Stanford offers several channels through which student artists can find funding for curricular and extracurricular projects.
Every year, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts (VPA) helps fund hundreds of projects by Stanford artists across artistic disciplines.
VPA offers grants to Stanford students, faculty, and academic staff members in order to weave arts experiences into the fabric of campus life. The grants foster the communion of members of diverse communities and disciplines around art, support the vibrant student arts community, drive the innovation of new art forms and ways of engaging with art, scholarship, and bring arts professionals onto campus to inspire and collaborate with students and practitioners.
Grants & Awards Contact
Sabrina Wilensky
Manager of Grants and Programs
Office of the Vice President for the Arts
swilensk@stanford.edu
Learn More
Quarterly Student Arts Grants support extracurricular on-campus student performances and events across the arts (performing arts, spoken word, film, digital/electronic media, and visual arts). Grants are open to undergraduate and co-term students.
Offered by the Office of the Vice President for the Arts
Deadlines: Quarterly
For projects/events that fall outside of our established grant programs, the Office of the Vice President for the Arts (VPA) offers small grants for activities that relate to our mission. Proposals are reviewed on a rolling basis throughout the year. Applications should be submitted at least 4-6 weeks in advance of the project/event to allow for sufficient review time.
Offered by the Office of the Vice President for the Arts
Deadlines: Rolling
The Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) offers small project grants to VSOs and individuals who are organizing events or doing artistic projects that relate to IDA's mission.
Offered by the Institute for Diversity in the Arts
Deadlines: Rolling
Contact: Institute for Diversity in the Arts
Capstone Projects & Independent Studies
The following funding sources can be used to support research and materials relating to capstone projects (e.g. honors thesis, departmental requirements, senior synthesis, etc.) and arts-related independent studies.
Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR) offers a variety of grants for research, arts, and senior synthesis projects in any field, including: Chappell Lougee Scholarship, Major Grants, Small Grants, and Conference Grants. Deadlines vary by grant program.
Offered by Undergraduate Advising and Research
Deadlines:
- Small Grants: Monthly (Oct-May)
- Major Grants: Winter Quarter
- Chappell Lougee: Fall Quarter
- Conference Grants: Monthly (Oct-May)
Contact a UAR Academic Advisor for more information.
Cantor Scholars provides Stanford undergraduates with a meaningful, in-depth experience working directly with art at the museum through original research and scholarship or creative work.
Offered by the Cantor Art Museum
Deadline: Rolling
Contact Kate Holohan for more information.
Awarded on a competitive basis, these grants are intended to pay the direct costs of materials for students enrolled in Independent Study and who undertake independent creative projects on an advanced level. Materials grants cannot be used towards supplies for classes.
Offered by the Department of Art & Art History
Deadlines: Quarterly
Contact: Department of Art & Art History
Special Events, Visiting Artists, and More
Stanford Speakers Bureau provides cosponsorships to assist other volunteer student organizations (VSOs) putting on events on campus. They are experienced in setting up small- and large-scale events, in practically all the venues on campus; and they have a large, diverse marketing operation to get the word out.
Deadlines: Rolling
Contact: Stanford Speaker's Bureau
The Stanford Concert Network (SCN) hosts the annual Frost Music & Arts Festival in May as well as frequent shows featuring rising artists of diverse styles throughout the year.
Deadlines: Rolling
Contact: Stanford Concert Network
To support the burgeoning arts careers of recent Stanford graduates, this award provided funding toward a public production, exhibition, publication, or other original work in any arts discipline.
Offered by the Office of the Vice President for the Arts
Music Lessons (Department of Music)
The Department of Music offers the Friends of Music Scholarship to help defray the cost of private lessons. Learn more about the Department's Applied Music Fees and Policies.
Deadlines: Quarterly
Painting Materials Grant (Department of Art & Art History)
Students in financial need who are enrolled in painting courses with Professor Xiaoze Xie may apply for a grant of course materials. Each case is considered on its own merit and the applicant's financial status is evaluated. This grant is on a first-come, first serve basis until materials are no longer available for the quarter.
Deadlines: Quarterly
Arts Intensive (VPUE)
Scholarships and financial aid are available to help defray the program fee.
Arts Immersion (Stanford Arts Institute)
Scholarships and financial aid are available to help defray the program fee.
BOSP Overseas Seminars (BOSP)
Some financial assistance from BOSP is available for participants with demonstrated need.
If you encounter unplanned course fees, contact Financial Aid to learn more about requesting additional aid for the current academic year.
