Research & Engagement: News, Opportunities, & Resources

Dean's Newsletter

News and Announcements

2025-2026 HFA Funding Cycle Opens 8/26/25!

Please see the HFA Funding Opportunities section below for more information.

New Faculty Orientation, Office of Faculty Development

August 28, 2025, 9:00 am - 3:00 pm ET, Marriott Center, Campus Center

New Faculty Orientation (NFO) introduces new faculty to campus and to the people, programs, and resources that support faculty at UMass Amherst. NFO also provides the opportunity for new faculty from across campus to connect with each other prior to the start of the fall semester.

HFA Proposal Assistance

All HFA faculty members who plan to apply for external funding in 2025-2026 are required to complete the College of Humanities and Fine Arts Proposal Assistance Request Form. The form is part of the campus' grant tracking/management system, Kuali and should be submitted prior to the funding deadline. Queries may be sent to Francis Lo, Grants and Contracts Coordinator, Institute for Social Science Research.

Important News from the Office of Research & Engagement

Starting August 1, 2025, UMass Amherst will require that all covered individuals (Principal Investigators, Co-Principal Investigators, Key Personnel, and other named individuals) complete research security training before a proposal is submitted to a federal agency. This requirement is in effect for both proposals when UMass Amherst is the prime recipient as well as when participating in a subaward or subcontract.

See Additional Resources below for information to successfully fund your research and creative activities.

HFA Funding Opportunities

Dean’s Office Contacts: Pari Riahi and Amy Fleig (except where noted)

Conference Grants

Conference grants offer partial support for locally held conferences and events. The grant may be up to $3,000 based on a 1:2 match, i.e. a proposal that has secured commitments of $1,500 is eligible for an award of up to $3,000. Applicants will typically be notified of a decision within one month after the application deadline. The application form is available on the Conference Grant web page on 8/26/25. The application deadline is 1/15/26.

Research Grants

HFA Research Grants support ongoing research projects and creative activities. Funding may be for materials and expenses related to a research project or a creative activity. Awards may not exceed $3,000 and must be applied towards the advancement of a specific project. Funding cannot be used as compensation for faculty time. The application form is available on the Research Grant web page on 8/26/25. The application deadline 1/15/26.

Subvention Grants

HFA Subvention Grants may provide up to $2,000 to offset expenses incurred in the publication of single-authored scholarly books and monographs, the recording of musical performances, and the installation of art exhibits. Other activities associated with the visual and performing arts may be eligible for subvention.  The application form is available on the Subvention Grant web page on 8/26/25. The application deadline is 1/31/26.

Faculty applying for the HFA Subvention Grant are encouraged to apply to ORE’s subvention program. The next ORE deadline is projected to be 2/11/26.

Supplemental Research Presentation Funds (SRPF)

The SRPF program is intended to offset the cost of conference travel in the current fiscal year for HFA faculty to present research or participate in a panel discussion. Eligibility guidelines and priority considerations are explained below.

The application form for the FY26 funding cycle (7/1/25-6/30/26) will be available on the HFA website on 8/25/25. This year’s application deadlines are as follows:

  • 10/1/25 for conferences 7/1/25-2/28/26
  • 3/1/26 for conferences 3/1/26-6/30/26

Faculty who presented before the application form is launched on 8/25/25, or within one week after its release, may submit their applications after their presentation. For all other presentations, applications must be submitted prior to travel. Proof of acceptance by conference organizers is not required at the time of application.

Research Intensive Semester (RIS)

Professional Development Fellowships support professional activities of select non-tenure-track faculty that directly relate to their job responsibilities and/or advance important initiatives for their department or college. NTT faculty apply in APWS by October 15, 2025. The Department Personnel Committee makes recommendations to dean on or before November 15, 2025. The Dean’s deadline to recommend the application in APWS is 12/15/25. Dean’s Office Contact: Anthony Tuck.

Lois E. Toko Guest Speaker Funding

Two departmental grants of up to $1,500 are made on an annual basis from the Lois E. Toko Lecture Series endowment to bring women speakers to campus. The funding is distributed to departments on a rotating basis:
2024-2025: Women, Gender, Sexuality Studies; Theater
2025-2026: Philosophy; Music & Dance
2026-2027: Languages, Literatures, and Cultures; Linguistics
2027-2028: Judaic & Near Eastern Studies; History
2028-2029: English; Classics
2029-2030: History of Art & Architecture; Art
2030-2031: Afro-American Studies; Architecture

Campus-Level Opportunities & Recognition

Listed below are campus-level opportunities with application or nomination deadlines in the fall.

Visit the Office of Faculty Development website for links to other campus- and system-level opportunities and resources:

MSP Research Support Fund

A Research Support Fund of $500,000 allows us to provide individual awards of up to $1,000 to bargaining unit members who are active in research and who do not have access to significant alternative funding, such as Research Trust Funds, gifts, external research grants, etc. The funds can also be used for reimbursement of eligible expenses that are expressly disallowed by their alternative funding sources. Apply by September 19, 2025 (applications open on 8/29/25)

Flex Grant

Flex grants of $500 are intended to support faculty professional development related to teaching. These grants are funded by the campus through the MSP contract and are available to faculty every year. Deadline and application procedure to be announced by the Center for Teaching & Learning in the fall.

