The Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS) was founded in 1991 as the first university-based research center in the United States dedicated to the study of historical, cultural, and political issues of vital concern to lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer individuals and communities. By sponsoring public programs and conferences, offering fellowships to individual scholars, and functioning as an indispensable conduit of information, CLAGS serves as a national center for the promotion of scholarship that fosters social change.

Mission Statement

The Center for LGBTQ Studies provides a platform for intellectual leadership in addressing issues that affect lesbian, gay, bisexual transgender, and queer individuals and other sexual and gender minorities. As the first university-based LGBTQ research center in the United States, CLAGS nurtures cutting-edge scholarship, organizes events for examining and affirming LGBTQ lives, and fosters network-building among academics, artists, activists, policy makers, and community members. CLAGS stands committed to maintaining a broad program of public events, online projects, and fellowships that promote reflection on queer pasts, presents, and future

Fellowships and Awards

Graduate Student Paper Award

Each year, CLAGS sponsors a  student paper competition open to all graduate students enrolled in the CUNY system.  A cash prize is awarded to the best paper written in a CUNY graduate class on any topic related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or transgender experiences. Papers should be between 15 and 50 pages and of publishable quality.

CLAGS Fellowship Award

An award to be given annually for a graduate student, an academic, or an independent scholar for work on a dissertation, a first book manuscript, or a second book manuscript. The CLAGS Fellowship is open to intellectuals contributing to the field of LGBTQ studies. Intended to give the scholar the most help possible in furthering their work, the fellowship will be able to be used for research, travel, or writing support. Adjudicated by the CLAGS fellowships committee.

Paul Monette-Roger Horwitz Dissertation Prize

This award, which honors the memories of Monette, a poet and author, and his partner, Horwitz, an attorney, will be given for the best dissertation in LGTBQ Studies, broadly defined, by a PhD candidate within the City University of New York system. The dissertation should have been defended in the previous year. Adjudicated by the CLAGS fellowships committee.

Student Travel Award

Each year, CLAGS sponsors two student travel awards open to all graduate students enrolled in the CUNY system. A cash prize is awarded to a student presenting subject matter that addresses gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or transgender issues in their respective field. Presentations can be for conferences held in the U.S. or abroad.

Sylvia Rivera Award in Transgender Studies

This award, which honors the memory of Rivera, a transgender activist, will be given for the best book or article to appear in transgender studies this past year (2021-2022). Applications may be submitted by the author of the work or by nomination (the application requirements are the same for each; see below). Adjudicated by the CLAGS fellowships committee.

The Duberman-Zal Fellowship

An endowed fellowship named for CLAGS founder and first executive director, Martin Duberman, and partner, Eli Zal, this fellowship is awarded to a graduate student, an independent scholar, or an adjunct from any country doing scholarly research on the lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender/queer (LGBTQ) experience.

The Passing the Torch Award

This award recognizes the achievements and promise of an emerging scholar in LGTBQ Studies. The awardee is chosen annually by the CLAGS fellowships committee from a list of nominations made by our national advisory board of distinguished scholars in the field.

The Robert Giard Fellowship

An annual award named for Robert Giard, a portrait, landscape, and figure photographer whose work often focused on LGBTQ lives and issues, this award is presented to an emerging or mid-career artist, from any country, working in photography, photo-based media, or moving image, including experimental, narrative, or documentary forms of these media. The award now alternates annually between artists working with still images (photography) and those working with moving image (video or film). This award will support the development or completion of a project, one that is new or continuing, that addresses issues of sexuality, gender, or LGBTQ identity. The Foundation is receptive to a variety of projects and approaches to these topics.

University affiliation is not necessary. If you are not sure whether you will be eligible for the award, we recommend that you contact us well before the deadline so we can make a determination; otherwise, you may be declared ineligible after the deadline and your application will not be submitted to the committee. This award is adjudicated by the fellowships’ committee of CLAGS and a jury of the Robert Giard Foundation.

All work ranging from experimental to documentary to traditional photo formats will be considered.

Undergraduate Student Paper Award

Each year, CLAGS sponsors a student paper competition open to all undergraduate students enrolled in the CUNY or SUNY system. A cash prize is awarded to the best paper written in a CUNY or SUNY undergraduate class on any topic related to gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer, or transgender experiences and scholarship. Essays should be between 12 and 30 pages, well-thought-out, and fully realized.

Consult individual scholarships: http://clags.org/fellowships-and-awards3/

• freshman
• sophomore
• junior
• senior
• graduate

• US Citizen
• Permanent Resident
• International or Other Visa Status
• Undocumented

Consult individual scholarships

Martin Duberman, Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus at CUNY is the founder of the Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS) and the author of more than 20 books, most recently Radical Acts (plays; 2008), Waiting to Land (2009) and A Saving Remnant (2010). His two forthcoming books are Howard Zinn: A Life on the Left (October 2012) and Against the Grain: A Martin Duberman Reader (Spring 2013). Duberman has received a significant number of awards–among them The Bancroft Prize, two Lambda Book Awards, the Manhattan Borough President’s Gold Medal in Literature, the American Historical Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award, The Whitehead Award for Lifetime Achievement in Non-Fiction–and has been a Finalist for both The National Book Award and The Pulitzer Prize. Most recently (May 2012), Amherst College awarded him an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters at its annual convention.

Consult individual scholarships

CLAGS: Center for LGBTQ Studies