USA Scholarships
Rome Prize 2027 - Up to $30,000 Rome Fellowship
The Rome Prize 2027 cycle funds a residential year at the American Academy in Rome for artists and scholars whose work needs time in the city itself. Each year the Academy selects roughly thirty Rome Prize winners across disciplines from ancient studies and architecture to literature, musical composition, and visual arts. Winners live on the Janiculum Hill campus with private bedrooms, studios, and weekday lunches and dinners Monday through Friday through the Rome Sustainable Food Project. Full-term fellowships run from early September through the following June and include a $30,000 stipend; half-term options pay $16,000 and can start in September or February. Most applicants must be US citizens when they apply, though Environmental Arts and Humanities and several postdoctoral humanities categories also welcome US citizens and foreign nationals who have resided in the United States for the three years immediately before the deadline. The 2027-2028 application opens on aarome.org with an early deadline of 1 November 2026, a late window through 15 November, and letters of recommendation due 30 November 2026.
What is the Rome Prize?
The Rome Prize is one of the longest-running US fellowships for artists and humanists who need sustained time in Rome. The American Academy in Rome has run the competition for more than a century, selecting a cohort of roughly thirty winners each year who live and work on the Academy campus while they finish books, compose music, develop architectural research, or push a studio practice forward with the city as their laboratory.
Winners are not tourists with a stipend. They join a residential community of fellows, visiting scholars, and affiliated artists who eat together, present work in progress, and argue across disciplines in a way that is hard to replicate in a single university department. The package is practical as well as symbolic: a private room, a studio, weekday meals, and a stipend that reaches $30,000 on a full-term award or $16,000 on a half-term schedule.
If you are planning for the 2027-2028 year, mark November 2026 on your calendar. The Academy keeps an early deadline on 1 November with a lower fee, leaves a short late window, and expects recommendation letters by 30 November for most categories. Jurors meet in the winter, finalists interview in early spring, and winners hear in April before a September arrival in Rome. Read the discipline-specific rules before you write a line of the proposal, because ancient studies and musical composition do not ask for the same portfolio.
The Rome Prize sits at the professional end of the funding spectrum. It is not a student grant for credit hours abroad. Undergraduates are out, previous winners cannot return, and most tracks require US citizenship at the moment you apply. A handful of postdoctoral humanities categories widen the pool to long-term US residents who are not citizens. If your project genuinely requires Rome, the application is worth the careful, category-specific preparation the Academy demands.
Eligibility
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✓US citizenship for most Rome Prize categoriesApplicants in architecture, design, historic preservation, landscape architecture, literature, musical composition, visual arts, and most other Rome Prize categories must be United States citizens at the time of application. Check the discipline-specific guidelines on aarome.org because rules differ by jury.
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✓Broader residency rules for select humanities postdocsEnvironmental Arts and Humanities and postdoctoral fellowships in Ancient Studies, Medieval Studies, Renaissance and Early Modern Studies, and Modern Italian Studies accept US citizens and foreign nationals who have lived in the United States for three years immediately before the application deadline.
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✓Graduate students only when ABDHumanities graduate students may apply for predoctoral Rome Prize fellowships only if they are all but dissertation (ABD). Undergraduate students are not eligible for Rome Prize fellowships.
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✓No previous Rome Prize winnersIf you have already won a Rome Prize, you cannot reapply. The Academy treats the award as a once-in-a-career opportunity.
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✓Disclose overlapping fellowships and employmentYou must list fellowships, awards, and sabbatical pay you expect during the proposed Rome residency. Winners may hold compatible awards but cannot take a full-time job during the fellowship term; limited part-time work is allowed if it does not block community participation.
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✓English materials and discipline-specific samplesEvery application component, including letters of recommendation, must be in English. Work samples, CV requirements, and project descriptions vary by category, so read the published guidelines for your discipline before you start.
