Students who are interested in graduate work in this field must apply for appointment as Winterthur Fellows. Application for admission must be made by applying directly to the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture at the University of Delaware. The deadline is January 15 for the complete application file of admissions credentials. The GRE General Test is required. Appointment as a Fellow includes financial support. 

Admission is selective and competitive based on the number of well-qualified applicants and the limits of available faculty and facilities. Those who meet stated minimum academic requirements are not guaranteed admission, nor are those who fail to meet those requirements necessarily precluded from admission if they offer other appropriate strengths. 

Graduate fellowships have been established under the auspices of the Henry Francis du Pont Winterthur Museum and the University for study in the Winterthur Program in Early American Culture. All admitted students receive a fellowship which provides full tuition and an annual stipend. Application for the program and these fellowships can only be made by applying to the program through the Director's office, 304 Old College. In order to be considered, all application materials, including the GRE scores, must be received no later than January 15 of the year for which admission is desired. Admission is by fellowship only. 

The Winterthur Program takes two years of full-time study to complete, beginning in July of the year of acceptance. The degree requires at least 42 course credit hours and includes a written thesis. No special examinations or language are required. 

Core requirements. These begin in the summer of entrance with intensive training in the decorative arts with a focus on the Winterthur collection. Courses incorporate connoisseurship, research methods, and theoretical approaches to the study of American material life, spanning the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries. Extracurricular activities add breadth and richness to the required coursework. Fellows participate in guide training and interpretation at the Museum. 

Course distribution. Students gain breadth in understanding of American culture through University courses chosen from art history, history, and English. In addition to traditional courses, these departments also embrace such fields as folklore, vernacular architecture, and media study. 

Optional curriculum. Students may choose further studies in the areas listed above or work in other departments of the University, such as geography, anthropology, or museum studies. In addition, Fellows who wish to receive museum certification may receive course credit for an internship taken at the Winterthur Museum. 

Further information is available through the Director, Winterthur Program in Early American Culture.