Mark S. Weil and Joan M. Hall Professional Development Fund Competition for 2025-2026

APPLICATIONS are due on or before Friday March 28th, 2025.

The Mark S. Weil and Joan M. Hall  Professional Development Fellowship. Amount: one grant of $22,000 will be awarded for the academic year 20225-2026. It will be used either during the period of July 1 to December 31, 2025; or January 1 to June 30, 2026. The student’s regular support stipend from the PhD program will be suspended during this period. (The student will maintain their graduate student status, and enroll in LGS 9001.1 during the relevant semester). The fellowship stipend is intended to cover living expenses, health insurance and some moving or travel expenses during the fellowship period; it is taxable income. This Fellowship is only available to a student who will have completed their comprehensive exams and prospectus, as well as their MTE requirements in the Department, before commencing the Fellowship.

The purpose of this fellowship is to provide one very advanced graduate student with substantial full-time experience  in a mentored professional environment either locally, nationally or even internationally. The student will gain experience, skills and perspective that will enable them to pursue career goals outside of  classroom teaching at the college or university  level. It is up to the student to locate an appropriate opportunity, which could be at a range of diverse institutions or organizations. The successful application will outline a unique opportunity of learning for the student that has been carefully developed in discussion with potential supervisors and mentors at the relevant institution. Examples could include work in museums (in curatorial, education or administration), arts organizations, an art auction house, a government cultural organization (such as the NEH),  or other such non-profits. Students could also propose a work-opportunity at Washington University in an administrative office such as that of a Dean or Provost, or other administrative leader at the university. The applicant will need to submit not only a proposal (a maximum of 3-pages) that outlines the work to be done and the skills to be acquired, but also a letter from the potential supervisor, confirming that the applicant would be welcomed at the institution to do the outlined work during the proposed time frame.

Since the student will be receiving the support of a fellowship, they will ostensibly be an unpaid worker at the site. Such an opportunity requires considerable advance careful planning, so it is recommended that the applicant contact her or his dissertation advisor immediately to discuss concrete possibilities. Successful applicants in the past include Tola Porter (fellowship held at Laumeier Sculpture Park in St Louis in spring 2022), and Lacy Murphy (Saint Louis Art Museum, 2023). You are welcome to discuss possible ideas and locations for this fellowship with your doctoral advisor, the DGS Dr. Nathaniel Jones (nbjones@wustl.edu), associate DGS Dr. Claudia Swan (claudiaswan@wustl.edu), and/or with department chair Dr. William Wallace (wwallace@wustl.edu). 

Please note: the department of Art History and Archaeology can no longer guarantee that the award of a Weil-Hall Professional Development Fellowship will extend a student’s program of study by a semester. Instead, it may replace a semester of the WashU A&S funding. For this reason, it is crucial that students coordinate with their dissertation supervisors to plan a path to successful completion of the dissertation, and students currently in their 6th-year of dissertation funding are especially encouraged to apply. The final application due on March 28, 2025 is three-fold: it should include a letter of application that includes not only a detailed description of the work opportunity, but also a precise summary of the work that will be accomplished on the dissertation by the start of the fellowship, and a proposed timeline for the completion of the PhD degree after the fellowship ends. A letter should also be submitted by the potential supervisor(s) at the work cite that confirms the general plan of work and mentorship. The student’s doctoral advisor should also send in a letter that confirms their support of the plan.

Completed applications should be submitted by March 28, 2025 to the Chair Dr. William Wallace (wwallace@wustl.edu),  Dr. Nathaniel Jones (nbjones@wustl.edu), Dr. Claudia Swan (claudiaswan@wustl.edu) and Brad Parton (parton@wustl.edu). Please note: Doctoral students may apply for both types of grants (Weil/Hall Professional Development Fellowship and Weil/Hall Dissertation Grants), but only one award will be made to any student in this grant cycle. Students may also apply for Departmental summer and conference support.