FAQs

Read Our Frequently Asked Questions Below

Guggenheim Fellowships are grants awarded to around 175 selected individuals every year. The purpose of the Guggenheim Fellowship program is to provide Fellows with blocks of time in which they can work with as much creative freedom as possible. As such, grants are made freely, without any special conditions attached to them; Fellows may spend their grant funds in any manner they deem necessary to their work. The United States Internal Revenue Service, however, does require the Foundation to ask for reports from its Fellows at the end of their Fellowship terms.

The Foundation understands advanced professionals to be those who as writers, scholars, or scientists have a significant record of publication, or as artists, playwrights, filmmakers, photographers, composers, or the like, have a significant record of exhibition or performance of their work. 

The Foundation understands the performing arts to be those in which an individual interprets work created by others. Accordingly, the Foundation will provide Fellowships to composers but not conductors, singers, or instrumentalists; choreographers but not dancers; filmmakers, playwrights, and performance artists who create their own work but not actors or theater directors.

The amounts of grants vary, and the Foundation does not guarantee it will fully fund any project. Working with a fixed annual budget, the Foundation strives to allocate its funds as equitably as possible, taking into consideration the Fellows’ other resources and the purpose and scope of their plans. Members of the teaching profession receiving sabbatical leave on full or part salary are eligible for appointment, as are those holding other fellowships and appointments at research centers.

The Foundation prides itself on supporting individuals, not institutions or organizations.

You can find all the information about deadlines on our How to Apply page .

Yes. Late applications will not be accepted.

No, second Fellowships are not granted. Although in the early years of the Foundation, Fellows were sometimes granted second Fellowships or renewals, the Foundation has discontinued that practice.

All applicants will be notified of the results as soon as possible after the Trustees confirm the new Fellowship appointments. Typically, this occurs in mid-April. The Foundation will not respond to any inquiries about application results, nor provide any information on its deliberations or judgments. Because of the confidential nature of our application process, we cannot comment on candidacies that have been denied, offer suggestions or advice to candidates, or amplify the results of the competitions.

Scroll to Top