SAR Awards
Welcome to the School for Advanced Research Application Portal. Please select the tab for the program for which you wish to apply.
Resident Scholar Fellowships
The School for Advanced Research (SAR) awards resident scholar fellowships annually. The online application system for Resident Scholar Fellowships opens on September 1 of each year, and applications close the first Monday in November each year. Applicants for doctoral-level fellowships must have their PhD in hand at the time of application. If not, they must apply as a PhD candidate and will receive the pre-doctoral level stipend award.Stipends for senior scholars are $70,000 for nine-month fellowships and $35,000 for 4.5 months. Stipends for junior scholars are $50,000 for nine months. Due to ongoing construction on campus, offices separate from fellow residences will not be available.
All application materials must be submitted through the online application system. Supplementary materials will not be considered. Applicants must create an account on the online application system before materials can be uploaded for submission.
All applications require:
Describe the purpose and goals of the project. This document should be uploaded as a PDF, not exceed 200 words, and formatted with 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Document should describe the research project, key questions to be addressed, methodologies, and significance. The proposal should also explain what is to be accomplished during the fellowship year and the status of the applicant’s research on the topic. This document cannot exceed 4 pages should be uploaded as a PDF and formatted with 12-point type, 1.5 line spacing, and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Bibliography of references cited in the proposal. This document cannot exceed one single-spaced page, should be uploaded as a PDF and formatted with 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Curriculum vitae cannot exceed four single-spaced pages, should be uploaded as a PDF and should be formatted with 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Letters of recommendation may not exceed two pages in length each. Letters must be requested and submitted through the online application process and uploaded by the application deadline. Applicants are responsible for ensuring that references send their letters on time. Additional reference checks may be conducted for finalists.
The Fellowships:
Two nine-month residential fellowships are available for scholars working in the humanities or social sciences. Scholars with doctorates who plan to write their books and PhD candidates who plan to write their dissertations are eligible. Find out more.
One nine-month residential fellowship is available for scholars working in the humanities or social sciences. PhD candidates who plan to write their dissertations are eligible. Find out more.
One nine-month residential fellowship is available for a Native American scholar, either pre- or postdoctoral, who works in the humanities or the social sciences, or for a Native American writer with a substantial body of published work. Find out more.
For questions, please call (505) 954-7237 or email scholar@sarsf.org
Native Artist Fellowships
The Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) at the School for Advanced Research (SAR) currently offers three artist-in-residence fellowships annually to advance the work of mature and emerging Native artists (from Canada or the United States). Each fellowship includes a $15,000 stipend, housing, studio space, supplies allowance, and travel reimbursement to and from SAR. These fellowships provide time for artists to explore new avenues of creativity, to grapple with new ideas to further advance their work, and to strengthen existing talents.
The fellowships support diverse creative disciplines and can include sculpture, performance, basketry, painting, printmaking, digital art, mixed media, photography, pottery, writing, and film and video. However, each fellowship has specific applicant criteria, as indicated below.The Dubin Fellowship is dedicated to supporting traditional Native artistry.
The King Fellowship is dedicated to preserving the Southwest’s extensive artistic heritage. Applicants to this fellowship must be from a Native community in the Southwestern United States (Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah) and work in the visual arts.
The Dobkin Fellowship encourages the creativity and growth of indigenous women artists working in any media.
Artist fellows must live on the SAR campus, complete a project resulting in the creation of one or more works, and make a public presentation at the end of their fellowship. While in residence, artists can access the IARC collection of Native arts for research and study. While not a requirement, artists are welcome to donate to the IARC collection upon the completion of their fellowship. If selected for the fellowship, artists must agree to participate in interviews, photo sessions, video recordings, and exit interviews to document the fellow's process and progress. This information will be entered into the IARC archives to serve as a permanent public record.
If you prefer to submit your application by mail, please download the IARC Native Artist Fellowship application here.
Applications must be postmarked by the application deadline, which is January 15th. Application materials cannot be returned. Incomplete applications and any supplementary materials will not be reviewed. Please send completed application materials to:Indian Arts Research
Center School for Advanced Research
Attn: Native Artist Fellowships
P.O. Box 2188
Santa Fe, NM 87504-2188
Please read the Artist Fellowship FAQ first to see if the answer to your question is already available. If you have further questions, please contact (505) 954-7205 or iarc@sarsf.org.
Seminars
SAR’s first Advanced Seminar — “Cultural Processes and Civilization” — was convened in borrowed space at St. John’s College in 1968. Since, SAR has hosted more than 300 advanced and “short” seminars, resulting in 263 edited volumes — many of which have transformed fields within and beyond anthropology.
As we approach the 60th anniversary of seminars at SAR, we are dedicating the next two application rounds (in 2025-26 and 2026-27) to proposals for seminars that aim to radically advance significant fields within and between anthropology, history, Indigenous art, and related disciplines. Successful proposals should be bold, synthetic, and transformational, looking beyond narrow specializations and incremental knowledge and idea building to leap ahead to the next generation of scholarship.
