Becoming a Research Resident

Each spring, ITP graduating students are invited to apply for a Research Resident Fellowship for the coming academic year.  These fellowships are academic appointments, not staff positions.  They are meant to help you advance your research and scholarship by closely collaborating with ITP/IMA full-time faculty and being exposed to a wide variety of academic topics. These research residencies are typically filled by graduating students who enjoy helping their fellow students, and are interested in seeing academia from outside the student role. Past residents have used it as an networking base to launch a freelance business or otherwise to prepare for a career in the arts, research or academia.

ITP/IMA Residents have the opportunity to interface with faculty on a number of key curricular areas, and thus to gain hands-on experience in the development of ITP/IMA’s ever evolving, dynamic curriculum.  To this end, Residents can expect to participate in areas such as:

All Residents can expect to be paired with a faculty mentor and to help support a Thesis and/or Capstone section in one capacity or another.  The same goes for the ITP/IMA Applications foundation class.

Application Deadline:
The Deadline for Resident Applications: 5/9/25 (end of the day)

Appointment Period:
The appointment period for the Residency is 8/18/25 – 7/31/26.

Stipend:
The stipend that comes with the Residency for the period above is $40,000.

OPT:
OPT is a valid pathway for an international person (if invited) to become a Resident. Keep in mind that since NYU is not part of e-Verify the OPT STEM extension is not an option in this case — therefore the OPT end date is the date at which the Resident appointment must end. Not to penalize those with earlier end dates due to OPT, we adjust the Residency and payment schedule so as not to penalize you financially for having to end early in those cases. In other words, you’ll receive the full stipend during the period that you are legally allowed to work as long as you can work until the end of the Spring semester.

Application Process: 

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Research residencies break down into three traditional components of academia:

Service: Residents have the opportunity of taking a direct role in the technical infrastructure and scholarly activities of ITP and IMA.  This includes such things as providing input into the design, coding, or doc labs; helping to maintain various websites, and databases; and developing or maintaining various support systems for students in the department. Residents also help produce the ITP and IMA shows and special events. 

Tutorial: A significant part of being a Resident involves supporting students in foundation classes and thesis. This typically takes the form of office hours, help sessions or studio hours. For thesis and capstone, this will involve in-class time.

Research: Residents are typically engaged in their own art/research practice, and this is considered a key area.  This could be traditional research, artistic endeavors, product development, community building, activism, entrepreneurial endeavors, software development, or a myriad of other possibilities. The residency offers a chance to continue and further that work, with the added benefit of having ITP/IMA full-time faculty as mentors.   In past years, Resident cohorts have organized a show of their work at the end of the residency. This is optional, and up to each resident cohort to coordinate. 

This is what research residents can expect from the experience.

Balance: The balance of these components is unevenly distributed over the year. The Fall and Spring are primarily occupied with curricular support and all related activities of the department. Summer is dedicated research time. 

Where: All residents have desk and production space in-person at 370 Jay Street, Brooklyn, New York.

When: Research Residents will be chosen by the faculty in the early summer. The role starts the week before classes begin in the Fall. It is a one-year appointment, subject to each Resident’s visa status.

Supervision: In general, we look for self-directed, self-starting residents. There are regular group meetings with the ITP faculty resident supervisor to report on your progress. For more direction in service, tutorial and research residents will work with the relevant members of the faculty.  

Schedule: Resident positions are half-time, 20/hours per week. Residents’ hours must overlap with students, supervisors, and administration as necessary, but need not be completely traditional.  Note: while residents are typically completely free to work on their own projects in the summer, that work is expected to happen on the ITP floor. Given the activities taking place at ITP/IMA, it is not possible to hold a full-time job while being a Resident. If you secure a full-time position, you should resign the Residency. Part-time or freelance positions are expected but do take some additional time management.

Selection Process: After reviewing application materials, faculty area heads will meet with select applicants, as described above. They will make recommendations as to candidates supporting their respective areas. Staff and current residents may be consulted as to the candidates’ qualifications as well.  Finally, a committee made of the chair and faculty resident supervisors will make final selections.

Criteria: Residents are chosen based primarily on how the applicant’s strengths for service, tutorial, and research line up with the department’s current needs and interests and how the applicant’s career could be improved by the experience.

Benefits: Residents can purchase the University’s health coverage at employee rates. Some lending agencies will allow a deferment of student loans for this type of “postdoc” position that varies by company.

Funds: There are no additional funds set aside for materials or travel but in the past residents have received funds for materials or presentations that have seen to also benefit the larger ITP community.

For International Students:  NYU is not currently an “E-Verify” employer, if you are invited to become a Resident, your “term” will be dictated by the end date of your OPT which is often a few weeks earlier in the summer than the actual end date of the appointment. There is no STEM extension through NYU.