The fellowship honors the memory of John R. Coleman, whose premature death deprived the field of a scholar of unusual integrity and promise. John R. Coleman graduated magna cum laude at Harvard University, held a Fulbright Fellowship at the University of Bonn, and pursued graduate study at Princeton University. He excavated at Aphrodisias and Morgantina. The Coleman Fellowship is to be used for travel and study in Italy, the western Mediterranean, or North Africa, between July 1 of the award year and the following June 30. The award may not support field excavation projects, nor may AIA fellowship funds be used for institutional overhead, administrative recovery costs, or indirect costs.

To be eligible, applicants must have been AIA members in good standing for at least one year by the application deadline; the recipient should remain a member until the end of the fellowship term and subsequent submission of an abstract and/or presentation at the annual meeting. Applicants must be engaged in dissertation research in a U.S. graduate program.