Faculty Fellowship Competition

The Humanities Center invites applications from all full-time faculty in the humanities, arts, and related disciplines who seek support for research projects that will make a significant contribution to the humanities. This residential program will supply recipients with funds toward two course releases (one for Fall and one for Winter; exceptions to this distribution of course releases may be granted upon request, due to extenuating departmental circumstances), dedicated office space, and scholarly community. Proposals will be adjudicated on the merit of the proposed research project, its potential impact on one or more scholarly fields, and its relevance to the humanities more generally.

Applications are now closed.

The defining characteristic of this program is its residential nature. Fellowship recipients will meet monthly to share their works-in-progress in a research seminar that will be open to the broader university community. The Center will also provide recipients with office space, in the expectation that they will hold regular office hours to facilitate collaboration and conversation. In doing so, the Humanities Center aims to create a community of humanities and arts faculty from different disciplines working in the same physical space at roughly the same time. This arrangement will facilitate the formation of valuable research networks, promote interdisciplinary collaborations and joint grant applications, and support the development of collegiality across humanities departments and units on campus. Furthermore, recipients will help mentor other faculty and graduate students who hold residential fellowships.

This year, the Center will fund up to four proposals by making a grant of $6,500 directly to the recipient’s department, college, or school. This funding may only be used toward buying out one course per semester in academic year 2024-25.

Please note: If your project involves human subjects or animals, you must secure IRB approval before applying for this fellowship opportunity.

Eligibility

All WSU full-time faculty in the humanities, arts, and related disciplines are eligible to submit proposals, except those who received a Faculty Fellowship Award from the Center within the last two years. Although the Center's primary obligation is to tenure-stream faculty, professors of teaching are strongly encouraged to apply. However, please note the following exceptions:

Scholars may not receive funding for the same project more than once.
Applicants may only submit one proposal in total.
Applicants who do not plan to conduct the majority of their research in the Detroit area are not eligible for this opportunity.

Conditions

Each Faculty Fellowship recipient must agree to:

Establish office hours at least twice a week for a minimum of three hours per session; or three times per week for two hours per session.
This is the central requirement of the program since it provides the opportunity for residents to interact frequently, and thus, to influence each other's work and develop collaborative projects.
Spend their office hours working on their research project, or interacting with other resident scholars having office hours.
Participate in monthly research seminars with other resident scholars.
Discuss their projects in a research seminar sponsored by the Center before the end of the fellowship period.
Submit an end-of-year report on their project to the Humanities Center.
Submit a complimentary copy of the final product (book, article, exhibition catalog, video, etc.).
Acknowledge the Humanities Center’s support within the publication itself.

Guidelines for Proposals

Each proposal must consist of a narrative of no more than 2000 words (excluding the application cover page, bibliography, professional record, and evidence of IRB approval, if required).

The body of the proposal must include the following elements:

1. A completed application cover page with all required signatures. Note: if a department head is applying for a fellowship, a signature from their dean is required.

2. A project narrative, divided into sections with the following titles:

Statement of purpose
Significance and contribution to field and career
Theoretical framework and/or methodology
Project overview (for monographs, a chapter breakdown)
Project timeline for grant period
Final product and dissemination
Relation of the project to the humanities (For the Center’s definition of the humanities, click here.)

3. A bibliography of relevant sources (not to exceed one page).

4. The professional record and contact information of the applicant.

5. Evidence of IRB approval, if your project involves human subjects or animals.