The Center for Puerto Rican Studies (CENTRO) at Hunter College has announced that it is now accepting applications for the 2026-2027 Rooted + Relational Fellowship, Artist-in-Residence, and Community Micro-Grant Programs.
The fellowship program convenes scholars, writers, and faculty in a cohort model that responds to an annual theme, this year’s being “Black Cuerpas: Race, Body Politics & Culture.” Fellows will spend their time at CENTRO working on a specific research project and will be required to attend weekly seminar meetings, as well as additional workshops and public events.
For the community micro-grant program, CENTRO will award up to 12 grants, each up to $5,000, to non-institutionally affiliated and non-academic community organizations, individuals, or projects for community-based programs. We invite community organizers, artists, creatives, writers, agricultural workers, activists, and cultural workers who reside in Puerto Rico and/or the United States and its territories to apply
The “Rooted + Relational” research initiative follows an annual thematic structure, unifying the work across CENTRO, and offering scholarly and cultural programming. The 2026-2027 theme, “Black Cuerpas: Race, Body Politics & Culture,” invites researchers to engage with the following questions: How do race, sex, gender, and body politics shape the histories and lived experiences of Boricuas? What happens when we put race and Blackness at the center of a field of study that has, for too long, championed color-blindness and racial democracy to avoid questions of racism, complicity, and erasure?
CENTRO invites applications from scholars in all fields of study and disciplines, including creative writing and visual arts. The Artist-In-Residence will be required to be in-residence at CENTRO during the tenure of the award, while Hybrid Fellows and Dissertation Fellows can be hybrid. For the community micro-grant program, grantees will implement their funded projects within their chosen communities. They will also present their work at a CENTRO event, attend three virtual meetings, and have their work highlighted through CENTRO’s communications and media channels.
The positions are the following:
Hybrid Fellows:
We will select up to five hybrid fellows and will award each $25k
- Open to researchers and artists working on the annual theme who are unable to relocate to New York City for the duration of the fellowship year.
- PhD is not required, but fellows must have an extensive background in Puerto Rican Studies.
Artist-In-Residence:
We will select up to one artist researcher-in-residence and will be awarded $75k
- Open to artists of all disciplines working on the annual theme.
- A PhD is not required, but fellows must have an extensive background in Puerto Rican Studies.
- Must be in residence at CENTRO in New York City for the duration of the 2026-2027 academic year. In-residence requires a minimum of 4 on-site days per week.
Dissertation Fellows:
We will select up to two dissertation fellows and will award each $25k
- Must be ABD (all but dissertation) in a related discipline by July 1, 2026.
- Can be hybrid or in-person at CENTRO in New York City.
- One of the 3 reference letters must come from the dissertation advisor.
- May be hybrid or in-residence (in-residence requires a minimum of 4 on-site days per week).
Micro-Grant Eligibility Requirements:
- Applicants must be community-based individuals, groups, or organizations engaged in artistic, community-driven, agricultural, activist, or cultural projects.
- Applicants must not be affiliated with a college or university (professors, graduate students, and academic staff are not eligible).
- Applicants must be 18 years of age or older.
- Past Rooted & Relational Grant Recipients are not eligible.
Starting today, CENTRO is accepting applications, and they will begin work in August of 2026. To learn more about the fellowship program for the “Rooted + Relational” research initiative, please click here and apply by April 30, 2026, at 11:59pm ET. Calls for applications for NYC-based Research Associates requiring a PhD will be announced at a later date.
To learn more about the community micro-grant submission requirements and apply by April 30, 2026, at 11:59pm ET, please click here. To learn more about the “Rooted + Relational” initiative, please click here. For questions or assistance with the application process, please contact: Rosa Cruz, Partnerships and Outreach Manager, at centrofl@hunter.cuny.edu.