Graduate Assistantships

The Zimmerli offers Dodge Graduate Assistantships to doctoral candidates in the Rutgers Department of Art History who are committed to research on unofficial art of the former Soviet Union. Established in 2002 with a generous endowment from the Avenir Foundation, in support of the collection gifted by Norton and Nancy Dodge, this program provides full tuition, fees, and health benefits, as well as an annual stipend for living expenses, to incoming and continuing graduate students (known as Dodge Assistants) in each funding cycle. Travel funds for research and language study abroad, as well as for participation in conferences, are also available to Dodge Assistants by formal application.

Dodge Assistants are eligible for five years of assistantship funding. During the course of the first three years, students are obliged to work 15 hours a week in the Zimmerli’s Russian and Soviet curatorial office; the subsequent two years support dissertation research and writing without any work obligation. A sixth year of funding may be available by formal application.

Work at the Zimmerli Art Museum is supervised by Jane A. Sharp, Ph.D., Professor of Art History and Research Curator for the Dodge Collection, with the assistance of other museum staff. The types of activities vary from year to year and may include:

·         assigned and, as appropriate, independent research on exhibitions and publications 

·         providing curatorial assistance for exhibitions, from conception to installation

·         providing support for the research activities of visiting scholars to the Dodge Collection and related archives

·         assisting with the management, care, and digitization of the collection

In addition, Dodge Assistants are required to give at least two public tours of the Dodge Collection each year they are in residence, in consultation with the Zimmerli’s Curator of Education.

Application and Selection Process: Dodge Assistantships are awarded by the Department of Art History to incoming graduate students. For further information about the Dodge Assistantships, contact Professor Jane Sharp at jasharp@arthist.rutgers.edu

The Zimmerli offers Dodge-Lawrence Graduate Assistantships to doctoral candidates in any department. Endowed in 1997 by Francis L. Lawrence, then-president of Rutgers University, in honor of Norton T. and Nancy Dodge, this program provides selected students (known as Dodge-Lawrence Fellows) with full tuition, fees, and health benefits, as well as an annual stipend for living expenses.

Dodge-Lawrence Assistantships are given for one year with a possibility of renewal on a yearly basis for up to five years. Students are obliged to work 15 hours each week during the academic year in the Zimmerli’s Russian and Soviet curatorial office with Julia Tulovsky, Curator of Russian and Soviet Nonconformist Art. Dodge-Lawrence Fellows are engaged in a variety of activities depending on their skills and the museum’s needs for its Russian and Soviet art holdings. Activities, supervised by a member of the Zimmerli’s professional staff, may include providing administrative support to assisting with curatorial, editorial, research, and collection management projects, providing each student the opportunity to explore a range of professional experiences in a university art museum.

Application and Selection Process: Eligible students must be enrolled in a graduate program in any department of Rutgers University and in good academic standing. Preference is given to students who are interested in Russian art and culture, have knowledge of Russian language, and possess skills that are relevant to the projects currently planned or in progress at the Zimmerli. Qualified students may apply via formal letter by March 15 to Julia Tulovsky at juliat@zimmerli.rutgers.edu.

The Zimmerli offers one Graduate Assistantship to students at Rutgers. The one-year assistantship of 15 hours a week provides full tuition, fees, and health benefits, as well as a stipend for living expenses. The Graduate Assistantship may be renewed for an additional year.   

The assistant’s work at the Zimmerli Art Museum is supervised by Donna Gustafson, Chief Curator and Curator for Arts of the Americas. Activities vary from year to year, depending on the exhibitions and programs planned at the museum, and may include:

·         identifying and researching interdisciplinary topics for university collaborative programming

·         providing curatorial assistance, from the conception to the installation of exhibitions

·         assigned and, as appropriate, independent research on exhibitions and publications

·         assisting with management, care, and research of the collection

·         providing museum tours for faculty and students

The goal of the Graduate Assistantship is to create opportunities for students to contribute to the programmatic and curatorial work of the university art museum. Typically, the Graduate Assistant participates in the long and short range goals of the curatorial offices to integrate the museum into the life of the university. As a result of their work within the museum, students gain a broad range of professional experience that advances their careers, whether as museum curators or academics.

Application and Selection Process: Eligible students must be enrolled in a Graduate Program at Rutgers. Qualified students should send a letter of interest and curriculum vitae by March 15 to Donna Gustafson at dgustafson@zimmerli.rutgers.edu.