Close Menu

Since 1899, the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University has awarded Traveling Fellowships (formerly called Traveling Scholarships) to select alumni. As one of the largest endowed art school grant programs in the country, the Traveling Fellowship program provides funds for artists to further develop and inform their practice.

The program has provided critical early-career support for many notable SMFA graduates, including Nan Goldin, Mike and Doug Starn, Ellen Gallagher, Omer Fast, and recent graduates such as Evelyn Rydz, Gonzalo Fuenmayor, and Daniela Rivera.

Eligibility and Deadline

Only SMFA graduates of the BFA, Post-Baccalaureate, MFA, Combined Degree, or MAT programs may apply. Alumni may be working in any contemporary visual art discipline. Anyone who previously applied, but has not won a Traveling Fellowship, is encouraged to apply again; however, previous winners of a Traveling Fellowship (or, previously, "Traveling Scholarship") are not eligible. Applications are open now and close at midnight on August 8, 2019. The jury process begins in August with funds announced and distributed in September 2019.

For more information about the application process and to apply, click here.

History of the Award

In 1894, James William Paige left a bequest of $30,000 to the Museum School to establish a travel fund. Income was to be used to send SMFA students to Europe, where they would study art for a period of two years. By 1899, the first Traveling Scholar, Mary Brewster Hazelton, sailed to Europe. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, recipients typically traveled to Paris, Rome, or Florence and received $800 per year for two years. Today, SMFA Traveling Fellows journey across the globe, to places as diverse as the American West, Antartica, and Shikoku, Japan, and receive grants of up to $10,000 each.

Please email Kaitlyn Clark with any questions.

Image: Georgie Friedman (SMFA at Tufts MFA ’08), Rising Tide, digitally layered 4K video, 30 mins, 2017. Georgie Friedman went to Antarctica during her Traveling Fellowship to film and photograph icebergs, glaciers, ice shelves, and other formations to use as material in forthcoming projects. This work is featured in the solo Traveling Fellows exhibit at the MFA, Boston April - September 2019.

Close Menu