We encourage organizers to consult with SAR staff as you assemble participants and proposals. To allow more time to do so, the deadlines for the next two applications rounds will be March 1 of 2026 and 2027.
The proposal should explain:
- The topic of the seminar and key questions to be addressed
- How the topic is of broad importance to anthropology and/or disciplines outside anthropology
- Why a seminar is necessary in order to address the topic
- Why a seminar is needed now
- Who the proposed participants in the seminar will be, what each would contribute, and the likelihood that each would participate
- The expected results of the seminar
The application must include:
Describe the purpose and goals of the project. This document should be uploaded as a PDF, not exceed 200 words, and be formatted with 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Document should describe the research project, key questions to be addressed, methodologies, and significance. The proposal should also explain what is to be accomplished during the fellowship year and the status of the applicant's research on the topic. This document cannot exceed 4 pages should be uploaded as a PDF and formatted with 12-point type, 1.5 line spacing, and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Document should describe the research project, key questions to be addressed, methodologies, and significance. The proposal should also explain what is to be accomplished during the fellowship year and the status of the applicant's research on the topic. This document cannot exceed 4 pages should be uploaded as a PDF and formatted with 12-point type, 1.5 line spacing, and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Curriculum vitae cannot exceed four single-spaced pages, should be uploaded as a PDF and should be formatted with 12-point type and at least 1-inch margins on all sides.
Applications are evaluated by:
Does the proposal explain the research topic, key questions to be addressed, relevance of the topic today, and methodologies in a clear and organized manner? Does it make a strong case for the intellectual significance of the seminar? How is the research exciting, innovative, and important from a broad anthropological and humanistic perspective? Competitive proposals are jargon-free.
Does the proposed seminar clearly align with SAR's mission?
Are the research questions and goals clearly aligned with the project's methodologies and stated outcomes? Are the expected results realistic and achievable, and are the approaches professionally responsible?
Do the CVs of the organizer(s) demonstrate proven experience in organizing academic events (e.g., chairing conference panels, coediting book volumes or special journal issues)? Do their publication records reflect a strong contribution to their discipline and appropriate alignment with their career stage?
Do the proposed participants' research expertise and professional experience clearly align with the seminar's topic and key questions? Each participant's anticipated contribution to the seminar should be stated.
For questions, please call (505) 954-7237 or email seminar@sarsf.org
Anne Ray Internships
The School for Advanced Research, Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) offers two nine-month internships (September 1–May 31) to individuals who are recent college graduates, current graduate students, or junior museum professionals interested in furthering their professional museum experience and enhancing their intellectual capacity for contributing to the expanding field and discourse of museum studies. The internships include a monthly salary, housing, book allowance, the cost of one professional conference, and reimbursable travel to and from SAR. One internship is open to an indigenous individual from the U.S. or Canada, and one internship is open to any U.S. or Canadian citizen meeting the application requirements.The interns devote their time to working on IARC educational programming, research and writing activities, and collections management and registration. Other requirements include making one public presentation; attending a professional conference; assisting with IARC seminars, symposia, and collection tours; and working on outreach initiatives to local Native communities. Interns will also participate in interviews, photo sessions, video recordings, and exit interviews to document their experience.
If you prefer to submit your application by mail, please download the Anne Ray Internship application here. Applications must be postmarked by the application deadline, which is March 1st. Application materials cannot be returned. Incomplete applications and any supplementary materials will not be reviewed. Please send completed application materials to:
School for Advanced Research
Indian Arts Research Center
Attn: Native Internships
P.O. Box 2188
Santa Fe, NM 87504-2188
Please read the Anne Ray Internship FAQ first to see if the answer to your question is already available. If you have further questions, please contact (505) 954-7205 or iarc@sarsf.org.
Process
1. Register
Click on the "Register" link and complete and submit the application form.
2. Login
Login to the award with your email and password.
3. Create
Create your online application on My Dashboard page.
4. Save
During the Call for Applications period, your application can be saved as DRAFT until all the required information is completed and attachments uploaded. As each section is complete, you will see a 
appear in the category tab when the application is saved. At any time, you can download and print your application by clicking on the 
icon in the Application Summary section.
5. Submit
On completion, submit your Application as FINAL. Download and print a copy of your application for your records by clicking on the icon in the Application Summary section in the right column. Note: If an update is required prior to the Call for Applications period, you can make the update and resave as FINAL.
If you require assistance or additional information, please contact the administrator at info@sarsf.org.
Contact Us
School for Advanced Research660 Garcia Street
Santa Fe, NM 87505
Phone: 505 954 7200
Scholar Email: scholar@sarsf.org
Artist/Intern Email: iarc@sarsf.org
