Exploratory Grants in Collaborative Humanities
Overview
The Council offers funding of up to $25,000 to help pairs or groups of faculty develop a collaborative area of focus which generates research or teaching in emerging or underrepresented fields in the humanities. We invite exploratory projects designed to identify potential partners and spark collaborations at Princeton or to develop a substantial Princeton component for multi-institutional and international collaborations. These may include reading groups, conferences, workshops, planning meetings, and other gatherings to take place at Princeton in academic year 2024-2025. Exploratory Grants can sustain ongoing work, however, they are typically limited to one year; further funding for continuing the project may be requested, pending submission and review of the first-year report.
We invite cross-disciplinary proposals that are collaborative and publicly engaged, and we particularly encourage proposals that align with the Humanities Council’s stated priorities.
Eligibility
Regular Princeton faculty and Senior Lecturers may apply.
How to Apply
Faculty interested in the opportunity should contact Kathleen Crown, Executive Director, as early as possible.
The online application form (available one month in advance of the deadline) will require the following documents as attachments:
1. A brief, compelling abstract of the proposal (up to 250 words), clearly stating who is involved, what the funds will be used for, and where, when, and how it will be carried out. It should further convey what makes the project innovative and potentially important. Please take care to craft an abstract that is clear about the project timeline (start and end dates), key participants, and locations. The abstract should be able to stand on its own as an overview of the project, covering all key aspects and goals of the proposal.
2. A detailed proposal for the full project, which must include the following:
- project title
- name(s) of proposer(s)
- principal departments involved
- start and end dates, schedule of when all work will be done
- collaborative nature of the project and any project history
- project’s benefit to Princeton University faculty and students
- names of Princeton faculty and students who will be involved
- intended non-University participants, with names and affiliations if known
- a detailed budget (travel, lodging, food, materials, honoraria) for the full project, indicating all amounts contributed by, or solicited from, other offices on campus, particularly the host department. Please note that the executive committee has established a benchmark of $750-$1500 for honoraria for public lectures and $75-$500 for a class visit or conference/colloquia participation.) If you propose to bring international visitors to campus, please consider whether the goals of the project could be realized with a virtual visit.
- total cost of the project
- amount requested from the Humanities Council
3. Proposals involving new courses or undergraduate group travel requires a department chair agreement to support logistics. You may attach that letter/email to the application form or have it sent directly to Kathleen Crown.
Proposals under serious consideration may be reviewed by faculty experts in the relevant fields, in consultation with the Council of Science and Technology, the Center for Digital Humanities, the McGraw Center for Teaching and Learning, the Lewis Center for the Arts, the Dean of Research, the Dean of the College, and other campus offices.
Grant ApplicationDeadlines and Grant Cycles
Note: There will be one cycle of grant applications in AY23-24.
- TBD: Funding Information Session
- TBD: Deadline to send draft proposal for review to Kathleen Crown/Council Chair.
- January 31, 2024: Deadline to submit application.
- July 2024: Funds will be transferred after the start of the 2024 fiscal year (begins July 1, 2024).
- May 15, 2024: Grantees must submit final reports on completed projects using an online form. Links will be provided, along with reminders from the Council.
Global Initiatives
Several large-scale research and teaching collaborations receive multi-year support from the Humanities Council.
- See a full list of Humanities Council funding opportunities.
