The CCL Fellowship bridges curatorial expertise with the strategic leadership skills required for the 21st-century museum.

Applicants do not need to be nominated by their institution. Applicants who wish to be considered for the Fellowship must submit a completed application, including two professional recommendations, before the application deadline.

The CCL Fellowship is designed specifically for art museum curators.

While the Fellowship primarily serves full-time art museum curators, CCL also accepts applications from other curatorial professionals. CCL encourages these applicants to outline their curatorial experience and the ways in which their current work connects to the field.

The CCL Fellowship is designed specifically for experienced art museum curators at the level of Curator and above. CCL encourages applicants to outline their leadership and/or curatorial responsibilities, how their professional experience connects to the goals of the Fellowship, and why they believe they are a strong candidate at this point in their career.

Depending on your eligibility, you may wish to explore the CCL/Mellon Foundation Seminar in Curatorial Practice for current Ph.D candidates in art history or related fields.

While the Fellowship primarily serves full-time art museum curators, CCL also accepts applications from directors and other senior leaders. CCL encourages these applicants to outline why they believe they are strong candidates at this point in their careers, and how the Fellowship would support their professional development and leadership goals.

The CCL Fellowship is designed specifically for full-time art museum curators.

The CCL Fellowship is designed specifically for art museum curators, and those curators working within an organizational framework. CCL encourages these applicants to explain how their professional experience, institutional collaborations, and curatorial work aligns with the goals of the Fellowship.

These applicants should note that the Fellowship is structured for the specificities of an institutional context.

CCL accepts applicants from both collecting and non-collecting institutions.

While the Fellowship primarily serves full-time art museum curators, CCL also accepts applications from other curatorial professionals. CCL encourages these applicants to explain their curatorial experience and the ways in which their current work connects to the field.

While most of our Fellows have been based in North America, CCL also accepts international applications. International applicants should note that the Fellowship is structured for the specificities of a U.S. institutional context.

You may also wish to explore the CCL/MoMA International Curatorial Institute for Modern and Contemporary Art.

While the Fellowship primarily serves full-time art museum curators, CCL encourages you to apply even if you do not exactly meet the eligibility criteria. In your application, you may wish to explore how your professional experience connects to the goals of the Fellowship, how participation in the program would contribute to your professional development, and/or why you believe you are a strong candidate at this point in your career.

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When applications are open, an “Apply now” button appears under the “How to apply” section above. Applications and recommendations are submitted online. Applicants must create a Submittable account to access the online application. You can enter information, save, and return anytime before the deadline to edit and continue the application.

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Two professional recommendations are required for a complete application. One should be from your museum director or, if that is not possible, the most senior person you report to at your institution. The second recommendation should be from a professional colleague from outside your museum, like a former supervisor or a peer in the field.

Recommendations are due by the application deadline. Applicants are responsible for tracking the submission of their own recommendations.

No, there is no application fee. It is free to apply to the Fellowship program.

If you do not have a supervisor , a recommendation from a board chair or former employer is acceptable.

If you do not have a supervisor at this time, or your supervisor is unavailable to write your recommendation, a recommendation from a former supervisor or employer is acceptable.

No, applicants cannot read submitted recommendations, they can only see whether or not they have been submitted.

No, recommenders cannot read the application of the candidate they are submitting a recommendation for.

Recommendations are due by the application deadline. Applicants are responsible for tracking the submission of their own recommendations. If your recommender did not meet the application deadline, please reach out CCL as soon as possible.

Applications are reviewed by CCL leadership and a committee of field leaders and CCL alumni. Top applicants advance to an interview with CCL leadership, after which a final class is selected.

CCL’s selection process generally takes three months. Selected applicants should expect to be notified by November.

Each cohort is unique, and the Fellowship program is competitive. Please do not be discouraged if you aren’t accepted – many CCL Fellows have been repeat applicants to the program. CCL encourages you to reapply in the future.

If you applied within the last three years, you may also contact CCL for specific feedback on your previous application.

During the first two-week intensive in January, Columbia Business School professors teach a targeted slate of courses in change management, decision making, financial management, negotiation, strategy, and governance, among other topics.

CCL carefully crafts a program that integrates theoretical learning with practical application. In addition to Columbia Business School instruction, Fellows meet with museum directors, trustees, collectors, and program alumni as well as cultural, philanthropic, and civic leaders, and attend exhibition and collection tours and networking events. These sessions provide unparalleled opportunities to discuss the current state of museums and cultural leadership with decision makers in the field, receive hands-on instruction, and build professional networks.

Leading up to and during the in-person intensive weeks, Fellows should expect to complete a variety of required readings, brief assignments and research on speakers, and a capstone practicum project. Over the course of the five-month Fellowship program, Fellows also complete several projects independently. This includes the 360-degree professional evaluation and the Organizational Impact Plan (OIP), among other work.

Participation in the Fellowship does not allow for concurrent commitments. When you accept your invitation to the program, you commit to full participation in all aspects of the five-month Fellowship.

Fellows are expected to prioritize and be present for all four weeks of intensive, in-person programming including mornings, nights, and some weekends. In addition, Fellows are also expected to engage in ongoing projects and independent work that will demand their time and attention throughout the program.

If you are not able to fully commit, both professionally and personally, to all aspects of the Fellowship for the entirety of the five-month program, please wait to apply in a year when you are more available. This is vital, not only for ensuring complete participation in all program sessions, but for a wholly immersive Fellowship experience – for both you and your cohort.

Beginning in the fall, CCL leadership engages each Fellow in an in-depth conversation to assess their interests and goals for the residency. Each Fellow is then matched with a director whose experience, institution, expertise, and leadership style is best suited to meet their goals. In concert with the Fellow, CCL connects Fellows with the director and their staff to coordinate the final residency pairing before the program begins in January.

Each Fellow is paired with their host director by CCL. Residencies take place at that director’s institution at a time that is mutually agreed upon by the Fellow and their host director. Residencies generally occur mid-fellowship between February and April, though occasionally residency weeks fall earlier or later due to scheduling or other factors.

Fellows receive a certificate of completion from Columbia Business School upon the completion of the January intensive curriculum. Fellows also receive a certificate of completion from CCL upon their successful completion of the Fellowship program.