Community Arts Fellows have the opportunity to spend a summer working full time in the areas of curating, presenting, outreach and/or arts education with a focus on social justice or racial justice issues. Fellows may work in the United States or abroad.
Contact the Institute for Diversity in the Arts (IDA) for more information.
Deadline: Winter Quarter
Undergraduate Advising and Research (UAR) offers a variety of grants for research, arts, and senior synthesis projects in any field, including: Chappell Lougee Scholarship, Major Grants, Small Grants, and Conference Grants. Deadlines vary by grant program.
Contact a UAR Academic Advisor for more information.
Deadlines:
- Small Grants: Monthly (Oct-May)
- Major Grants: Winter Quarter
- Chappell Lougee: Fall Quarter
- Conference Grants: Monthly (Oct-May)
Braden Grant for the Study of Oral Narrative
This grant supports the research and creation of an audio documentary based on oral history archives or interviews conducted by the student. Awarded spring quarter.
Offered by the Stanford Storytelling Project.
Contact storytelling@stanford.edu for more information.
Deadline: Winter Quarter
The Beagle II Award encourages learning through travel, much in the manner of Darwin and other explorers. Projects can involve creative elements (such as documentary film, creative writing, photography, etc.)
Offered by Undergraduate Advising and Research
Contact a UAR Academic Advisor for more information.
Deadline: Winter Quarter
Many of SGS's programs and centers offer fellowships, internships, scholarships and other funding to students at Stanford.
Contact the SGS Division for more information.
The Community Service Work-Study (CSWS) Program provides academic year and summer employment opportunities for currently enrolled students who receive financial aid at Stanford. Eligible students have the freedom to design a service experience in collaboration with a partnering organization. CSWS is a federally-supported program, co-administered for Stanford by the Haas Center and the Financial Aid Office.
Deadlines: Quarterly
Funding for Self-Arranged Internships
Congratulations on securing your summer arts internship! Currently VPA is only able to provide funding for internships that we have pre-arranged and that are administered through SIPAA (our summer internship program).
We encourage you to explore these opportunities through our campus partners:
- The Haas Center offers funding opportunities for internships that involve a service experience.
- Depending on your department, there may be some funding available for an unpaid internship. Contact your Advisor or Student Services Officer for details.
You may also want to consider looking into external (non-Stanford) sources for support. Visit our Next Steps page for a list of resources to begin your search.
University Awards for Creative Arts
Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and the Creative Arts
The Robert M. Golden Medal for Excellence in the Humanities and the Creative Arts is awarded to the top 10 percent of all honors theses in the humanities, as well as to designated senior projects or performance in the arts.
Offered by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
Nominations made by departments or honors programs.
The Deans' Awards for Academic Achievement
The Deans' Award for Academic Achievement, is given each year to between five and ten extraordinary undergraduate students. These students deserve campus recognition for academic endeavors that might not otherwise be celebrated, including superior performance in the creative arts. Students selected for the awards have more than a high grade point average or success in coursework.
Offered by the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education.
Faculty nominate students for the Deans' Award.
The Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts
The Louis Sudler Prize in the Performing and Creative Arts was established in 1983 by Louis Sudler, an enthusiastic patron of and participant in the arts in his hometown of Chicago until his death in 1992. Prizes are awarded annually to outstanding students in each of the following areas: music, art, theater and performance studies, creative writing, and dance.
Offered by the School of Humanities and Sciences.
Nominations made by department chairs.
Humanities & Sciences Undergraduate Prize in Music
Up to three H&S Dean's Prizes in Music are awarded every year to outstanding students in either Music Composition or Music Performance.
Offered by the School of Humanities and Sciences.
Nominations made by department chairs.
The Lloyd W. Dinkelspiel Awards recognize distinctive and exceptional contributions to undergraduate education or the quality of student life at Stanford. The contribution may be made for such activities as curriculum design, program development, advising excellence, residential education, committee leadership, or extracurricular education.
Offered by the Office of the University Registrar.
The Geballe Prize was established to encourage Stanford faculty and students to utilize the Cantor Arts Center as a resource for intellectual discovery by honoring outstanding examples of writing related to the Cantor, its collections, exhibitions, or programs. Submissions may be analytical, argumentative, or creative prose or poetry written by freshmen and sophomore students independently or as part of coursework in any discipline.
Offered by the Cantor Arts Center.
Contact Kim Mansfield for more information.
Departmental Awards
Multiple opportunities for majors and non-majors in performance and composition.
Prizes in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction open to all undergraduates.