Distinguished Professor

The title of Distinguished Professor is awarded by the UMass Amherst Board of Trustees to full professors who have demonstrated exceptional national or international achievements in research, teaching, and/or public service. Department chairs are invited to submit their nomination to the Dean’s Office, typically in early to mid-fall. The Dean selects one nomination to advance for consideration. If the nominee is approved by the Provost’s Office, the Dean’s Office will work with the candidate to assemble the full nomination file. Dean’s Office Contact: Anthony Tuck, atuck [at] classics [dot] umass [dot] edu (atuck[at]classics[dot]umass[dot]edu)

Samuel F. Conti Faculty Fellowship

Provides tenured professors with a unique opportunity to focus on their research or creative activities. Fellowships include a one-year release from teaching and service duties in addition to a cash award. Nomination packets, including self-nominations, must be submitted to the Dean of the candidate’s academic unit no later than Friday, December 5, 2025. HFA collects nominations using the HFA nomination form on the UMass InfoReady platform.  Individual colleges may specify additional internal deadlines or review procedures. Nominators are expected to work closely with the office of the VCRE to secure recommendation letters if necessary. Dean’s Office Contacts: Pari Riahi, priahi [at] umass [dot] edu (priahi[at]umass[dot]edu), and Amy Fleig, afleig [at] umass [dot] edu

Interdisciplinary Studies Institute Fellowships, 2025-2026

The ISI invites faculty, as well as undergraduate and graduate students from across the University, to apply for a year-long fellowship program centered on the city through the lens of indeterminacy. The shifting landscape of environmental, social, and political emergencies and complex geo-political formations and disintegrations have made indeterminacy a constant feature of urban environments. ISI Fellows will explore how their scholarship and creative practice intersect with broader social, cultural, technological, and disciplinary frameworks. The deadline to apply is September 17th, 2025.

Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence

The Lilly Fellowship for Teaching Excellence enables promising early-career faculty to cultivate teaching skills and leadership in a special yearlong collaboration. Each year, up to eight teaching fellows are selected to work closely with the Center for Teaching & Learning on individual projects that typically involve developing or redesigning a course. Department chairs may submit up to two nominations to Dean’s office. CTL typically announces the nomination deadline in the fall. Dean’s Office contacts: Nancy Noble, nnoble [at] arthist [dot] umass [dot] edu (nnoble[at]arthist[dot]umass[dot]edu) and Anthony Tuck, atuck [at] classics [dot] umass [dot] edu (atuck[at]classics[dot]umass[dot]edu)

NTT Professional Development Fellowships

Deadlines: NTT faculty apply in APWS by October 15, 2025. DPC makes recommendations to dean on or before November 15, 2025. The Dean’s deadline to recommend the application in APWS is 12/15/25. Dean’s Office Contact: Anthony Tuck, atuck [at] classics [dot] umass [dot] edu (atuck[at]classics[dot]umass[dot]edu)

External Opportunities

Federal Funding

Fulbright U.S. Scholar Program
See upcoming webinars to learn details about the program, awards in specific regions, countries or disciplines, and the application process. Also see UMass Office of Global Affairs for more information.

Private Grant Opportunities, UMass Foundation Relations

2025 ACLS Digital Justice Seed and Development Grant
The American Council of Learned Societies invites applications for the 2025 competition of the ACLS Digital Justice Grants Program. Generously funded by the Mellon Foundation, this program supports digital projects across the humanities and social sciences that critically engage with the interests and histories of people of color and other historically marginalized communities through the ethical use of digital tools and methods. The program offers two kinds of grants: Digital Justice Seed Grants for start-up projects, ranging from $10,000-$25,000 and Digital Justice Development Grants, ranging from $50,000-$100,000, for projects that have advanced beyond the proof-of-concept phase. The deadline for applications is November 20, 2025, 9:00 PM EST.

Society for American Music
John Koegel Latin American and Latinx Music Fellowship
Funder Deadline: 10/15 (Annual deadline)
Amount: Up to $2,000
Note: Applicants must be members in good standing of the Society for American Music.

National Humanities Center
2026-27 Fellowships Program
Funder Deadline: 10/02/2025
Amount: Unspecified
Focus: In addition to all fields of the humanities, the Center also accepts applications from scholars in the natural and social sciences, the arts, the professions, and public life who are engaged in humanistic projects.

The American Academy in Berlin
2026-27 Berlin Prize Fellowships
Funder Deadline: 09/22/2025
Amount: Monthly stipend of $5000, transportation, and accommodations
Focus: A broad range of disciplines in the humanities, social sciences, law, journalism, and various areas of public policy

Frankel Center for Judaic Studies, University of Michigan
Frankel Institute Fellowship
Funder Deadline: 11/02/2025
Amount: $62,000 (full academic year)
Focus: Tenured & untenured faculty and recent Ph.D.’s

American Institute for Conservation
Kress Conservation Fellowship Program
Funder Deadline: 01/22 (annual deadline)
Amount: $44,000
Emerging conservation professionals develop skills, hands-on experience, and confidence within a supervised environment.

MacDowell
MacDowell Fellowship
Funder Deadline: 09/10/2025 (for Spring Summer 2026)
Amount: Food and accommodation for 2-6 weeks.
Note: Need-based stipends and travel reimbursement grants are available by application.
Focus: Artists in architecture, film/video arts, interdisciplinary arts, literature, music composition, theatre, and visual arts

Limited Submissions

At UMass Amherst, the limited submission process begins with the completion of an internal application through UMass InfoReady. When a nominee is selected, the Office of Research and Engagement reaches out to explain the next steps in the submission process. As they do with all proposals bound for private foundations, UMass Foundation Relations assists nominees with refining the narrative portions of their applications and assembling the required elements of their proposals.

Carnegie Corporation of New York
Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program
Guidelines release: August
Funder Deadline: Early November
Amount: $200,000
Focus: Research in the social sciences and humanities that addresses important and enduring issues confronting our society

Additional Resources

Article posted in Dean's Newsletter for Faculty