Blakemore Kingfisher Fellowships are awarded for nine to twelve months of full-time, intensive language study of Chinese or Korean in East Asia to individuals who have demonstrated intent to pursue an academic, curatorial or art conservation career in Chinese or Korean art history prior to the 20th century.

These grants are open to citizens and permanent residents of the United States and Canada and to foreign nationals studying in colleges or universities in the United States or Canada. By the start of a grant an applicant must either be in graduate school or have completed at minimum a bachelor's degree.

Fellowships cover full tuition and a stipend for airfare, study and living expenses.

What Type of Candidate Should Apply?
Fellowships are awarded to individuals who will make significant contributions to the field of Chinese or Korean art history prior to the twentieth century. The ideal candidate is someone with stellar grades, outstanding recommendations, and a demonstrated commitment to art historical scholarship. Beyond commitment, we are looking for purpose: a clear plan for continuing one’s training (ideally in the same country as the language program) during the year following the fellowship, and a sense of the topics the candidate ultimately hopes to pursue for a PhD in art history or a master’s in art conservation.

Application Information:
All application materials, including letters of recommendation and transcripts, must be submitted by 11:00 p.m. Pacific Time on December 30, 2026, for your application to be considered. If you are currently a student, please submit a transcript that includes your fall course schedule, if available.
Please request these materials early. Letters and transcripts received after the deadline cannot be accepted, even if they were requested before the deadline.

Special Eligibility Requirements:
To be eligible for a Blakemore Kingfisher Fellowship, an applicant must:
- Demonstrate need for advanced training in the language they propose to study.
- At the start of the grant, have (at minimum) a bachelor's degree.
- By the start of the grant, applicants must have completed (at minimum) the second year of language classes at the college level, through formal classroom study in rigorous college-level language programs.
- Applicants who have completed only two years of language study may be expected to participate in an intensive summer program at a relevant language program before the academic year.
- Be able to devote oneself exclusively to full-time intensive language study during the term of the grant.
- Grants are not made for part-time study or research.

Applications for the 2027/2028 academic year are open from July 1, 2026 - December 30, 2026 at https://blakemorefoundation.communityforce.com