In 2000-2001 and 2001-2002, the SSRC offered the Dissertation Fellowships on the Arts and Social Science. In two years, it provided support for twenty-nine dissertation fellows. The second and last cohort will finish their work in 2003. There will be no new fellowship competition in 2003.

The program prioritized work on the construction of artistic ‘value’ and the place of art in contemporary society. Fellows explored diverse aspects of the artistic experience within this framework, from the production, distribution and consumption of artworks to the significance of globalization, multiculturalism, and information technologies.

Fellowships were awarded to students creatively engaged with the social sciences from inside and outside the core social science disciplines. Represented fields included sociology, anthropology, political science, art history, history, public policy, economics, musicology, psychology, American studies, and comparative literature.

In addition to the financial component of the award, the program sponsored a number of multidisciplinary workshops, providing fellows opportunities to discuss their research with peers and with the senior scholars of the Arts Committee. The workshops contributed to building scholarly networks and cross-disciplinary dialogue, and helped the fellows prepare for post-doctoral careers.

Funding for the fellowships was provided by the Rockefeller Foundation.