Graham Foundation Accepting Nominations for Carter Manny Awards

Since the Carter Manny Award’s establishment in 1996, over $740,000 has been awarded in recognition of outstanding doctoral students whose work represents some of the most innovative and advanced scholarship on architecture and its role in the arts, culture, and society. The Carter Manny Award supports dissertation research and writing by promising scholars whose projects have architecture as their primary focus and the potential to shape architectural discourse. Projects may be drawn from the various fields of inquiry supported by the Graham Foundation: architectural history, theory, and criticism; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urban planning; urban studies; visual arts; and other related fields. (See the Overview of our grant programs). The award assists students enrolled in graduate programs in architecture, art history, the fine arts, humanities, and the social sciences working on architecture topics.

The Graham Foundation offers two Carter Manny Awards: a research award for a student at the research stage of the doctoral dissertation and a writing award for a student at the writing stage of the doctoral dissertation. The research award is acknowledged with up to $15,000 and the writing award is acknowledged with up to $20,000.

The Carter Manny Award applications are reviewed by a diverse panel of recognized scholars in the fields of inquiry represented by the award.

The Foundation offers this prestigious annual award in honor of Carter H. Manny and his long and distinguished service to the Graham Foundation. Manny has served the foundation since its inception in 1956, first as a Trustee, then as the Director from 1971, and since his retirement in 1993, as Director Emeritus.

Eligibility

Ph.D. students who are presently candidates for a doctoral degree are eligible to apply.

Students must be nominated by their department to apply for the Carter Manny Award. A department may nominate up to two candidates: one for the research award and one for the writing award.
At the time of application, students must have completed all requirements for the Ph.D. except the dissertation and have had their dissertation proposals formally approved by their academic departments. A student may reapply for the Carter Manny Award if a previous application was not successful. Due to limited funds, a student who received a research award or a writing award is not eligible to apply for another Carter Manny Award in subsequent years. The award is open to students officially enrolled in schools in the U.S. and Canada, regardless of citizenship.
Work being undertaken in pursuit of an academic degree is not otherwise eligible for Graham Foundation support.

Award Types

The Graham Foundation offers two Carter Manny Awards: one for a student at the research stage of the doctoral dissertation and one for a student at the writing stage of the doctoral dissertation.

Research award

The research award assists students with research that is essential to the doctoral project. The research award can be used for travel, documentation, materials, supplies, and other research and development costs. Applicants for a research award should have a clearly defined work plan, travel plan, and goals.

The research award is acknowledged with up to $15,000.

Writing award

The writing award encourages timely completion of the Ph.D. by assisting students who are in the advanced stages of the dissertation with one year of writing. While some of the award funds may be used for final research, the award is intended to support and facilitate uninterrupted writing. Applicants for a writing award will be asked to submit a writing sample from the dissertation, a dissertation table of contents, and a writing schedule.

The writing award is acknowledged with up to $20,000.

Citations of Special Recognition

A limited number of Citations of Special Recognition may be determined in some years in recognition of outstanding projects.

How to Apply

Applicants for the Carter Manny Award undergo a competitive selection and review process. Students must be nominated by their department to apply for the Carter Manny Award. Submitted applications are thoroughly reviewed by a diverse panel of recognized scholars in the fields of inquiry represented by the award.

The panel’s recommendations are presented to the foundation’s Board of Trustees for consideration. Upon award, recipients are asked to sign an Award Agreement that outlines the conditions of the award, such as reporting.

The annual application deadline for the Carter Manny Award is November 15. Applicants are notified of funding decisions in early spring of each year.

Calendar for the 2017 Carter Manny Award

Application available online: September 15, 2016

Application deadline: November 15, 2016

Award decision notification: April 2017

Award period: The one-year award period begins between June 1 and September 1, 2017 for the 2017–18 academic year

Click to apply here