Guggenheim Fellowship — US & Canada Competition (2027)

A mid-career award, and the phrase mid-career is doing real work here: this is not for people starting out, and not for those already at the very top. Around 200 Fellows are selected each year across more than fifty fields, music composition among them, from a field where recent success rates have averaged about 5 percent.

You must be a citizen or permanent resident of the United States or Canada, be able to show notable contributions to your field, and propose a significant project you are demonstrably ready to complete at the highest level. You can apply as an individual or as a pair working on the same project. Previous Guggenheim Fellows cannot apply again, students enrolled in secondary, undergraduate, graduate or postgraduate programmes are ineligible, and the fellowship goes to individuals rather than organisations or groups.

The 2027 competition is the live one. The portal opens in mid-August 2026, applications are due 15 September 2026 and late ones are not accepted, work samples are due or postmarked 29 September, and reference letters by 13 October. Line up three to four referees in advance, since requests go out automatically once you submit.

Fellows are announced in late April 2027. Advisers are anonymous by design, and the Foundation does not provide feedback on applications.