What SAR does

The School for Advanced Research (SAR) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational institution founded in 1907 and headquartered on a 16-acre historic campus in Santa Fe, New Mexico, on the ancestral lands of the Tewa people. It operates three interconnected programs: Scholar Programs, which for over 50 years has provided residential fellowships to researchers in anthropology, archaeology, history, Indigenous studies, and art history and has produced nearly 300 alumni across 30 countries; the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC), which stewards a collection of over 12,000 works of Native art and supports Native artist fellowships and community-grounded collections care; and SAR Press, an academic publisher in continuous operation since 1908 and formally established as a book publisher in 1979.

SAR serves scholars, Native artists, and the broader public through fellowships, seminars, exhibitions, field trips, lectures, and a podcast. Revenue is generated primarily through philanthropic donations, foundation and federal grants, individual and business memberships, event tickets priced at $5–$10, and book sales through SAR Press and an e-commerce storefront. Public programming is delivered via a hybrid in-person/virtual model on the Santa Fe campus and through digital channels including a weekly newsletter, YouTube livestreams, and the In Context with SAR podcast.

The organization has no parent company, no subsidiaries, and no venture capital or private equity involvement. It is governed by a Board of Directors and supported by an 11-50 employee staff. Strategic partnerships with institutions such as the New Mexico History Museum, Gilcrease Museum, Vilcek Foundation, the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico via the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and funders including the Paloheimo Foundation, Institute of Museum and Library Services, and National Historical Publications and Records Commission form the core of its external ecosystem.

Name

SAR

Legal name

School for Advanced Research

Website

https://sarweb.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1907

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

SAR is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1907 in Santa Fe, New Mexico, operating residential scholar fellowships, the Indian Arts Research Center (12,000+ Native art works), and SAR Press academic publishing to serve researchers, Native artists, and the public.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Santa Fe

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

SAR is a nonprofit educational institution advancing creative thought and innovative work in the social sciences, humanities, and Native American arts through residential scholar fellowships, Native artist fellowships, the Indian Arts Research Center collection, academic publishing via SAR Press, and public programming.

Product overview

The School for Advanced Research (SAR) is a nonprofit educational institution that operates as a platform of interconnected programs supporting innovation at the intersection of arts, humanities, and social sciences. The core offerings include the Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) with its collection of over 12,000 Native art works and online e-Museum; Scholar Programs providing residential fellowships for researchers; SAR Press for academic publishing; and public programming including field trips, seminars, and the In Context with SAR podcast. The organization serves scholars, artists, and the public through these integrated programs that create space for creative thought and research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Indian Arts Research Center (IARC): A division of SAR housing a collection of over 12,000 works of Native art, providing fellowships and community initiatives for Native artists.
• SAR Press
• In Context with SAR
• Resident Scholar Program

Products and services

• Indian Arts Research Center (IARC) A research center home to over 12,000 works of Native art, offering fellowships, community initiatives, and an online searchable collection (e-Museum). Supports collaborative Indigenous arts engagement and collections management.
• Scholar Programs Residential fellowship program offering scholars uninterrupted time and space for research in anthropology, archaeology, and social sciences. Includes the Weatherhead Fellowship, Tedlock Fellowship, and other named fellowships.
• SAR Press Academic book publisher founded in 1908 and formally operating as a publisher since 1979. Produces influential titles in anthropology and archaeology, making scholarship accessible to scholars and readers worldwide.
• Member Field Trips Educational field trip program offering members and visitors guided tours to significant archaeological sites in New Mexico, including Chaco Canyon, Mimbres region, Lower Rio Chama Pueblos, and Pueblo sites.
• In Context with SAR (Podcast) Podcast series hosted by Paul Ryer featuring conversations with experts in anthropology, archaeology, AI, and humanities exploring pressing questions of contemporary life.
• Catherine McElvain Library On-site library offering access to archives and special collections in anthropology, archaeology, and Native American studies. Open by appointment to scholars, members, and the public.
• Native Artist Fellowships Fellowship program supporting Native artists across diverse disciplines. Provides time, resources, and access to IARC's collection of over 12,000 works of Native art for artists to develop new work grounded in cultural knowledge and contemporary practice.
• J.I. Staley Prize Prestigious award recognizing outstanding contributions in anthropology and related fields.
• SAR Membership Program Membership program connecting individuals to a community of thinkers, artists, and learners with special in-person and virtual programs, field trips, tours, and discounts. Includes tiers such as Business Membership, President's Circle, and Legacy Circle.

