The College of Arts and Science recently launched a grant support program primarily focused on federal proposals to facilitate high-impact STEM research. This program focuses on increasing and improving federal and foundation proposals in the arts and humanities. For each category of support, the expectation is that the Center for the Humanities will provide 50% of the support with the faculty home department providing the other 50%. This is a pilot program that will evolve as we learn what mechanisms are most effective and useful to faculty. After 3 years, we will examine the impact of the program to determine if and how it should continue. Please direct any questions to Julie Elman. 

 APPLICATIONS CAN BE SUBMITTED HERE AND WILL BE REVIEWED ON A ROLLING BASIS. 

Faculty are encouraged to review programs through the Office of the Provost and the Office of Research, Innovation and Impact (RII) that focus on supporting and/or providing further information about external funding opportunities and mechanisms. Interested faculty are also encouraged to review: 

Walker, B. L., & Unruh, H. E. (2018). Funding your research in the humanities and social sciences: A practical guide to grant and fellowship proposals. Routledge. 

  

Category I: Identifying opportunities and pathways support 

Grant/fellowship writing workshops 

  • Cover 50% of costs (e.g., registration, travel) associated with faculty attending external sponsor-specific or field-specific grant or fellowship writing workshops. Can also be used to facilitate meetings with agency program directors. Some restrictions may apply. Check in advance with the Office of Research and Creative Activity (ORCA). Submission of registration receipt for workshop is required. 

Funding announcement subscription services - Although excellent free resources exist (e.g., Faculty Insight, Pivot; please check with ORCA), other resources require a subscription fee, such as certain options from Candid.org 

  • Cover 50% of subscription fee costs for services that circulate funding opportunity announcements. Some restrictions may apply. Check in advance with ORCA.  

Outside research mentoring - One effective strategy for developing pathways to funding is to identify a scholar that a) works in the same research area or uses a similar methodological approach to yours and b) has been successful in procuring funding.   

  • Funds can be provided ($500-1,000) to support “honoraria” to the external scholar to spend time with you and advise on pathways toward funding your work. For instance, when an outside mentor best serves our faculty. 

  

Category II: Time/assistance support 

Support Funding for NEH Summer Stipend proposals - $1,500 stipend for the two selected faculty for NEH Summer Stipend application preparation  

Summer support for fellowship proposal writing - 1 month (1.0 FTE) summer salary to support preparing fellowship/grant applications to the NEH, National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS), Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, William T. Grant Scholars Program, Fulbright, Mellon, Guggenheim. Others may also be eligible; check in advance with ORCA. Applicants are encouraged to consult Julie Elman before submitting their request to determine eligibility. 

  

Category III: Proposal Improvement Support 

Pre-submission external review of NEH or NEA proposal  

  • $500 for one (or $250 for two) external reviews of an NEH or NEA Fellowship proposal. Other fellowship proposals may also be eligible. These funds may also be used to secure the service of a grant writer (see e.g., Writing Short is Hard).  Please check with ORCA before submitting your support application.  
  • Our institution also contracts an editing service that can contact previous NEH and NEA reviewers for consultation. Please note in your application if you would like to use this service.
  • Departmental assistance required for identifying reviewers or grant editors.  
  • Draft submission is required 6-8 weeks before the agency’s deadline. 
  • Limit once per proposal (resubmissions ineligible if initial submission is externally reviewed). 

Travel support  

  • Travel support is available to help offset costs associated with going to an archive, museum, etc. that will provide preliminary data or demonstration of feasibility toward a funding proposal to NEH, NEA, ACLS, Sloan Foundation Research Fellowship, William T. Grant Scholars Program, Fulbright, Mellon or Guggenheim. Others may also be eligible; check in advance with ORCA.  
  • In addition, travel support is also available to help with costs for a trip to Washington, D.C. to meet with a program officer from the NEH or NEA.  

Proposal enhancement fund - Other support may be available depending on the proposal’s unique needs. The request should be focused on supporting submissions of proposals that provide multiple years of research support and/or are designated as prestigious or highly prestigious awards, or resubmissions of proposals that have been previously reviewed and for which some addition (e.g., pilot data, further training) is necessary to push it to fundability.