Each year, The Met offers four fellowships at the Leonard A. Lauder Research Center for Modern Art: a new mid-career fellowship for scholars at an advanced stage in research; a fellowship reserved for a qualified postdoctoral scholar at an early career stage, which may be one or two years in duration; a two-year position for a predoctoral candidate who is embarking on a dissertation; and residency for a distinguished scholar, by invitation only.

Fellowships based at the Research Center offer an exceptional opportunity for scholars of modernism to conduct focused research on an independent project, while contributing to the activities and programs of the Research Center. Projects should be focused on modern art, broadly conceived to include architecture, design, and visual culture around the world in the period from the late nineteenth century to around 1960. Recent pre- and post-doctoral fellowships have supported the work of scholars focused on such topics as Art Brut, Czech Modernism, Dada, Brazilian modern art, interwar European Abstraction, Russian Constructivism, and Surrealism, in addition to the agents, dealers, and reception of Cubism.

The position of Distinguished Scholar provides opportunities for authorities in the field of Cubism and modern art to enjoy a residency at the Metropolitan Museum and to work with its collections. This position is open to eminent curators, academics, independent scholars, and conservators. The Distinguished Scholar is expected to maintain a presence at the Museum during his or her appointment and to contribute to the vibrant intellectual life of the Center through lectures, seminars, talks, and/or publications. Furthermore, the Distinguished Scholar is required to meet regularly with the Center's Fellows and staff and to participate in discussions related to ongoing research topics and projects. The duration of the appointment is flexible and may range from one month to nine. 

The Mid-Career Fellowship is for established scholars with an appropriate record of research/publication for the maximum duration of one year in the period from early September to the end of August. The annual stipend is $65,000, a research allowance of $6,000, plus return travel to New York and health insurance. A Mid-Career Fellow will mentor Pre-and Post-Doctoral Fellows in the Center in partnership with the Head of Center and the Distinguished Scholar. Later in the fellowship they will lead a closed seminar of invited early-career scholars from a range of university/college/museum contexts, including Leonard A. Lauder Fellows, on a theme to be agreed with the Head of Center. They will also give a public lecture on their work in the later stages of the Fellowship.

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A one- or two-year fellowship at the Research Center for a post-doctoral scholar at an early career stage. Fellows will receive a stipend of $57,000, an annual research travel fund of $6,000, as well as health insurance. The Post-Doctoral Fellow will participate in and benefit from the activities of the Center and engage with the wider fellowship community at The Met.

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A two-year fellowship at the Research Center for Ph.D. students working on a dissertation. Fellows will receive a stipend of $47,000, an annual research travel fund of $6,000, as well as health insurance. The Pre-doctoral Fellow will participate in and benefit from the activities of the Center and engage with the wider fellowship community The Met.

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