Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowships
Scholarship Sponsored by Virginia Museum of Fine Arts
The Fellowship Program of the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) is a crucial financial resource for visual arts and art history within Virginia. The VMFA is dedicated to backing professional artists and students of art and art history who exhibit outstanding creative talent in their chosen field. To date, the VMFA has granted over $6 million in Fellowships to Virginians.
The Fellowship Program was initiated in 1940, thanks to a generous donation from the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg. The program celebrated its 85th anniversary in 2025! The Fellowships, offered through VMFA Statewide, continue to be primarily funded by the Pratt Endowment, with additional support from the J. Warwick McClintic Jr. Fellowship Fund.
Categories of Fellowship
- The Fellowship term for 2026-27 extends from May 2026 to May 2027.
- When deciding on the category for your application, consider your student status during the Fellowship term, not at the time of application submission.
- Only the Graduate category includes Art History as a discipline.
Professional Individual $8,000
Artists can apply to the Professional category provided they will not be enrolled in a degree-seeking program during the Fellowship term of May 2026 to May 2027.
Undergraduate and Graduate students graduating in May 2026, who do not intend to enroll in a degree-seeking program in the subsequent year, should apply to the Professional category.
Professional Collaborative $8,000
Professional artists with a proven history of continuous collaboration can jointly apply for a single fellowship. Winning collaborators will share one $8,000 fellowship.
Each artist in a collaborative group must submit an application and mention the other group member(s) they are collaborating with. Only the first artist in the group to apply will submit work samples.
Graduate (Individual only) $6,000
Graduate applicants must be full-time students in a degree-seeking graduate-level program for the entire academic year of Aug 2026 to May 2027 at an accredited college, university, or school of the arts.
If you are graduating in May 2026 and do not plan to enroll in a degree-seeking program in the following year, you should apply for a Professional Fellowship.
Undergraduate (Individual only) $4,000
Undergraduate applicants must be full-time students in a degree-seeking undergraduate-level program for the entire academic year of Aug 2026 to May 2027 at an accredited college, university, or school of the arts.
If you are graduating in May 2026 and do not plan to enroll in a degree-seeking program in the following year, you should apply for a Professional Fellowship.
High school seniors graduating in May/June 2026 and planning to be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program for the entire academic year of Aug 2026 to May 2027 are eligible to apply for an Undergraduate Fellowship.
Eligibility
Professional Artists
- You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a current legal resident of Virginia, and have been so for at least 24 consecutive months prior to the application deadline.
- You must maintain your legal residency in Virginia for the Fellowship term of May 2026 to May 2027. A legal resident possesses a valid Virginia driver’s license, pays income taxes in Virginia, and/or is a registered Virginia voter. Applicants must be able to provide proof of residency upon request.
- You cannot be a degree-seeking student during the Fellowship term of May 2026 to May 2027.
Artists who are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply to the Professional category include the following:
- Recipients of a VMFA Professional Fellowship in the last 5 Fellowship cycles (2025-26, 2024-25, 2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22)
- Recipients of three or more Fellowships
- Full-time VMFA employees
- Undergraduate and Graduate students who will be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program during the academic year of Aug 2026 to May 2027.
Students (Graduate and Undergraduate)
- You must be a U.S. citizen or permanent resident, a current legal resident of Virginia, and have been so for at least 12 consecutive months prior to the application deadline.
- You must maintain your legal residency in Virginia for the Fellowship term of May 2026 to May 2027. A legal resident possesses a valid Virginia driver’s license, pays income taxes in Virginia, and/or is a registered Virginia voter.
- Students paying in-state tuition to an accredited Virginia college, university, or school of the arts qualify as legal residents of Virginia. If you do not qualify for in-state tuition in Virginia, you may not apply for a VMFA Fellowship until you establish Virginia residency. If you are a legal Virginia resident but attend school full-time outside of Virginia, you may still apply. Applicants must be able to provide proof of residency upon request.
- You must plan to be enrolled full-time and qualify as a Virginia resident as outlined above for the entire academic year Aug 2026 to May 2027 at an accredited college, university, or school of the arts.
Artists who are NOT ELIGIBLE to apply to either of the student categories include the following:
- Recipients of three or more Fellowships
- Full-time VMFA employees
- Undergraduate and graduate students who will NOT be enrolled full-time in a degree-seeking program during the academic year Aug 2026 to May 2027.