AAR invites applications for the annual Rome Prize competition!

Before beginning your application, be sure to thoroughly read the application guidelines for your discipline.

Please note that eligibility and submission requirements differ for each category. All materials must be submitted in English, including letters of recommendation.

You must complete an online application for your chosen category. For a complete list of requirements for each Rome Prize category in the arts, please the sections on this webpage below.

You may submit applications to multiple categories for an additional fee. If applying in multiple categories, a separate online application is required for each category. Applicants may not submit more than one application in any one category (i.e., do not submit separate applications for sculpture and painting; only one visual arts application will be accepted).

Included in landscape architecture: environmental design and planning, landscape/ecological urbanism, landscape history, sustainability and ecological studies, and geography.

Full-term and half-term Rome Prize Fellowships are available in architecture and landscape architecture. All applicants must hold an accredited degree and be practicing in the discipline. Applicants should submit materials that best display their qualifications and experience in architecture or landscape architecture. Jurors review a wide range of materials in this category and should be able to clearly understand not only the candidate’s background but the candidate’s philosophical approach to their work and the professional trajectory they are pursuing.

Required Application Materials

A completed online application form and the following documents, to be uploaded to your online application as three separate digital files.

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae.

2. One-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please address the following points/questions in your proposal:

• How will the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome?
• What guides or motivates your work?
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Digital portfolio (in PDF format) of up to forty pages, in horizontal/landscape orientation, highlighting the applicant’s concerns and interests in work to date. Work included should be the sole product of the applicant, or substantially the product of the applicant with the applicant’s role in the work clearly noted. The jury has limited time, so applicants should make their portfolio succinct and easy to understand. If the PDF file exceeds the 10 MB upload limit, the applicant should send the portfolio on a USB drive to the address listed below.

Also needed are three reference letters from professionals acquainted with you and your work. Recommenders will be asked to submit their letters electronically through our online system.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome. Send to the address below.

If required, USB drives should be mailed to: 

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Architecture & Landscape Architecture
535 West 22nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10011

Included in design: graphic, industrial, interior, exhibition, set, costume, and fashion design, urban design, city planning, engineering, and other design-related fields.

Half-term Rome Prize Fellowships are available in design. All applicants must hold an accredited degree and be practicing in the discipline. Applicants should submit materials that best display their qualifications and experience in the field of design.

Required Application Materials

A completed online application form and the following documents, to be uploaded to your online application as three separate digital files.

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae.

2. One-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please address the following points/questions in your proposal:

• How will the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome?
• What guides or motivates your work?
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Digital portfolio (in PDF format) of up to forty pages, in horizontal/landscape orientation, highlighting the applicant’s concerns and interests in work to date. Work included should be the sole product of the applicant, or substantially the product of the applicant with the applicant’s role in the work clearly noted. The jury has limited time, so applicants should make their portfolio succinct and easy to understand. If the PDF file exceeds the 10 MB upload limit, the applicant should send the portfolio on a USB drive to the address listed below.

Also needed are reference letters from professionals acquainted with you and your work. Recommenders will be asked to submit their letters electronically through our online system.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome. Send to the address below.

If required, USB drives should be mailed to: 

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Design
535 West 22nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10011

Included in literature: fiction, literary nonfiction, and poetry.

Full-term and half-term Rome Prize Fellowships are available in literature. Applicants must demonstrate professional commitment and be currently engaged in work in the discipline. To be eligible, applicants must have commercially published, between January 1, 2018, and November 15, 2024, one of the following.

For applicants in fiction and literary nonfiction:

• A novel or novella; or
• A volume of creative nonfiction; or
• A volume of short fiction or a collection of short stories

For applicants in poetry:

• A volume of forty-eight or more pages of poetry
• To qualify, submitted work must have been first published between the dates listed above, not only reprinted or reissued in another format during this period

Additional Criteria for All Applicants in Literature

The following may not be used to establish eligibility:

• Self-published books
• Work that has appeared in a publication for which you are the editor, publisher, or staff
• Any publication by presses that: require individual writers to pay for part or all of the production costs; require writers to buy or sell copies of the publication; publish work without competitive selection or a stated editorial policy; or publish work without professional editing

Required Application Materials

A completed online application form and the following documents, to be uploaded to your online application as separate digital files.

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae.

2. One-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please address the following questions in your proposal:

• How will the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome?
• What guides or motivates your work?
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Up to three writing samples totaling no more than twenty pages. This may be one sample totaling no more than twenty pages; a selection of excerpts from one work totaling no more than twenty pages; or up to three separate samples from different works, totaling no more than twenty pages.

Also needed are three references. Provide the names and contact information only for three professionals acquainted with you and your work. Letters of recommendation are not required for applicants in literature.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome. Send to:

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Literature
535 West 22nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10011

Applicants for full-term Rome Prize Fellowships in musical composition must demonstrate professional commitment and be currently engaged in the discipline.

Required Application Materials

A completed online application form and the following documents, to be uploaded to your online application as separate digital files.

