Kress Fellowships for Language Study

Kress Fellowships for Language Study in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, and Spanish
for Graduate Students in European Art History and Art Conservation

Middlebury College is pleased to announce the continuation of the Kress Fellowships for language study, made possible by a generous gift from the Samuel H. Kress Foundation. Five fellowships are offered in summer 2018 for art history graduate students and graduate students in art conservation to attend the Middlebury summer Language Schools in French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian, or Spanish.

These fellowships are intended for graduate students in art history with a proposed focus on European Art History or graduate students studying art conservation. Preference will be given to graduate students who have recently been accepted or are currently enrolled in the corresponding program at a Ph.D. -granting institution in the United States. In exceptional cases, advanced undergraduates in Art History who are preparing for graduate study in the same field may also be considered.

Fellowships cover the comprehensive fee (tuition, room, and board) at the Middlebury summer Language Schools. Travel expenses and books are not included. Fellowships are merit-based and intended for exceptionally qualified individuals. Applicants need not be American citizens.

Kress Fellowships will be awarded on a highly competitive basis. Financial aid forms are not required for these awards, but students interested in attending the Language Schools have the option to apply for Middlebury College financial aid, awarded on a demonstrated-need basis, through the office of Student Financial Services.

For more details about the process visit: http://www.middlebury.edu/ls/finaid/fellowships/kress, and to apply, go to: http://www.middlebury.edu/ls.

Fellowship: Samuel H. Kress Mid-Career Fellow

Applications for 2017 funding are now being accepted. Applications must be submitted by October 26, 2016, 11:00 p.m. EST. 
Research grants of up to $15,000 will be awarded to one mid-career professional whose research project relates to the appreciation, interpretation, preservation, study and teaching of European art, architecture and related disciplines from antiquity to the early 19th century, in the context of historic preservation in the United States. Potential Kress Fellow projects could include the exploration of shared European and American influences in style, design, materials, construction techniques, building types, conservation and interpretation methodologies, philosophical and theoretical attitudes, and other factors applicable to preservation in both Europe and America.
Funding for the Kress Fellowship is made possible through the generous support of the www.kressfoundation.org
Criteria for Evaluation
Applications are reviewed by the Fitch Trustees. Projects will be evaluated on the following criteria:

  • The project will make a meaningful contribution to the academic and/or professional field of historic preservation in the United States
  • The applicant has a realistic plan for the dissemination of research and/or final work product
  • The project has a clear and realistic goals, timeframe, work plan, and budget
  • The project demonstrates innovative thinking, original research and creative problem solving and/or design

Eligibility

  • Grants are awarded only to individuals, not organizations. The Foundation does not fund university-sponsored research projects or dissertation research.
  • Applicants must be mid-career professionals with at least 10 years experience in historic preservation or related fields, including architecture, landscape architecture, architectural conservation, urban design, environmental planning, archaeology, architectural history, and the decorative arts.
  • Applicants must be legal residents or citizens of the United States.

Please email cpena@fitchfoundation.org with any questions concerning criteria for evaluation or project eligibility.
How to Apply
Applicants are required to submit the following materials:

  1. Cover page, including Project Title; Name of Applicant(s), including primary contact person; Applicant Address; Phone; Email. Also, please specify whether you are applying for the Fitch Mid-Career Grant or the Richard L. Blinder Award; and specify the amount of grant money requested.
  2. Brief description of project, including how the final work product will be disseminated. Applicants are encouraged to be succinct and the description is not to exceed three (3) pages.
  3. Detailed work schedule and project budget, showing the grant amount requested from the Fitch Foundation and how this money will be spent.
  4. Curriculum Vita, including professional and academic background, and past and present grants received.
  5. Two (2) letters of support for the project to be included with the application.

Applications must be submitted electronically, in PDF format.
Selection Process & Completion of Grant
Grants are awarded at the discretion of the Foundation. Recipients will be notified by email in the Spring of 2016. Projects must be completed within twelve (12) months of the grant award. All grantees will be assigned a Trustee advisor who will provide feedback and guidance throughout the project.
Typically, grant awards are divided into equal payments, the first being presented upon the award of the grant. Substantial written progress reports are required for all subsequent payments. The final payment is awarded only upon completion of the project.
The Foundation shall be acknowledged in all publications. The Trustees reserve the right to publish the results if the recipient does not. The grant recipient must sign a release to the Foundation permitting such publication. Proper credit will be given to the grant recipient.
For more information visit: http://fitchfoundation.org/grants/kress/