2026 AAM Annual Meeting Scholarship

About the Program

This year AAM is offering two scholarship opportunities:  

Local AAM 2026 Scholarships for Philadelphia-based museum professionals – Applications Open!

Museum professionals working at Philadelphia-area-based institutions will have the opportunity to apply for locals-only scholarships funded through the William Penn Foundation. This scholarship opportunity is available for museum professionals working in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Montgomery, and Delaware counties, as well as Camden, NJ.  Information on how to apply and eligibility for this opportunity is below. Questions? Contact Brianne Roth at broth[at]aam-us.org. Applications are now open.

General AAM 2026 Scholarships  – Application Period Closed

The General AAM 2026 Scholarships Program is a professional development opportunity that provides financial support for museum professionals and US-based students to attend the AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo. The program is designed to nurture greater inclusivity – for the benefit of museums, museum professionals, and the diverse audiences they serve – by supporting professional development of individuals from underrepresented groups. The application period closes on February 6, 2026. Applicants will be notified on, or before, March 6, 2026.  

Eligibility for Local Scholarships

EligibilityThe 2026 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo Local Philadelphia Scholarships Program provides complimentary registration to the 2026 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo for a select number of museum professionals working at museums in the city of Philadelphia.  

This scholarship opportunity is only available to museum professionals working at Philadelphia-based institutions.

Preference may be given to applicants who: 

• Early career museum professionals
• Those from small museums and/or culturally-specific institutions

If you are selected to receive an AAM Annual Meeting Local Scholarship, you will receive:

• Complimentary registration to AAM 2026 (up to $995 value) 
• One year of AAM Individual Professional membership (up to $100 value)* 
• Tickets to select networking events at AAM 2026 

*Current AAM Individual Professional Members will receive a one-year complimentary renewal on their current membership 

AAM 2026 Scholarship Recipients will be required to:

• Participate in a pre-conference calls 
• Attend each day of the Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo in Philadelphia, PA, May 20-23, 2025 
• Participate in educational and networking activities at AAM 2026 
• Submit a post-conference survey (to take no longer than 30 minutes to complete) 

Scholarship recipients are expected to follow any AAM 2026 guidelines provided by AAM before and throughout the conference. 

How to Apply

The application period is open through March 20, 2026. Applicants will be notified of all decisions on or before April 10. 

To be considered for a scholarship, you must submit the following information with your application: 

AAM 2026 will center on the Museum Odyssey. Please prepare a single essay (no longer than 500 words) addressing the following questions: 

• How has your work/experiences shaped your interest in the conference theme? 
• How will your participation at the conference contribute to your professional growth? 
• How will you plan to share knowledge from the conference in your work or academic studies? 

Your resume/curriculum vitae (2 page limit) 

Please note: All essays submitted must be original to the author. Submissions may not be generated by artificial intelligence. If the submission has been substantively assisted by artificial intelligence (including large language models or similar technologies), the applicant must disclose this use and provide appropriate attribution within the work. Failure to do so will result in the scholarship review committee rejecting the essay. 

Questions? We’re happy to help! Contact Brianne Roth at broth[at]aam-us.org.

Thank You to Our Sponsors

The 2026 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo Scholarship Program is generously supported by