The Guggenheim Fellowship

About the Open Call

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 open. 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. 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. We also accept applications for collaborative projects from two individuals who are working together on the same project, i.e., joint applications.

What is Offered

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. A Guggenheim Fellowship term may last from six months to one year.

Requirements

Applicant Criteria: 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. Project Criteria: 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. 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.

How to Apply

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. The staff at the Guggenheim Foundation cannot advise you on the content of your application or work samples. 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. Apply Here: https://competition.gf.org/signup