Benefits
- Stipend $30,000 for the fellowship year
- Housing Private bedroom with bath at the Academy
- Workspace Private studio or study
- Meals on campus Weekday lunch and dinner via Rome Sustainable Food Project
- Residency length Early September through following June
- Community programs Talks, critiques, and interdisciplinary exchange in Rome
- Concurrent full-time employment Not permitted during the fellowship
- Travel to Rome Not a listed covered expense; plan from the stipend
- Stipend $16,000
- Housing and workspace Same residential benefits as full-term winners
- Meals on campus Weekday meals through Rome Sustainable Food Project
- Start options September or February preference
- Full-year project support Half-term length only
Document checklist
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✓Online Rome Prize application by disciplineSubmit through the American Academy in Rome portal at aarome.org/apply/rome-prize. Each discipline has its own form; you may apply to multiple categories for an additional fee but only one application per category.
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✓Curriculum vitae or professional resumeA current CV showing education, exhibitions, publications, performances, grants, and professional appointments. Format and length follow the discipline guidelines on the Academy site.
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✓Project statement and work samplesA proposal explaining why the work must happen in Rome, plus samples such as writing excerpts, scores, images, or research summaries as required for your category. Requirements differ sharply between, for example, visual arts and ancient studies.
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✓Letters of recommendationMost categories require letters uploaded by referees by 30 November 2026. Literature, musical composition, and visual arts applicants instead supply three reference names and contacts if they are not submitting letters.
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✓Application fee paymentPay the published fee by 1 November 2026 for the lower rate ($50 for one application, $60 for two or more) or the higher late rate if you submit between 2 and 15 November 2026.
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✓Fellowship and funding disclosure formList other fellowships, grants, or sabbatical salary you expect during the Rome residency year so jurors can confirm there is no conflict with full participation at the Academy.
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✓Joint application dossier (collaborators only)Collaborators in the same discipline may submit one joint dossier with a primary applicant if the work is genuinely collaborative. Each collaborator must meet eligibility rules and, if selected, receives a full stipend and individual living space.
How to apply
Deadline and timeline
FAQ
What is the Rome Prize?
The Rome Prize is a residential fellowship at the American Academy in Rome for US artists and scholars working in the arts and humanities. Winners receive a stipend up to $30,000 for a full term, housing, a private workspace, and weekday meals on campus while they pursue a project in Rome.
Who can apply for the Rome Prize 2027?
Most categories require US citizenship at application. Several postdoctoral humanities tracks and Environmental Arts and Humanities also accept foreign nationals who have lived in the United States for three years before the deadline. Undergraduates and previous Rome Prize winners cannot apply.
How much is the Rome Prize stipend?
Full-term Rome Prize fellowships pay a $30,000 stipend for the September-through-June residency. Half-term awards pay $16,000. Housing, a private studio, and weekday meals through the Rome Sustainable Food Project are included separately from the cash stipend.
When is the Rome Prize 2027 application deadline?
The early deadline is 1 November 2026 with a lower application fee. Applications are also accepted 2 through 15 November 2026 at a higher fee. Letters of recommendation are due 30 November 2026 for categories that require them.
Can I apply to more than one Rome Prize category?
Yes, but you must submit a separate application for each category and pay the multi-application fee. You cannot submit more than one application within the same category.
Do Rome Prize winners live in Rome full time?
Yes. Fellows are expected to take part in the Academy residential community in Rome. Winners may not hold a full-time job during the term, though limited part-time commitments are allowed if they do not interfere with community life.
When are Rome Prize 2027 winners announced?
Juries select finalists in January and February 2027, conduct interviews in February or March, and the Academy announces approved winners in April 2027 ahead of a September 2027 arrival for full-term fellows.
Is the Rome Prize the same as a study abroad scholarship?
No. The Rome Prize is a professional fellowship for established or advanced artists and scholars, not an undergraduate semester-abroad award. Graduate students in the humanities may apply only if they are ABD.
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