The Image Centre (IMC) is Canada’s leading institution dedicated to the exhibition, research and collecting of photography. Established in 2012 at Toronto Metropolitan University, in the heart of the city, the IMC welcomes visitors to explore the intersection of photography and culture. Through compelling exhibitions and engaging public programming, the IMC showcases work by emerging, renowned, and anonymous photographers, past and present. With a growing collection of nearly 500,000 photographic objects and an innovative scholarly research program, the IMC is also a vibrant hub for the preservation and study of photography.

Since 2014, The Image Centre has offered a variety of fellowships for research related to photography. The fellowship program supports original research in the history of photography and fellows have the opportunity to study select areas of The Image Centre's photography collections first-hand. These include the acclaimed Black Star Collection of photo-reportage, with over a quarter-million prints spanning the 20th century; a historic and fine art photography collection; The Francis Bedford Research Collection; The Edward Burtynsky Collection; The Braun-Epstein Collection; The Rudolph P. Bratty Family Collection (NYT); and several archives devoted to the life and work of a diverse group of photographers, including Werner Wolff, Jo Spence, Wendy Snyder MacNeil, Berenice Abbott, Minna Keene, Violet Keene Perinchief and Richard Harrington.

Fellowship Opportunities:

The IMC/AMC Postdoctoral Fellowship | $70,000 CAD (full-time annual salary + benefits)
Jointly supported by the IMC and the Archive of Modern Conflict (AMC), this fellowship invites scholars to undertake research across two internationally significant photography collections with an emphasis on press, documentary and vernacular photography from the nineteenth century to the present.
Duration: One year, July 1, 2027-June 30, 2028.
Eligibility: PhD required.

The Nadir Mohamed Postdoctoral Fellowship | $10,000 CAD
Duration: minimum of one (1) to a maximum of three (3) months, between February 15 and December 15, 2027.
Eligibility: PhD required.

The Penny Rubinoff Fellowship | $5,000 CAD
Duration: minimum of two (2) to a maximum of six (6) weeks, between February 15 and December 15, 2027.
Eligibility: Master’s degree required. Current PhD students are eligible; individuals who hold a PhD and postdoctoral researchers are not eligible.

The Elaine Ling Fellowship| $4,000 CAD
Duration: minimum of one (1) to a maximum of four (4) weeks, between February 15 and December 15, 2027.
Eligibility: Current master's students or recent master's graduates. Doctoral students, individuals who hold a PhD, and postdoctoral researchers are not eligible.

The Howard Tanenbaum Fellowship for Artistic Research | $4,000 CAD
Duration: minimum of one (1) to a maximum of four (4) weeks, between February 15 and December 15, 2027.
Eligibility: Any level of education, as well as independent artists with relevant experience and demonstrated interests.

The Wendy Snyder MacNeil Research Fellowship | $4,000 CAD
Duration: minimum of one (1) to a maximum of four (4) weeks, between February 15 and December 15, 2027.
Eligibility: Current undergraduate students or graduates, as well as independent artists with an interest in the work of women photographers, including Wendy Snyder MacNeil.

The deadline to apply is October 18, 2026. Fellowships will be announced in January 2027.

For further information regarding eligibility, application requirements, and selection process for the IMC/AMC Postdoctoral Fellowship, please visit: https://www.torontomu.ca/careers/research-staff-opportunities/imc-amc-postdoctoral-fellowship-july-8-2026/

For further information regarding eligibility, application requirements, and selection process for all other fellowships, please visit: https://theimagecentre.ca/fellowship/