A 10-month Princeton fellowship providing a $93,000 stipend plus $5,000 in research expenses for artists pursuing independent work
Table of Contents
The Princeton Hodder Fellowship offers artists a 10-month academic-year appointment at Princeton University with a $93,000 stipend and $5,000 for research expenses. For the 2027–28 cycle, applications are being accepted in Dance, Theater and Music Theater, Visual Arts, and Music. Hodder Fellows devote the appointment to their independent artistic work and have no teaching responsibilities.
The fellowship is particularly significant for artists who already have a developed professional practice. Princeton does not establish a formal career-stage requirement, although it notes that the strength of the applicant pool means successful candidates commonly have a first book or comparable professional achievement in their field.
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Opportunity Snapshot
What: A 10-month fellowship supporting artists in the development of an independent artistic project.
Who: Artists applying through Dance, Theater and Music Theater, Visual Arts, or Music for the 2027–28 cycle.
Where: Princeton University, Princeton, New Jersey, USA. Fellows must be based in the United States during the fellowship but do not need to reside in Princeton or near campus.
Award / Support: $93,000 stipend for the 10-month academic year, plus $5,000 for research expenses.
Application Fee: FREE
Residency Duration: One 10-month academic year.
Application Opens: July 1, 2026.
Deadline: September 8, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT.
Official Link: https://arts.princeton.edu/fellowships/hodder-fellowship
Strategy Coach Notes: https://www.patreon.com/pformart/posts/strategy-coach-166295802
Get The Application Strategy
The Hodder application is unusually concentrated. The 500-word project proposal has to establish what you intend to pursue during the fellowship and why the 10-month period matters to that work. Your work samples then provide evidence of the artistic practice behind the proposal, with a 150-word statement connecting those samples to the proposed project. This creates a compact application in which project, existing practice, and work samples need to reinforce one another. The absence of teaching also changes the framing. Applicants can focus directly on the artistic project and what sustained time will allow them to accomplish.
Practitioner members can access the full Strategy Coach Notes with a detailed breakdown of the application, work samples, proposal structure, and selection strategy. Join the network to access the Strategy Coach Notes.
About the Hodder Fellowship
The Mary Mackall Gwinn Hodder Fellowship at Princeton University supports artists during an academic year devoted to independent work. Princeton describes potential Hodder Fellows as composers, choreographers, performance artists, visual artists, writers, and other artists or humanists, although eligible disciplines vary by application cycle. For 2027–28, applications are being accepted specifically through Dance, Theater and Music Theater, Visual Arts, and Music.
The fellowship operates as a Visiting Fellow appointment rather than a teaching fellowship. Fellows have no formal teaching responsibilities and spend the 10-month appointment pursuing the project identified in their application. Fellows must be based in the United States during the fellowship year. They are not required to live in Princeton or near the university. Princeton also makes shared campus space available to fellows. The structure gives artists considerable control over where and how the proposed work develops.
What Is Offered
- $93,000 stipend for one 10-month academic year
- $5,000 for research expenses
- Visiting Fellow appointment at Princeton University
- No formal teaching responsibilities
- Time to pursue an independent artistic project
- Eligibility for benefits during the appointment
- Shared space on the Princeton campus
- No requirement to reside in Princeton or near campus
Who Should Apply To The Hodder Fellowship
For the 2027–28 Hodder Fellowship, Princeton is accepting applications through the Program in Dance, Program in Theater and Music Theater, Program in Visual Arts, and Department of Music.
Applicants do not need an advanced degree, and there is no stated age limit. U.S. citizenship is not required. The fellowship cannot support work leading toward an advanced degree. Previous Princeton Arts Fellows are ineligible for a Hodder Fellowship.
Princeton does not formally designate Hodder as a mid-career fellowship. Its guidance does indicate a highly accomplished applicant pool. The university states that most successful fellows have published a first book or achieved comparable recognition within their discipline. Artists should therefore assess the fellowship in relation to the professional development of their existing practice rather than treating it as an entry-level opportunity.
Hodder Fellowship Timeline
Applications Open: July 1, 2026
Application Deadline: September 8, 2026, 11:59 PM EDT
Fellowship Period: 2027–28 academic year
Duration: 10 months
Why The Hodder Fellowship Matters
The Hodder Fellowship combines substantial financial support with an unusually open working structure. The $93,000 stipend and $5,000 research allocation support a full academic year centered on the fellow’s artistic project. There is no teaching obligation, and fellows are not required to relocate to Princeton.
That structure makes the fellowship especially relevant to artists whose work requires an extended period of research, experimentation, writing, rehearsal, development, or production. The application also asks candidates to define a specific project for the fellowship period, making the relationship between an established practice and the next stage of the work central to the proposal.
Apply
Applications and current program information are available through Princeton University’s Lewis Center for the Arts.
https://arts.princeton.edu/fellowships/hodder-fellowship
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