getty scholars program

The Getty Scholars Program supports innovative research about art, conceived in the broadest terms, and its histories, by providing a locus for international scholars to forge collaborations across disciplines and professional practices, while also developing new audiences for their work. During their residency, the scholar cohort is immersed in a vibrant local community devoted to the advancement of knowledge and hosted at an institution committed to preserving, understanding, interpreting, and sharing its vast library and collections. Scholars may be in residence at the Getty Center or Getty Villa.

Structure

A mix of senior scholars and junior fellows are selected for the Scholars Program cohort. The cohort's research projects are focused on an annual theme. The three main grant categories are:

1. Scholar Grants for established researchers and professionals who have held PhDs for at least 5 years and/or possess strong records of publication and professional activity (5–7 years of experience in their field), at the Getty Center or Getty Villa
2. Postdoctoral Fellowships for recently granted PhDs at the Getty Center or Getty Villa
3. Predoctoral Fellowships for PhD candidates at the Getty Center

Within the annual theme, Getty offers dedicated appointments through its African American Art History Initiative (AAAHI) for scholars who are expanding critical inquiry of African American art and its frameworks. See the sections below for more information about applying. Interested applicants should apply to the appropriate category above based on their degree status.

The Getty Scholars Program is committed to fostering collaborative research and invites expressions of interest from teams, although each team member must meet eligibility requirements and submit an application individually.

As a related offering at Getty, the Conservation Guest Scholars Program provides opportunities for established scholars and professionals who have attained distinction in the cultural heritage conservation field. Additionally, under the Classical World in Context Initiative, the Getty Scholars Program at the Villa contributes to the understanding and preservation of cultural heritage through advanced research on the arts and cultures of antiquity. Scholars affiliated with all of these programs live in the same complex and participate in many shared activities and lectures while in residence. The three parallel programs provide ample opportunities for exchange and collaboration. Applications for the Conservation and Villa programs are made separately.

Annual Theme: Provenance

In recent years the study of provenance has expanded in urgency and scope, in line with the art historical turn toward the lives of objects, and also in response to evolving debates regarding the ownership of art. Relevant to all periods and areas of art production, provenance research brings to light fundamental questions about who may lay claim to art and how objects transform as they change hands, collections, and exhibition venues. Increasingly available information on broken chains of ownership caused by theft, illicit trade, and historical looting have fueled restitution debates and ignited questions about the ethics of collecting in climates of conflict or asymmetries of power. Digitization and databases have also opened up the interdisciplinary possibilities of provenance research and laid the ground for art restitution efforts and other forms of reparation.

For the 2026–2027 year, the Getty Scholars Program invites innovative proposals for projects that explore provenance and adjacent research areas, including but not limited to the history of collecting, the study of the art market, and broader explorations around the ownership of art objects. The scholar cohort will be invited to examine and critique the arena of provenance studies while also envisioning its future, situated between the practices and demands of source communities, art historians, museums, and the market. Applicants are invited to propose projects, either individual or collaborative, that reflect upon the ownership, transfer, and movement of art objects from all world regions and time periods.

For this year, the Getty Scholars Program aims to link scholars with Getty resources and researchers and foster a lively community around the study of provenance—an increasingly significant domain of art historical and curatorial practice that centers the histories of both objects and people. While in residence, scholars will have the opportunity to delve into the Getty Research Institute’s vast collections of rare materials that support provenance research and explore the newly remodeled Getty Provenance Index, which lays the ground for cutting-edge computational approaches to the field.