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae, with a complete list of works (including composition, year, and instrumentation).

2. One-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please be sure to address the following points/questions in your proposal:

• How will the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome?
• What guides or motivates your work?
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Musical scores for at least two but not more than three compositions from within the past five years. If your work is unscorable, please provide lead sheets or other explanatory material. Handwritten scores should be scanned and uploaded.

4. Recordings of at least two but not more than three compositions from within the past five years. Recordings should be hosted online, either on SoundCloud or another file-hosting site. Links to the recordings should be included in the online application form. Learn more about uploading music to SoundCloud. Please note if any performances are MIDI realizations.

Also needed are three references. Provide the names and contact information only for three professionals acquainted with you and your work. Letters of recommendation are not required for applicants in music composition.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome. Send to:

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Musical Composition
535 West 22nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10011

Included in visual arts: painting, sculpture, drawing, photography, film/video, installation, new media, digital arts, and other visual arts–related fields.

Full-term and half-term Rome Prize Fellowships are available in visual arts. Applicants must demonstrate at least three years of professional commitment and currently be engaged in the discipline. Applicants working in art and technology are also encouraged to apply.

Required Application Materials

A completed online application form and the following two documents, to be uploaded to your online application as two separate digital files.

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae

2. One-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please be sure to address the following points/questions in your proposal:

• Explain how the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome
• Explain what guides or motivates your work
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Work sample(s): digital images and/or video. See the Work Sample Specifications below.

Also needed are three references. Provide the names and contact information only for three professionals acquainted with you and your work. Letters of recommendation are not required for applicants in visual arts.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome. Send to the address below.

Work Sample Specifications for Digital Images

A maximum of eighteen digital JPEG images may be uploaded with the application. Images will be shown two at a time, side by side. In the initial screening, jurors view only the first six images.

Formatting your digital images:

• Images must be in JPEG format with .jpg extension
• The longest side (height and/or width) of each image should be a minimum of 1240 pixels
• The maximum size for each image file is 10 MB.

Work Sample Specifications for Video

Video work samples will be accepted from applicants who are submitting time-based work such as film, video, performance art, new media, kinetic sculpture, installation, etc. Do not submit a video of still images, slideshows, or videos of you at work. Applicants submitting video are not required to submit digital images.

Submit up to three samples totaling no more than ten minutes in length. Choose one of the following:

• One sample totaling no more than ten minutes; or
• A selection of excerpts from one work edited together and totaling no more than ten minutes, or
• Up to three separate samples from different works, totaling no more than ten minutes

If your samples are available online (videos must be public and not password protected), please enter the URLs in the fields provided in the application form. Otherwise, please send video samples on a USB drive to: 

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Visual Arts
535 West 22nd Street, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10011

This year the American Academy in Rome introduces a pilot Rome Prize dedicated to the Environmental Arts & Humanities, designed specifically for collaborative efforts. We encourage applications from artists and scholars working jointly on projects that help expand our understanding of the way human beings relate to, experience, or process their encounters with the natural world. Collaborative pairs may include artists of any sort (visual, digital, architectural, musical, literary, textile, performance) and scholars in any field (past, present, future, natural world, human world). The two winners of this Rome Prize will each receive a full stipend, their own individual living space, and will be invited to join the Rome Sustainable Food Project for meals. The winners will share a workspace. Applicants must demonstrate a preexisting working partnership to be considered for this fellowship and, as with all Rome Prize Fellowships, applicants have to make clear why this work needs to be done in Rome.

Applicants may apply for a full-term fellowship (about ten months) or a half-term fellowship (about five months.)

Required Application Materials

The required application materials include a completed online application form and the following three documents, to be uploaded to your online application as three separate digital files:

1. Current résumé/curriculum vitae. Please include languages read and spoken and level of fluency.

2. One- to four-page proposal describing the project to be undertaken. Please be sure to address the following points/questions in your proposal:

• Explain how the proposed project and your own professional development will benefit from a residency within a multidisciplinary community in Rome
• Explain what guides or motivates your work
• Rome is a modern city powerfully stamped by the material remains of the past. Is this past important to your present? If so, why?
• What, if any, resources in Rome or Italy will be significant to the completion of your proposed project?
• What kind of workspace do you need in Rome?

Please include bibliographical notes for any sources cited (not counted toward the four-page limit). Your proposal should be double-spaced with 10- to 12-point typeface and one-inch margins.

3. Work sample. If your work is primarily text based, please submit a writing sample–published or unpublished–of up to twenty pages. Be sure to include a bibliography and footnotes (not counted toward the page limit). If your work is a mixture of text and images, sound, and/or video, please submit a portfolio of up to forty pages with links to online video and audio files.

Also needed are three reference letters from professionals acquainted with you and your work. Recommenders will be asked to submit their letters electronically through our online system.

Finally, you must submit an application fee paid by credit card through our online payment option or by check or money order made payable to American Academy in Rome and mailed to the following address: 

American Academy in Rome
Attention: Environmental Arts & Humanities
535 West 22nd Street, Third Floor
New York, NY 10011