Built in 1855, the Smithsonian Castle is the oldest building in the Smithsonian complex.
The Smithsonian Institution awards grants across a broad spectrum of disciplines related to museum science. Many of the Smithsonian's outlying museums, like the Cooper-Hewitt in New York City sponsor fellowship programs tailored to their collections. Typically, Smithsonian grants provide a stipend for a set period of time for researchers making use of the museum's resources.
Fellowships in Museum Practice
Fellowships in Museum Practice provide academics and museum professionals with a monthly stipend and travel expenses for an up to six-month period of research and professional development at the Smithsonian's Center for Education and Museum Studies. The unique program supports research into curation, museum administration, education and other museum-related issues. Fellows create their own course of study that includes collaboration with other museum professionals, interviews and observations. The Smithsonian requires a brief report at the end of the program.
Minority Internships
The Smithsonian's Office of Fellowships provides several internships for minority students. The 10-week program for underrepresented members of the community includes a weekly stipend and participation in supervised research. The museum encourages undergraduate and graduate students to apply. Native American internships cover the same 10-week period and include a stipend, but scholars study the use of Native American artifacts at the Smithsonian. Minority junior, senior and graduate students pursuing a business or public administration degree qualify for James E. Webb internships. The purpose of the program is to increase minority participation in non-profit organization administration. Webb internships last 10 weeks and include a weekly stipend.
Fellowships
Fellowships, awarded for merit, experience and the quality of the applicant's proposed project allow fellows to work with Smithsonian experts while they pursue independent research. Graduate student fellowships last 10 weeks and include a weekly stipend. Applicants must be enrolled in graduate school. Predoctoral fellowships, open to scholars working on their dissertation, last from three months to one year. Postdoctoral fellowships, open to academics who completed their degree within the seven previous years and senior fellowships, for those receiving their degree longer than seven years ago, also last for three months to one year. The amount of the stipend for fellowships depends on the applicant's level of education.
Additional Programs
Individual units of the Smithsonian award fellowships, internships and endowed chairs. Among them is the Charles E. Lindbergh Chair in Aerospace History, open to published scholars writing on aerospace topics. The one-year appointment includes a stipend equal to the applicant's salary and benefits. The Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory in Boston offers a summer internship to students working toward a bachelor's degree in any of the astrophysical sciences. Graduate students working toward a master's or doctorate in landscape studies, garden history and related areas may qualify for the Enid A. Haupt Fellowship in Horticulture. Researchers receiving the three-year postdoctoral fellowships in tropical biology work on the Isthmus of Panama.
