Crystal Bridges Museum and the Tyson Scholars Program encourages and supports scholarship that seeks to expand boundaries or traditional categories of investigation into American art. Crystal Bridges invites applications addressing a variety of topics including art history, architecture, visual and material culture, Indigenous art, Latin American art, American studies, and contemporary art. Projects with an interdisciplinary focus are particularly encouraged.

The program is open to scholars holding a PhD (or equivalent experience) as well as to PhD candidates. Applicants may be affiliated with a university, museum, or independent. Scholars will be selected on the basis of their potential to advance understanding of American art and to intersect meaningfully with aspects of Crystal Bridges’ collections, architecture, or landscape.

To support their research, Tyson Scholars have access to the art and library collections of Crystal Bridges as well as the library at the University of Arkansas in nearby Fayetteville. Stipends vary depending on the duration of residency, position as senior scholar, post-doctoral scholar, or pre-doctoral scholar and range from $15,000 to $30,000 per semester. Additional funds for relocation are provided, and research travel funds are available during the residency upon application.

Scholars are also provided with housing at one of the Crystal Bridges residences, within easy walking distance from the museum via wooded trails and approximately 1.5 miles from downtown Bentonville. Scholars have private bed and bathrooms in the house, and share comfortable indoor and outdoor common spaces including an expansive yard, garage, and patio. In addition to housing, Scholars are provided workspace in the curatorial wing of Crystal Bridges’ Library. The workspace is an enclosed area shared with other Tyson Scholars. Scholars are provided with basic office supplies, desk space, an office chair, space on a bookshelf, and a locking cabinet with key for personal belongings and files.

Application Requirements:
-A statement of purpose (limited to 1,000 words) outlining the aspects of the work to be accomplished during the residency period and the specific benefits that the residency program would provide. If you plan to use objects from the Museum collection and/or materials from the Museum archives in your research, please provide a brief listing. (Note: Pre-doctoral applicants should also include a detailed statement of their dissertation project outlining its contribution to the field, methodologies, and overview of relevant literature (limited to 1,000 words).
-Curriculum vitae (limited to 10 pages).
-Two letters of recommendation, to be sent directly to Crystal Bridges. (For pre-doctoral applicants, one of these letters must be from the applicant’s dissertation advisor or professor.)

Please visit the 'External Link' below for more information about the Tyson Scholars Program, application instructions, and to access the application portal.