The Deborah J. Norden Fund

The Deborah J. Norden Fund, established in 1995 in memory of architect and arts administrator Deborah Norden, awards a total of up to $5,000 annually in travel/ study grants to students and recent graduates in the fields of architecture, architectural history, and urban studies. The Deborah J. Norden Fund is administered by the Architectural League of New York.

Application Deadline
March 30, 2009

How to Apply
Applicants should submit in letter form a brief proposal (no more than three pages), which succinctly describes the objectives of the grant request and how it will contribute to the applicant’s intellectual and creative development. The grant amount requested (up to $5,000) must be specified. The submission should also include a résumé of not more than two pages, project schedule, and budget for travel and other project costs. Two letters of recommendation must be requested from individuals who are knowledgeable about the applicant’s ability and project. The fund may award one or more grants; total grant funds awarded will be approximately $5,000.

The application process is extremely competitive.  The intention of the fund is to support genuinely independent projects that require travel. Grant funds cannot be used for tuition, and grants will not be awarded to support an individual’s participation in an organized program, such as a university’s summer abroad program. While requests for support of dissertation research will be considered, they are not a priority of the fund. Preference will be given to strong proposals from applicants who have not had this sort of opportunity before.

Application Deadline
Applicants must submit six (6) copies of their proposal, résumé, schedule, and budget. The applicant’s name and brief project title must appear on the first page of the proposal. The postmark (not metered) deadline for these materials is March 30, 2009. Faxed or emailed applications will not be accepted. Late applications will not be accepted. The two letters of recommendation should be sent by the recommenders directly to the Architectural League; letters of recommendation must be postmarked by April 6, 2009.

Applications and letters of recommendation should be sent to:
Deborah J. Norden Fund
The Architectural League
of New York
457 Madison Avenue,
New York, NY 10022
Awards will be announced in late May 2009.

For questions or further information about application submission, call 212.753.1722, ext.13 or email [email protected].

Supported Projects
For a list of past winners of Deborah J. Norden Fund Grants, click here.

Travel Reports from the Deborah J. Norden Fund, a publication documenting the first ten years of Norden Fund grants, was published in January 2007.

To order a copy of the publication, visit www.urbancenterbooks.org.