Field Fellowship

Fellowships at the National Building Museum provide scholars with opportunities to pursue independent research related to the Museum’s potential or planned exhibitions or its permanent collections. The Museum’s educational programs focus on disciplines relating to the built environment including architecture, landscape architecture, design, planning, engineering, construction, and historic preservation.  Projects or studies that broaden and diversify the research conducted within these disciplines are encouraged.  

Amelia Wong and Fallon Samuels were the National Building Museum's two fellows for 2008.

Museum Staff

For the year 2009, the Field Fellowship will be awarded for research in one of the Museum’s priority subject areas:

• sustainable design, planning, or building practices
• housing and domestic culture
• intersections between architecture and photography or film
• structural engineering and design in relation to natural disasters
• building materials, particularly glass
• play, learning, and building related toys
• the built environment of greater Washington, D.C.
• the Museum’s landmark home, the former U.S. Pension Building

The National Building Museum’s permanent collections are particularly strong in the materials, styles, and construction practices that defined urban America from the end of the 19th through the first half of the 20th century. For more details, please see the Collections homepage.

Award

Fellowships are awarded for a period of ten weeks. In accepting the appointment, the Field Fellow will be expected to devote his/her full-time efforts to the research proposed and to be in residence at the National Building Museum, except for approved absences. The Field Fellow will receive a $5,000 stipend and a research allowance up to $250. Tenure must be established between May 1, 2009, and May 1, 2010, in consultation with Museum staff.

Eligibility

Applicants must be enrolled in a graduate program seeking or having already received their Master’s or Ph.D. in a field such as architecture, landscape architecture, architectural history, planning, civil engineering, history of technology, historic preservation, American history or studies, or decorative arts. Fellowships target students who have completed coursework and preliminary examinations for the doctoral degree, and are engaged in dissertation research. Postdoctoral Fellowships may be awarded to scholars who have held the doctoral degree or equivalent for fewer than five years. Applicants whose native language is not English are expected to have the ability to write and converse fluently in English.

Application Process

Each complete application will include a resume or CV (not to exceed three pages); two academic references; a statement of interest from the applicant (not to exceed three pages); and a writing sample of 10 to 12 pages.  

The statement of interest should 1) propose a topic in accordance with one of the announced priority subject areas, 2) submit a detailed research proposal describing why or how the project supports the fellow's own work, and 3) explain why the National Building Museum is an appropriate place for the fellow to carry out his/her research.

One of the required letters of reference must be from the chair of the department, an academic dean, or the director of graduate studies.  Letters of reference should address:

• the tenure and nature of the relationship with the student,
• the scholarly level of the student's work and the scholar's potential,
• the feasibility and appropriateness of the proposed project, and 
• the scholar's ability to contribute to the intellectual life of the Museum.

Chrysanthe B. Broikos, Curator
National Building Museum
401 F Street, NW
Washington, DC  20001
202-272-2448, ext. 3411
202-724-0136 fax
cbroikos@nbm.org  

Selection Criteria

Applications to the Museum's Fellowship Program are reviewed by staff and affiliated advisors. Only complete applications will be considered. Quality ranking factors governing selection include the merit of the proposal; the research and academic record of the applicant; the degree of applicability to the Museum's areas of interest; and the likelihood that the research can be completed during the appointment period. The National Building Museum's Fellowship Program does not discriminate on grounds of race, creed, sex, age, marital status, disability, or national origin.

Important Dates

Friday, February 27, 2009 - Application Deadline

Tuesday, March 31, 2009 - Announcement of Field Fellow

Conditions of Appointment

Fellowships are awarded for a period of ten weeks. In accepting an appointment, the Field Fellow will be expected to devote his/her full-time efforts to the research proposed and to be in residence at the National Building Museum except for approved absences. Financial support will be a stipend of $5,000.00 with up to $250.00 additionally available for approved direct expenses.

In addition to monetary assistance, fellows will be supported by the Museum with a study carrel, computer station, an email account, access to printers, and photocopying, fax, and phone privileges, as well as access to the staff library and the Museum's collections. Fellows will meet with Museum staff on a regular basis, and the Field Fellow will be invited to weekly brown bag lunches with staff and invited guests.

Each Fellow will give a presentation of their research project for staff and invited guests. The findings and products of the research will be shared with Museum staff by a mutually agreed upon means, such as a written report, Power Point presentation, printed index of findings, or other.