Fellowships & Internships

Fellowships and internships provide professional training and research opportunities for students and scholars at various levels, as well as the chance to engage with National Museum of Asian Art staff and utilize the museum’s rich resources. Several fellowships are available to support graduate students and visiting scholars through the Freer and Sackler, the Smithsonian, or outside institutions. The Freer and Sackler also offers internships to students and interested individuals in its many departments. See below for more information.

Fellowships

The collections, archives, and library of the Freer and Sackler form a rich resource for research. Several fellowships are available to support graduate students and visiting scholars through the Freer and Sackler, the Smithsonian, or outside institutions.

Current Fellows | Past Fellows

Fellowship Opportunities

Anne Van Biema Fellowship
Established by bequest to promote excellence in research and publication on the Japanese visual arts, one award is made each year to support a scholar at the post-doctoral level for a period of two to nine months. Visit the fellowship page for more information and application instructions.

Ebrahimi Fellowship for Persian Art
This fellowship supports research on Persian art from the ancient to the contemporary period. Two awards are made each year to support scholars at all levels, from doctoral candidates to senior scholars, for a period of up to three months. Visit the fellowship page for more information and for application instructions.

Lunder Fellowship
This fellowship provides opportunities to conduct research and work with the Lunder Consortium for Whistler Studies on programs and publications focusing on James McNeill Whistler and art of the Aesthetic movement. Both emerging and established scholars are invited to apply. The fellowship is offered through the generosity of the Lunder Foundation and administered through the Lunder Consortium for Whistler Studies (comprising the Freer Gallery, the Colby College Museum of Art, the University of Glasgow, and the Art Institute of Chicago). Fellowships are awarded for twelve- to eighteen-month terms.

Smithsonian Institution Fellowships
A variety of fellowships for students and scholars at several stages of their careers are offered through the Smithsonian Institution Office of Fellowships.

The J. S. Lee Memorial Fellowship
In honor of the late Dr. J. S. Lee, a distinguished Hong Kong philanthropist and lifelong supporter of the study of Chinese art, this fellowship facilitates the international exchange of curatorial expertise and contributes to the professional development of Chinese art curators and academics. Fellows may choose to be based at the Freer and Sackler or at a number of other museums worldwide. Visit the fellowship website for more information and application instructions.

Freer Fellowship, University Of Michigan
The University of Michigan Department of the History of Art offers the Charles Lang Freer Fellowship, providing a semester or year-long residency at the museum for a pre-doctoral candidate in the department. Visit the department’s webpage for more information.

Internships