Humanities Research Grants

The Humanities Council awards grants of up to $5,000 for research in the humanities from a fund provided by the vice president for research and innovation. Faculty members holding regular appointments in humanities departments (tenured, tenure-track, and professors of the practice*) are eligible to apply. Applicants cannot have received and used Humanities Research Grant funds within the previous academic year. Preference will be given to applicants who have not received and used funds in the past two academic years.

*If you have questions about your eligibility, please contact Amanda Brockner, alb448@cornell.edu.  

Faculty members may apply for microgrants of up to $1,000 for undergraduate or graduate student research assistants. Microgrants can be either an individual application or as part of a larger application up to $5,000 (not both).

The Council invites applications to support a variety of projects, including (but not strictly limited to) the following models: 

  • Research and travel support for a range of research and book projects, from those in planning to those near completions (individual grants involving travel for book research can ask for up to $3,000 but no more). 
  • Support for collaborative and/or public-facing endeavors such as co-authored projects, performances, exhibitions, apps, and online projects with a research component and the potential for public engagement or social impact (up to $5,000 can be requested).
  • Translation support for one’s own work as a translator, including research, archival work, consulting manuscripts, collaboration with scholars, and hiring graduate student support, including both projects in the planning stage and projects under contract (individual grants involving translation can ask for up to $3,000 but no more).
  • Support for collaborative research, to defray expenses for scholars’ visits to Cornell, with preference given to interdisciplinary and innovative proposals that involve interested faculty and students in activities like seminars, round-tables, or conferences with research benefits for the Cornell community (up to $3,000 can be requested).
  • Cornell undergraduate and graduate student research assistance of up to $1,000 (this may be a budget line in a larger project or a standalone microgrant)

Funds from this grant cycle are intended to support activities occurring through June 30, 2025. Please note that this funding pool is not intended to defray costs associated with publication or to support travel to attend a conference.

The competition will be adjudicated by the Humanities Council.

Application Guidelines

Applications should consist of the following materials in a single .pdf file:

  1. Proposal title
  2. Brief project description with a plan of work detailing what one proposes to accomplish during the grant (2-4 pages)
  3. Applicant CV
  4. Brief budget proposal
  5. Supporting documents as appropriate  
    • Translation or monograph project book contract
    • CVs of any collaborators or visitors
    • For activities with a visitor, note proposed activities and groups involved in the activities

Deadline: October 16, 2024

Please submit your application here:  https://cornell.ca1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_a04VInREbZO1fJc

Please direct questions to Amanda Brockner, alb448@cornell.edu.

A complete list of Humanities Research Grant recipients can be found here.

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