Jobs & Opportunities » Opportunities

Pre-Doctoral Fellow

Type: Awards, Grants, Fellowships [View all]
Posted by: Menil Drawing Institute
Deadline: Mon, December 15th, 2025

The Menil Drawing Institute welcomes applications from American and international researchers who work in fields pertaining to modern and contemporary drawing practices or adopts a transhistorical approach to the medium of drawing. This fellowship is residential and supports individual research towards the Fellow’s doctoral dissertation. Applicants must havecompleted a master’s degree and completed their graduate coursework and passed any required pre-doctoral exams (“orals”) before the term of the fellowship begins. Applicants
with approved dissertation topics are preferred. The Fellow is expected to reside in Houston for the duration of the fellowship and to participate in the cultural and intellectual life of the Menil. They will typically make a presentation on their research to Menil staff and invited guests, and will also give a public talk.

Terms of Appointment

· The Menil Drawing Institute Pre-Doctoral Fellowship is 9 months in length, and spans the academic calendar, lasting from September to June. The Fellow will receive a monthly stipend of $3,300 to cover living and other expenses incurred during the Fellowship. Fellows are not considered employees of the Menil and will not be eligible to participate in the Menil Foundation’s Employee Benefits Plan. The Menil will not
make any payroll deductions or withholdings. Fellows are responsible for all taxes associated with the stipend.

· The Fellow will be housed in a fully-furnished apartment within a recently-refurbished historic bungalow on the Menil campus. The Fellow will be assigned a workspace at the Menil Drawing Institute to use for the duration of the fellowship.

· The Fellow will have access to the collections, archives, and staff at the Menil; and to libraries throughout Houston, including the Menil’s library, Fondren Library at Rice University, the Libraries of the University of Houston, and the Hirsch Library at the Museum of Fine Arts Houston. In addition, they will be able to request references via Inter-Library Loan via the Menil Library.

· Foreign Fellows must be in good standing with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service and have authorization (a J-1 visa) that permits them to conduct the activities for which they have been designated a Menil Drawing Institute Fellow. When possible, the Menil will assist fellows in acquiring the documents required to start that authorization process. Visa applications will be handled by the Director of
Human Resources. Fellows may need to consult with immigration lawyers, a cost not assumed by the Menil without written approval.

Application Process

Applicants for the Pre-Doctoral Fellowship are required to provide a project proposal (not to exceed 1,000 words), a tentative schedule of work to be achieved during the fellowship period, a curriculum vitae, official undergraduate and graduate transcripts, a writing sample, and two
letters of recommendation. It is the applicant’s responsibility to make sure that the application is complete and has been received by the museum.

All application materials, including academic transcripts and letters of recommendation, must be sent via email to mdi@menil.org and received by Monday, December 15, 2025. Interviews will be conducted remotely in early January 2026. Applicants will be notified of decisions by February 2026.

You can find more information on this opportunity here: https://www.menil.org/menil-drawing-institute-pre-doctoral-fellowship 

Posted on Fri, September 26th, 2025
Expires on Mon, December 15th, 2025

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