National Humanities Center Undergraduate Humanities Innovators Program

Seawolves! Join a team of outstanding undergraduates from across the United States taking on leadership roles on their campuses and in their communities!

About the Program

The Humanities Institute at Stony Brook University will select 3–6 outstanding undergraduates to put forth as nominees for the 2026–7 National Humanities Center (NHC) Undergraduate Humanities Innovators Program. Nominee applications will be workshopped by our faculty reviewers to help make them competitive in the national selection process.

If the NHC selects you for the Innovators Program, you will receive professional development and mentorship, participating in discussion sessions with humanities experts and benefiting from skill-based workshops relevant to higher education and a variety of career trajectories. Additionally, you will have the opportunity to pursue specific individual or collective humanities projects and network with professionals who represent a range of fields including academia, nonprofit work, the arts, science communication, museum studies and curation, and activism and advocacy.

How the Program Works

For the 2026-2027 program year, Council sessions will take place from November 2026 through June 2027. All of the primary activities are conducted virtually, (with the exception of one possible in-person convening in early spring). NHC tries to offer a range of dates and times for synchronous programming, since it works with students from multiple time zones with different schedules. Typically, UHI members meet virtually every 3-4 weeks during the academic year while factoring in university recesses. Activities are organized around three distinct types of programming:

1.) Speaker series and networking sessions with humanities leaders

UHI members have the opportunity to connect with thought leaders across humanities-related fields and methods to engage in virtual discussions about speakers' own professional trajectories while considering contemporary issues and opportunities in the humanities. Speakers and themes for these sessions are selected based on the interests of Council members in a given year. Past topics have included the environmental humanities, curatorial and archival practices, community-engaged research and the public humanities, and technological advancement and the humanities.

2.) Skill-based workshops

Based on student feedback, UHI facilitators offer focused group workshops on topics ranging from graduate and professional school applications to the creation of personal professional websites to job searches and the preparation of documents including CVs and cover letters. These workshops also offer opportunities for students to prepare for networking-related forms of outreach and field-specific negotiation practices.

3.) Collaborative research project

UHI members have the opportunity to pursue individual or small-group research projects on topics of their choice, with the opportunity to collaborate with peers across regions and institutions. Students may present these projects as part of a symposium. They also receive editorial guidance and support for any publication-related efforts they might like to pursue. 

Other than bringing informed questions to sessions as part of our speaker series, there is little to no time commitment required beyond the 2-4 hours per month dedicated to the first type of programming. If participants plan to solicit feedback on specific documents, they will need to prepare drafts in advance of relevant workshop sessions.

Regarding the collaborative research projects, students can work with facilitators to set reasonable expectations in terms of scope and ambition for their work. They are also encouraged to pursue innovative and non-traditional methodologies, and deadlines for submission of this work can be tailored to student needs and may be extended beyond the academic year as needed. NHC does expect Council members to take these opportunities seriously, particularly as they are working collaboratively with their colleagues, but we build in as much flexibility as possible given that the research project can often be the most time-intensive part of Council participation.

Application Process

1. To apply to be an SBU nominee for the 2026-7 cohort, please fill out this form by 11:59PM on September 30, 2026.
2. Successful applicants will be notified by October 5. Our faculty reviewers will provide feedback on applications and recommendations for revision.
3. The SBU nominees will finalize and submit their revised applications to the NHC application portal by 5 PM on Friday, October 16, 2026.
4. Successful nominees will be notified by the NHC via email in November.

Eligibility

• Applicants must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate student at Stony Brook University for the full 2026–27 academic year.
• Applicants must be in residence in the United States for the duration of the program (no plans for study abroad, etc.).
• Applicants are not required to have declared concentrations or majors in humanities fields.

Questions?

Please contact Adrienne Unger at adrienne.unger@stonybrook.edu.

More information about the program is available on the NHC website.

Previous SBU Humanities Undergraduate Innovators

HISB warmly congratulates previous Stony Brook Humanities Undergraduate Innovators: Angel Prabakar (2024–25), Peiyao Guo (2023–24), Laci Burton (2022–23), Jennifer Mzobe (2022–23), Meghna Vasiraju (2022–23), and Charlotte York (2022–2023).