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New application guidelines for the 2008 Professional Development Fellowship Program are now available on the CAA website. This year, application forms and requirements for both the visual-art and art-history fellowships have changed in order to facilitate the review process. Submission of material by all applicants must now be sent on CD or DVD; slides, videocassettes, and some paperwork in hard copy are not accepted.

CAA awards fellowships in the amount of $15,000 to qualified graduate students in visual art and art history. In addition, one or more fellowships are awarded to a PhD student specializing in American art; this award is made possible with support from the Wyeth Foundation for American Art. As in the past, honorable mentions may also be recognized.

The main purpose of the fellowship program is to support outstanding graduate students from diverse backgrounds who may have been underrepresented in their fields. By offering financial assistance to promising MFA and PhD students, CAA can assist the rising generation during this important transitional period in their lives.

Unlike previous years in which CAA fellowships were awarded in two parts—$5,000 to fellows at the outset and $10,000 to an employer upon recipients securing a professional position (with a two-to-one matching requirement)—fellows are now honored with a one-time grant of $15,000 to help them with various aspects of their work, whether it be for their job-search expenses or purchasing materials for their studio.

Go to www.collegeart.org/fellowships to download the applications, which have specific requirements; published below are general guidelines.

Art-History Fellowships

Applicants to the art-history fellowships must include the following on a CD: application form; essay; CV; dissertation prospectus; sample dissertation chapter; and timetable for dissertation completion. Letters of recommendation; a copy of your 2007 IRS income-tax form or 2008 Free Application for Student Federal Aid (FASFA); and graduate transcript must be submitted in hard copy and mailed to CAA with the CD.

The application deadline is October 1, 2008. Fellows are chosen by December 31, 2008.

Visual-Art Fellowships

Visual-art fellowship applicants must include the following on CD or DVD: application form; essay; résumé or CV; description of your MFA exhibition and its timetable; all visual documentation (up to six images of your work, properly labeled and formatted for both PC and Macintosh); and image script (caption list and short descriptions of the work). Letters of recommendation; a copy of your 2007 IRS income-tax form or 2008 Free Application for Student Federal Aid (FASFA); and graduate transcript must be submitted in hard copy and mailed to CAA with the CD or DVD.

The application deadline is October 1, 2008. Fellows are chosen by December 31, 2008.