Carter Manny Award

Funding Agency:
Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts

Established in 1996 by the Graham Foundation, the Carter Manny Award supports the completion of outstanding doctoral dissertations on architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The only predoctoral award dedicated exclusively to architectural scholarship, the Carter Manny Award recognizes emerging scholars whose work promises to challenge and reshape contemporary discourse and impact the field at large. Eligible dissertation projects must focus on architecture, though scholarly investigations may be grounded in a range of academic disciplines and fields of inquiry that align with the mission of the Graham Foundation. These include: architecture and architectural history; art and art history; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urbanism; and other related fields. (See the Overview of our grant programs). The award assists students enrolled in graduate programs in architecture, art history, the fine arts, humanities, and the social sciences working on architecture topics.

Each year the Graham Foundation offers two Carter Manny Awards: one Research Award for a student at the research stage of the doctoral dissertation and one Writing Award for a student at writing stage of the doctoral dissertation. The Research Award is acknowledged with up to $15,000 and the Writing Award is acknowledged with up to $20,000.

The Carter Manny Award applications are reviewed by a diverse panel of recognized scholars in the fields of inquiry represented by the award.

Deadline: Nov. 15, 2023

Agency Website

Areas of Interest

The Graham Foundation offers two Carter Manny Awards: one for a student at the research stage of the doctoral dissertation and one for a student at the writing stage of the doctoral dissertation.

Research Award

The Research Award assists students with research that is essential to the doctoral project. The Research Award can be used for travel, documentation, materials, supplies, and other research and development costs. Applicants for a Research Award must articulate research goals through a clearly defined work plan that outlines travel, archival visits, and research methods.

The Research Award is acknowledged with up to $15,000.

Writing Award

The Writing Award supports the timely completion of the PhD by assisting advanced doctoral students during the final stages of dissertation writing. While some of the award funds may be used to conclude research, the award is primarily intended to support and facilitate a period of uninterrupted writing. Applicants for a Writing Award must submit a writing sample (excerpt from a dissertation chapter), a dissertation table of contents, and a writing schedule.

The Writing Award is acknowledged with up to $20,000.

Eligibility Requirements

PhD students who are presently candidates for a doctoral degree are eligible to apply.

  • Students must be nominated by their department to apply for the Carter Manny Award.
  • A department may nominate up to two candidates: one for the Research Award and one for the Writing Award.
  • At the time of application, students must have completed all requirements for the PhD except the dissertation and have had their dissertation proposals formally approved by their academic departments.
  • A student may reapply for the Carter Manny Award if a previous application was not successful. Due to limited funds, a student who received a Research Award or a Writing Award is not eligible to apply for another Carter Manny Award in subsequent years.
  • The award is open to students officially enrolled in schools in the United States and Canada, regardless of citizenship.

Amount

$20,000

Funding Type

Award

Eligibility

Grad/Prof Students

Category

Arts & Humanities
Social Sciences

External Deadline

November 15, 2023