters directly to our portal. After you have submitted all of your materials, our advisers (readers or jurors, depending on the field) review the completed applications in their domains and submit recommendations to the Committee of Selection.

The Committee of Selection considers advisers’ recommendations and finalizes a list of Nominees to be sent to the Board of Trustees for review and approval. Typically, new Fellows are announced in April. Rigor, fairness, and confidentiality The Foundation has a network of several hundred advisers who either meet at the Foundation offices to look at applicants’ work or receive application materials to read offsite.

During the Guggenheim Fellowship selection process, our expert advisers carefully assess each application, ensuring that the evaluation is impartial, comprehensive, and of the highest possible standard. We keep the identities of the advisers confidential, guaranteeing a fair and meticulous review and ensuring that the focus stays squarely on the merit and originality of your work.

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