Quantifiable outcome

• Nearly 300 scholar alumni across 30 countries supported over 50+ years
• +3 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• New Mexico History Museum (NMHM)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 January 2026SAR and NMHM co-present 'Rethinking Hewett,' a four-part lecture series exploring the life and legacy of Dr. Edgar Lee Hewett. The series coincides with the completion of digitization of the Edgar L. Hewett manuscript and photograph collections by NMHM's Fray Angelico History Library and Palace of the Governors Photo Archives. Programs held at SAR and livestreamed on YouTube.
• Gilcrease MuseumcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2025SAR and Tulsa's Gilcrease Museum co-curate the Indigenous Collections Care Speaker Series, a four-part national virtual program (beginning February 2026) convening leading Native and non-Native museum professionals. The series precedes the anticipated national release of the Indigenous Collections Care Guide and is supported in part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services.
• Vilcek FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSAR and the Vilcek Foundation co-organized 'Grounded in Clay: The Spirit of Pueblo Pottery,' a unique traveling exhibition featuring over 100 historic and contemporary works in clay, curated by the 60-member Pueblo Pottery Collective. The exhibition was created by SAR and Vilcek Foundation and traveled to the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center as its final venue.
• Indian Pueblo Cultural Center (IPCC)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIPCC, established by the 19 Pueblos of New Mexico in 1976, hosted the final year-long run of the 'Grounded in Clay' traveling exhibition as part of the Center's 50th Anniversary. The exhibition featured SAR-organized and curated content.
• National Historical Publications and Records CommissionminorOthersFunded in part the digitization of the Edgar L. Hewett manuscript and photograph collections by NMHM's Fray Angelico History Library and Palace of the Governors Photo Archives.
• Institute of Museum and Library ServicesminorOthersProvided partial support for the Indigenous Collections Care Speaker Series co-curated by SAR and Gilcrease Museum.
• Paloheimo FoundationminorOthersThe Paloheimo Foundation provided very generous support for the publication of SAR's annual reports. The foundation's grant honors the late Leonora Paloheimo and her mother, Leonora Curtin, who served on the Board of Managers of SAR from 1933 to 1972.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Social Science Research Council (SSRC): An independent, nonprofit, international organization supporting social science research through fellowships, working groups, and publications. Operates a programmatic funding model in the social sciences closely analogous to SAR's fellowship-and-press combination.
• Clark Art Institute: A art museum and research center with a Clark Humanities Center offering residential fellowships to scholars working at the intersection of art history and the humanities. Combines collection/museum programming with residential academic fellowship in a way closely parallel to SAR's IARC plus Scholar Programs model.
• National Museum of the American Indian (Smithsonian): Smithsonian museum dedicated to the preservation, study, and presentation of the cultures of Native peoples of the Americas. Closely comparable in collections stewardship of Native American art and in offering fellowships, exhibitions, and community programs around Indigenous arts and cultures.
• Santa Fe Institute: An independent, nonprofit research institute in Santa Fe that conducts theoretical and computational research with residential visitors. Comparable as a Santa Fe-based, independent nonprofit research and fellowship institution with a similar small-staff, mission-driven operating model.
• Institute of American Indian Arts (IAIA): Santa Fe-based nonprofit college focused on Native American arts, culture, and liberal arts education. Closest geographic and mission peer to SAR, sharing a focus on Indigenous artists, arts education, and cross-cultural exchange in the same city.
• Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study: Harvard's institute for advanced study that awards residential fellowships to scholars across the humanities, social sciences, and arts. Shares SAR's core mechanism: providing scholars uninterrupted residential time and resources to produce research, with analogous seminar and public programming.
• Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences (CASBS): Stanford-based residential fellowship community for social and behavioral scientists. Operates the same residential-fellowship-plus-public-program model SAR does, focused on social sciences and humanities scholars producing transformative work.
• Wenner-Gren Foundation: A private foundation dedicated to advancing anthropological research worldwide through grants, fellowships, and symposia. Directly comparable to SAR's scholar programs in anthropology, archaeology, and human sciences, with a similar funding/fellowship model rather than a campus-based one.
• Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton): Independent research institute where scholars and scientists are appointed to residential positions to pursue research. The canonical residential-fellowship nonprofit research model against which SAR's scholar programs are structured, albeit with a different disciplinary focus.

Broad incumbents

• American Museum of Natural History: A major natural history museum with extensive anthropological collections, research divisions, and publications. Shares SAR's combination of large anthropological collections, scholarly research output, and public programming, but at substantially larger scale and with a much broader scientific mandate.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/sarsantafemultimedia
• Facebookfacebook.com/schoolforadvancedresearch.org
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/school-for-advanced-research-on-the-human-experience
• Instagraminstagram.com/schoolforadvancedresearch
• Xx.com/schadvresearch

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about SAR