SAH 2026 Annual International Conference
Mexico City, Mexico April 15–19, 2026
Application Deadline: Thursday, December 11, 2025.
The Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians George B. Tatum Annual International Conference Fellowship helps fund registration, travel and lodging expenses related to attending the annual conference of the Society of Architectural Historians. For 2026 the amount of the Fellowship is $3000.00.
Eligibility:
The Fellowship is open to graduate students and advanced undergraduates enrolled in the following programs: architectural history, historic preservation, art history (with architecture as focus), architectural theory, landscape history, landscape architecture, urban/city/regional planning, historic preservation, or related built-environment fields.
The Tatum Fellowship is designed to introduce early-career scholars to the professional world of architectural history. The objective of the fellowship is to help promising students gain access, confidence, and connections within the field of architectural history.
Students enrolled at colleges and universities in the Greater Philadelphia region that offer programs in the areas listed above are eligible to apply for the fellowship, such as:
Bryn Mawr College
College of New Jersey
Drexel University
Lehigh University
Thomas Jefferson University
Princeton University
Rutgers University
St. Joseph’s University
Swarthmore College
Temple University
University of Delaware
University of Pennsylvania
Villanova University
West Chester University
Preference is given to candidates who are not presenting papers at the conference, although the committee reserves the right to make the award to a candidate who is presenting. Eligible expenses up to $3000.00 will be reimbursed for travel and lodging. An annual student membership (a $62 value) is included in the fellowship. The national organization will waive the Student Conference Registration Fee (a $188 value).
The Fellow is required to present a program to the Philadelphia Chapter within six months of the conclusion of the Conference. The program may be on current research or another subject agreed upon by the Fellow and the Chapter officers. Reimbursement of 20% of the total eligible expenses will be withheld until this presentation is made or will be forfeited by the Fellowship winner.
Application Requirements:
CV or resume
Name of program and school
Email of department program
Name and contact information of advisor or principal professor
Statement of Purpose (no longer than two single-spaced pages that addresses the following:
1. How attending the SAH conference will support your academic or career goals.
2. How the conference will help clarify or advance your interest in architectural history or a related field.
3. Your demonstrated commitment to architectural history or allied disciplines, shown through coursework, research, projects, or other experiences.
4. Your intellectual curiosity and potential for future contributions to the field.
Fellowship Selection:
A committee comprising individuals with expertise in architectural history and related fields will review applications for the fellowship. Individuals reviewing the applications may not teach or have other affiliations with the candidates whose applications they are reviewing.
How to apply:
Submit application materials (Word or PDF) via email to the Philadelphia Chapter SAH at tatumaward@philachaptersah.org by the deadline.
Application Deadline: December 11, 2025
The Fellowship recipient will be notified no later than January 30, 2026. All applicants will be notified no later than the same date.
Additional Information:
Submit questions to tatumaward@philachaptersah.org
For more information on the Philadelphia Chapter SAH visit www.philachaptersah.org
Details about the 2026 SAH Annual International Conference in Mexico are available here: https://sah.org/conferences/mexico-2026/
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Image Courtesy of the University of Delaware Archives and Records Management
George Bishop Tatum was born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1917 and educated at Western Reserve Academy and Princeton University. After a stint as a Captain in the India-China division of the Air Service Command in World War II, he returned to Princeton where he completed his M.F.A. in 1947, and his Ph.D. in 1950. Dr. Tatum taught art history and architectural history at both the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Delaware, and advised two generations of architectural historians including Harold Cooledge, William Murtaugh, Matthew Baigell, and Robert B. Ennis. He retired from teaching at Delaware in 1978.
Tatum was a founding member of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Society of Architectural Historians and served as its first Vice President, from 1964 to 1966. He was a Fellow of the Athenaeum of Philadelphia and Honorary Member of the American Institute of Architects. He is perhaps best remembered for his book, Penn’s Great Town: 250 Years of Philadelphia Architecture Illustrated in Prints and Drawings, a catalog of a major exhibition of the same title held at the Philadelphia Art Alliance in 1961. Roger W. Moss, Director Emeritus of Athenaeum of Philadelphia, called Penn’s Great Town “the first modern book to examine the entire sweep of Philadelphia’s architecture, combining historic images, identified as to source and accompanied by the thoughtful and carefully researched brief essays of genuine merit.” Dr. Tatum passed away in Danville, CA, at the age of 91 in October 2008.