About

The Humanities Institute at the University of Montana is accepting applications from University of Montana faculty for funding of research projects in the humanities. Grants of up to $2000 will be awarded to support University of Montana faculty in the pursuit of their humanities research and to promote their humanities scholarship.

Application Deadline: March 15

Proposal Requirements

• Online application form
• Abstract (100 words or less)
• Project description (2 pp. single spaced max.) that describes the following aspects of the project:
  • Topic and research contribution
  • Significance with respect to: 1) The applicant’s disciplinary/interdisciplinary field(s) of study; 2) The applicant’s research career
  • Methods and work plan
  • Final product and dissemination (e.g. publication in a peer-reviewed journal) and timeline for completion
  • Short bibliography
• CV indicating accomplishments relevant to the project (2 pp. single spaced max.)
• List of any other grants awarded or sought for this project
• Proposal budget and budget narrative (1 p. single spaced max.)
  • Allowable budget items include research activities essential to the project:
    • Travel to conduct research
    • Purchase of research materials, supplies, services and support
    • Costs associated with collaborating with other scholars
    • Grant funds may not be used for regular conference travel. The committee will however review, on a case-by-case basis, proposals that request travel funds for completing a project (including e.g. collaborating with colleagues or meeting with editors)
  • Summer salary is an allowable expense.
    • Please note that grants distributed as summer salary must be taxed as income, which may significantly reduce the award amount received.

Criteria for Evaluation

• Faculty members in any department or program at the University of Montana are eligible to apply. This includes faculty in traditional humanities disciplines such as (but not limited to) history, literature, philosophy, modern and classical languages, linguistics, religious studies, archaeology, criticism and theory of the visual and performing arts, as well as faculty in the social and natural sciences who are pursuing research projects that focus on humanistic topics and that employ humanistic methods. For further definition of the humanities see the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH).
• Excellence in peer-reviewed humanities scholarship (including publications in print and other professional media) is the primary criterion for awarding grants.
• Projects that lead to the production of original works of art in a faculty member’s professional area of expertise, including visual art in any medium (painting, drawing, photography, film), performance art in any mode (theater, dance, music), and creative writing in any genre, are eligible for Humanities Institute grants.
• Arts proposals must articulate how they engage and inform humanities research topics, methods and debates.
• Arts projects must identify a plan for the public dissemination of the project in recognized professional formats and forums that engage and inform the humanities.
• The Institute encourages interdisciplinary projects that employ new methodologies.
• Proposals will be reviewed by a committee composed of UM faculty in humanities departments and programs.

Selection Criteria for Humanities Institute Faculty Research Grants

Awards and Distribution

• Grant funds can be dispersed in one of two ways:
  • For project-related work during the academic year, awarded funds will be dispersed through the applicant’s home department for project-related direct expenses.
  • For project-related work during the summer months only, funds can be dispersed as above or directly to the applicant as summer salary (withholding tax applies).
• Successful applicants are asked to submit a brief project update by August 31.
• Awardees may be invited to present the results of their grant-supported work in a public talk hosted by the Humanities Institute during the academic year.

The Baldridge Book Subvention Fund supports the publishing of scholarly books by H&S faculty in the areas of African American Studies, Economics, English, History, Liberal Studies, Linguistics, Modern and Classical Languages & Literatures, Native American Studies, Philosophy and Women's, Gender and Sexuality Studies. This fund is meant to support costs that an author may be obligated to pay to a publisher in order to accomplish production. Examples of such costs include photograph reproductions, translations and indexing.

Online Application Form

Online Application

The University of Montana may nominate up to two applicants for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipends grant competition.

The internal application deadline for UM faculty is September 1.

The official announcement, guidelines, and sample proposals may be found on the NEH Summer Stipends web page.

Please submit proposals through the online application form.

In addition to the webform, in one PDF please include:

• a 3 page project narrative
• a 1 page bibliography
• a 2 page CV
• appendices
• the names and contact information for two references.

You will upload the completed application in one PDF through the online submission form.

For additional information, please see the NEH summer stipend website.

ALL faculty doing research in the Humanities are encouraged to apply. The awards are not restricted to faculty in the College of Humanities and Sciences.

Brief Summary and Statistics on NEH Summer Stipends

Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both.

Eligible projects usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials and publications, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources.

Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project for a period of two consecutive months.

Summer Stipends support projects at any stage of development.

Last year NEH funded 69 projects out of 838 applications nominated by universities, for a funding ration of 8.2%.