Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship

The Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellowship is a two-year fellowship that provides an opportunity for a postdoctoral scholar at an early stage of their career to gain curatorial training and experience, and to engage with a community of staff and scholars from around the world. These fellows work with a curatorial supervisor and mentor on a specific project related to The Met collection or an upcoming exhibition. The fellowships are intended to strengthen the curatorial profession at large by training promising emerging scholars for curatorial careers. The fellows also have the opportunity to engage in an independent project in consultation with the supervising curator, and they take part in the overall Fellowship Program as well as the annual Research Out Loud: Met Fellows Present. For the 2026-2028 cycle, fellowships are available in two departments: Egyptian Art and Islamic Art. The Egyptian Art fellowship focuses on reimagining the presentation of Old Kingdom art in The Met's introductory galleries, involving deep engagement with artworks from Egypt's earliest days to the end of the third millennium BCE. The Islamic Art fellowship centers on curatorial work for the upcoming exhibition 'Jahangir: Emperor, Connoisseur, Naturalist of Mughal India, 1605–27,' providing comprehensive training in exhibition development, catalogue preparation, and research on Mughal art and culture. Fellows receive financial support, time for research, exposure to museum work, and access to The Met collection and libraries. Weekly programs and workshops bring fellows together with Met staff to share ideas, develop professional skills, and discuss current issues in museum practice.