The Department of Architecture in AAP holds an annual competition for the Robert James Eidlitz Travel Fellowships. Established by Sadie Boulton Eidlitz in 1938, these awards are intended to assist recipients in supplementing their professional education through travel study. Eidlitz funding may be used to defray expenses incurred in traveling, including airfare and other transportation costs, lodging, meals, immunizations, the cost of required travel documents including passports and visas, entrance fees to museums and other sites, travel insurance, and other expenses such as photographic film, maps, and photocopying. Awards may be used only to support recipients; funds may not be used to pay expenses of spouses, partners, or other companions.
Funds awarded through the Eidlitz program generally do not fully underwrite the cost of a travel study project, but instead, supplement funding from other sources such as departmental awards or personal funds. Therefore, award amounts will vary widely depending on the scope of the project proposed and the amount of support requested. You may request Eidlitz funding to support a discrete project or a portion of a more extensive program of travel study. Complete or partial funding may be awarded at the discretion of the committee. There is no set minimum or maximum amount that may be requested.
Submissions are reviewed and award decisions are made by a committee consisting of college faculty. Names of committee members cannot be released.
Eligibility and Reporting Requirements
Eligibility for the Eidlitz program is limited to graduating (fifth-year) seniors in architecture; currently enrolled graduate students in architecture, landscape architecture, and history of architecture and urban development, as well as alumni of these programs who graduated in one of the previous five academic years. For the current cycle of awards, proposals for travel study to be undertaken between June 1, 2026 and May 31, 2027 will be considered. Proposals may be submitted by groups as well as individuals, provided all members of the group meet the eligibility criteria.
All Eidlitz recipients are required to report on their activities within 60 days of the completion of their projects. You are required to report on your project in a timely manner after completing your travel. This may take the form of an informal lecture, an exhibition, and/or a report in written or graphic form (portfolio) that may be placed in the Fine Arts Library. You can create this report in any form that best captures your project, but the final output must be that of a PDF. The report should also include a corresponding selection of fully identified images in JPG format that may be added to the architecture department archive.
Recipients are responsible for all taxes on awards. Your signature below indicates acceptance of these terms.
Image Use
All recipients will be required to sign appropriate forms granting AAP certain specific rights regarding the use of electronic images or text materials resulting from their projects without additional payment. AAP retains the right to convert analog images to digital form and to use all report materials in any way desired (including, but not limited to, posting digital images and text freely on the internet) without further compensation. Upon submission of your project report or images, you must also complete and submit an Image Use Permission Form.
Application Instructions
A completed Eidlitz application will consist of:
1. Cover sheet(s) and application form. For joint applications, a completed cover sheet and questions 1 and 2 must be included for each applicant.
2. Required attachments
3. Image use permission form
Required attachments:
1. Project Description – Please provide a comprehensive description of your proposed travel study project. Discuss your objectives (which may be either broad or limited in scope) and your plans for study and documentation. Discuss your qualifications or personal interest in the proposed project. Please limit this section to no more than four single-spaced pages using 12 point Times New Roman font.
2. Detailed Itinerary – In this section, provide the details of your itinerary, including dates, locations, and academic study objectives for each point along the way.
3. Professional Training – Address specifically how the project being proposed supplements your academic or professional training.
4. Budget – In this section, please itemize anticipated expenses using the following categories: Transportation (include air fare, car rental and fuel, bus/train/cab fare, bicycle rental, etc.); Lodging; Immunizations; Travel Documents; Meals; Entrance Fees; Insurance; Incidentals; and Other. Please present all figures in U.S. dollars. Applicants are expected to select reasonably priced options for air fare and lodging. Please give careful consideration to the development of this section
(Note: Fellowships used to pay travel expenses are considered taxable income under the laws of the United States and other countries. Applicants are encouraged to consider potential tax liability when developing project budgets.)
5. Partial Funding – Please discuss in detail how partial funding might affect your proposed project.
Additional attachments (max. 10 pages):
Supporting Documentation/Supplementary Materials – Please provide any supporting documentation or supplemental materials that you feel are important to your application. This may include images, maps, references, or information regarding related studies, evidence of previous publications, design projects, or exhibitions or anything else you feel makes your proposal stronger.
Please compile your application into a single PDF (10MB max) and submit via email to archcompetitions@cornell.edu. Make sure to provide all requested information. Incomplete or improperly completed applications will not be reviewed.
The deadline for receipt of completed applications is 8 a.m. EDT on Friday, May 1, 2026. Digital submissions only. Acknowledgment of receipt of applications will be made by email. No changes or amendments of any kind may be made to an application after it has been received.
Award decisions will be made no later than May 22, 2026. All applicants will be notified of the committee’s decisions by email shortly after that date. Please do not telephone or email to check on the status of your application.