November, 2025: The Center for the Study of Religion (CSR) has announced a new annual award for an Ohio State graduate student working at the intersection of religion, spirituality and the creative arts, broadly conceived. The inaugural award will be a one-time prize of $1,000. The CSR may also arrange for an artist’s talk and exhibition of work related to and developed with this funding.
To be eligible, candidates must be students in an OSU graduate program and producing creative work at the intersection of religion, spirituality and the arts. The parameters of these capacious and entangled terms should be determined, of course, by the student. The selection committee will look for a coherent explanation of how the candidate’s work examines religious/spiritual dynamics, relationships, histories and symbols: how is it artistic work “about” religion/spirituality or how does it consider the role of “art” within religion and spirituality more broadly? Candidates should make some effort to explain how they are conceptualizing these terms and relationships within the context of their work.
Candidates will be selected based on merit as demonstrated by the portfolio submitted. Choice of artistic medium is open; this award is open to students working in visual art, music, dance, theater, film, creative writing or other related areas. Preference will be given to candidates whose projects are part of an MA thesis, MFA thesis or doctoral dissertation.
Recipients will be selected by a committee appointed by the director of the Center for the Study of Religion. The committee will include faculty with expertise in the study of religion/spirituality alongside faculty from the Department of Art, the Department of Theater, Film, and Media Arts and/or other units as appropriate.
Award amount is set at $1000.
Application Procedure and Deadline:
The application portal is currently open. The deadline to apply for this award is 11:59 pm ET on Monday, February 16. Updates will be sent via CSR listservs. Click here to add your name to our mailing list.
Applicants should submit portfolios through the webform. Portfolios should include the following:
- a 1,000-word artist’s statement describing the project (with a suitable project title) and how the fellowship would aid it, including a statement of how much work has already been done on the project and how much would be completed during the fellowship period;
- sample documentation of previous work (whether explicitly related to this project or not), with a brief statement (300 words) contextualizing this work in relation to the proposed project;
- a letter of support from the student’s advisor;
- a curriculum vitae of up to two pages, including publications and presentations.
- Optional: where appropriate, an explanation of how the funding will be spent (e.g. travel, cost of artistic or research materials, etc.)
The award recipient will be expected to submit a 500-word report on their progress on the project no more than 12 months following the receipt of the award. The CSR may also arrange for an artist’s talk and performance or exhibition of work related to and developed with this funding. Documentation and descriptions of the work may be posted on the CSR website.
Financial Aid Eligibility
If you already receive other financial resources and/or assistance, it may impact your eligibility for additional financial aid awards, so we strongly recommend you consult Buckeye Link at 614-292-0300 or by email at buckeyelink@osu.edu before submitting your application.
The Center’s awards, grants and scholarships are disbursed through OSU Student Financial Aid. Students already receiving substantial aid from other sources should review their current-year packages and consult with Buckeye Link to confirm their ability to accept awards prior to applying.
A student may not receive financial aid and other resources in excess of the annual cost of attendance at the university in accordance with federal guidelines. If you receive additional financial resources and/or assistance, it may impact your eligibility for other financial aid awards. If you have any questions about your individual situation, consult Buckeye Link at 614-292-0300 or by email at buckeyelink@osu.edu.