Fellowships are awarded in the spring of the award year, and the deadline for application is in the fall of the preceding year. Successful candidates will be given the option of postponing receipt of their fellowship, so as to make the Howard competition accessible to those whose personal plans do not line up exactly with the year in which awards are offered in their fields.

While the Foundation plans to follow this sequence of fields, additional changes may from time to time need to be made as warranted by the limited resources of the Foundation.