Nominations open for Carter Manny Award (US and Canada)

The only predoctoral award dedicated exclusively to architectural scholarship, the Carter Manny Award recognizes emerging scholars whose work promises to challenge and reshape contemporary discourse and impact the field at large.

Eligible dissertation projects must focus on architecture, though scholarly investigations may be grounded in a range of academic disciplines and fields of inquiry that align with the mission of the Graham Foundation. These include: architecture and architectural history; art and art history; design; engineering; landscape architecture; urbanism; and other related fields.

The award assists students enrolled in graduate programs in architecture, art history, the fine arts, humanities, and the social sciences working on architecture topics.

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 must articulate research goals through a clearly defined work plan that outlines travel, archival visits, and research methods.
    • The Research Award is acknowledged with up to $15,000.
  • Writing Award
    • The Writing Award supports the timely completion of the PhD by assisting advanced doctoral students during the final stages of dissertation writing. While some of the award funds may be used to conclude research, the award is primarily intended to support and facilitate a period of uninterrupted writing. Applicants for a Writing Award must submit a writing sample (excerpt from a dissertation chapter), 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.

Eligibility Criteria

• PhD 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 PhD 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 United States and Canada, regardless of citizenship.
• Work being undertaken in pursuit of an academic degree is not otherwise eligible for Graham Foundation support.

Criteria for Evaluation

• Given the Foundation’s interest in identifying the most promising dissertation projects, the following criteria are taken into consideration during the application review.
• They are primarily interested in projects that are original and have the potential to impact the field of architecture:
  • Originality: the dissertation demonstrates an innovative, challenging idea; critical, independent thinking; advanced scholarship; a new approach or methodology
  • Potential for impact: the dissertation makes a meaningful contribution to discourse and/or to the field; expands knowledge; is a catalyst for future inquiry; raises awareness of an understudied issue
• They also look for the project’s feasibility and the applicant’s capacity:
  • Feasibility: the dissertation project has a sound methodology and clear, realistic goals; a reasonable timeframe for research or writing; available and accessible sources
  • Capacity: applicant possesses strong qualifications and/or knowledge and demonstrates ability to complete the dissertation successfully.

For more information, visit Graham Foundation.