Graduate Arts Fellowship

Summer 2025

Deadline to apply: Monday, February 10, 2025

Note: This fellowship is open to any graduate student in the College of Arts and Letters. Students graduating in May 2025 are not eligible for this Fellowship.

Anyone interested in learning more about the Fellowship is encouraged to attend an Information Session on Tuesday, January 21, 4-5pm, in the MSU Library, Digital Scholarship Lab, Project Room J.

Morgan Hill, past Fellowship recipient, as well as Digital Scholarship Librarians, will be on hand to share information and answer questions. All are welcome, whether you have a general interest or a specific question about the project you are imagining.

The Digital Scholarship Lab at MSU Libraries (DSL) is where digital technologies transform how we do our work and how we share it. To encourage creative engagement with the unique resources of the DSL, we invite graduate students to experiment and develop new artwork. The DSL is a space with technology and a nexus of expertise, with librarians and library staff available to assist and collaborate with graduate student artists.  

The Fellow will receive a $5000 summer graduate fellowship funding award from the College of Arts and Letters.

The DSL and the nearby the Hollander Makerspace have at your disposal:

  • 360 Visualization room (includes video/still/sound/CAD etc rendering)
  • VR equipment (Oculus, HTC Vive, computers with graphics/processing to create VR/AR experiences)
  • Computer stations with high processing power and specialized software (see list)
  • 360 cameras
  • 3D printers (PLA, ABS, and resin printers available)
  • Soldering station
  • Sewing machine
  • Laser cutter
  • Circuit cutter
  • CNC Machine
  • Vacuum Former
  • Website hosting space and support

Any graduate student artist enrolled in the College of Arts and letters interested in working with the DSL is welcome to apply, including but not limited to visual artists, musicians, multimedia artists, data designers, creative coders, AR explorers, game designers, storytellers, and researchers.

Applications should include:

  1. A proposal (max 750 words; may also submit links to supplemental materials) that describes the artwork on which they plan to work during the fellowship period. The proposal should also articulate how the space and/or technology of the DSL will be used in the production and/or  a vision of how the artwork will be displayed in the DSL upon completion.
  2. A schedule/timeline of how the work will be completed over the course of the summer.
  3. A brief letter of recommendation (½-1 page) from a faculty mentor discussing the project being proposed. This letter must be emailed by the faculty member to Justin Wadland (wadlandj@msu.edu) by the end of the day on Wednesday, February 12, 2025.

Applications will be reviewed and evaluated on the following criteria:

  • The project is reasonable / possible in the timeframe provided
  • The project has a clear plan for how the project will be completed during the summer
  • The project is a creative / exciting endeavor of artistic or scholarly worth
  • The project is helped by having access to DSL resources
  • The artist is committed to sharing work with the DSL and wider community

The fellowship will take place throughout the summer and will begin with a kickoff meeting in early May, including the Fellow, DSL and CAL staff, and the Fellow’s advisor. The Fellow will have full access to the DSL during the summer, including office space, technology, and consulting support from librarians and library staff. Access to some technologies will be made available by appointment, via checkout, and/or remotely.

The fellow is expected to work in-person regularly in the DSL. Midway through summer, the fellow will present a prototype of their in-process project with DSL staff and invited stakeholders to receive feedback and refine their work.

By the end of September, the Fellow will conduct a 60-minute workshop, open to the community, on their use of a technology available in the DSL. The Fellowship will culminate in a public showing in the Digital Scholarship Lab of the artistic work by the end of September. This public showing will include an open house and artist’s talk. The Fellow is encouraged to deposit a copy of the artwork in the MSU Libraries’ collection for long-term access.

Apply for the Fellowship!

Applications are due by the end of the day Monday, February 10, 2025. Applications will be reviewed by the DSL Fellowship Committee. Notifications will go out by the end of February.

If you have questions about the Fellowship, please contact Kristen Mapes (kmapes@msu.edu), Yuri Cantrell (cantre48@msu.edu), or Justin Wadland (wadlandj@msu.edu).