Faculty in the Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences Program
Encourage interdisciplinary conversation, research, and teaching within and across these disciplines
Deadline: Fall 2026; exact dates to be announced
This program supports scholars and researchers who plan to apply for external grants and fellowships.
Full-time faculty and researchers from the arts, humanities, and social sciences disciplines may apply.
Priority is given to junior faculty, first-time applicants, and/or faculty who have not received an award in the last three years.
Maximum award amount: $3,500
Funding may be used to pay for:
- Seed funding for research and creative activities.
- Matching funds for grants.
- Publication subsidies for newly published work.
- Publishing expenses such as subventions, indexing, purchasing images/audio files.
- Hiring research assistants.
- Research-related travel such as field work or archival research; conference travel is not supported.
- Payments to survey or interview participants.
- Research materials.
- Other related needs.
Funding may not be used for summer salary.
Maximum award amount: $7,500
Designed to encourage new research partnerships and/or curricular initiatives.
Funding should support work that:
- Develops or expands interdisciplinary contacts across academic departments.
- Engages with national or international conversations about these disciplines' future.
Project proposals may be submitted by groups of faculty from two or more FAHSS departments. Colleagues from other disciplines may be included in the project.
Funding may be used to pay for:
- Special events, including colloquia, conferences, performances, and exhibitions.
- Publishing expenses related to interdisciplinary research.
- Hiring research assistants.
- Research-related travel such as field work or archival research; conference travel is not supported.
Preference will be given to faculty who have not received an award in the last three years, and projects that are seeking one-time funding or will be self-sustaining after one year.
The proposal should be submitted by the lead author. Other faculty should write letters of endorsement. If another unit is providing funding to support the project, that unit's head must submit a letter confirming the support.
Reporting Expectations and Additional Funding
Faculty who submit a proposal for external funding within a year of the grant period will receive an additional $500 in project support.
Award recipients must submit a report on research outcomes at the conclusion of the grant period, before they submit a new proposal.
Craft a Strong Proposal
These programs are designed to support fields for which external funding is scarce, though there is room for flexibility, for example, in projects that use statistical analysis.
Funding may be used to pay interview subjects but not lab work involving human subjects, for example in experimental psychology or linguistics.
Proposals do not need to request the maximum possible award.
To support as many proposals as possible, the committee does not often provide funding for food or catering.
The awards committee comprises faculty from different fields and encourages applicants to offer brief explanations of how the project fits into or expands the applicants' field. The committee does not make judgments based on perceived intellectual merit.
All Proposals
Project proposals should be submitted as one complete file, not as separate documents. Proposals must also include the applicant's full and current CV; this may be a separate, second file.
The proposal must include:
- Project description (no more than three single-spaced pages)
- Description
- Timetable of activities
- Research/creative goals and outcomes
- Budget: A detailed cost breakdown for each component of the budget. For example:
- Estimates for specific flights (a Google Flights comparison or similar),
- Estimates for specific hotels,
- Estimated organizational costs.
The FAHSS program does not cover per diem expenses.
- If applicable, include any information about plans for external funding.
- If applicable, a list of co-applicants.
Interdisciplinary Proposals must also include:
- Brief letters of support from each participant. Each letter should:
- Include participants full name and department, and
- Confirm participant involvement in the project.
- If applicable: If you wish to include any supporting materials, you may.
- If applicable: If additional funding is being provided by a department, please obtain a supporting statement from the chair of each involved department.
- Optional: Participant CVs may be included. If they are part of the proposal, please note that all documents must be submitted as one single file.
The program is not intended to purchase software or equipment if that software or equipment will not be fully consumed during the course of the research project.
While requests for equipment or software may be made, they will be given lower priority for funding. Applicants are encouraged to keep such requests below $500.
If requests to purchase software or equipment are made, the request must:
- Include documentation attesting that every effort has been made to use existing resources, or to borrow or rent equipment.
- Demonstrate the equipment or software is vital to the proposed project.
- Include a statement explaining what will happen to the equipment or software at the conclusion of the project.
About the FAHSS Program
Funded by the Office of the Provost, the Office for Research and Innovation, and the Office of the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, the FAHSS program aims to encourage interdisciplinary dialogue, research, and teaching in the arts, humanities and social sciences.