HFA Awards & Fellowships
This new initiative is designed to recognize and reward outstanding faculty contributions in research, teaching, and creative activity in HFA. The new fellowships are as follows:
- HFA Dean’s Outstanding Early Career Fellow
- HFA Dean’s Outstanding Midcareer Fellow
- HFA Dean’s Outstanding Fellow
- HFA Dean’s Outstanding Teaching Fellow
Each fellowship includes $8,000 in research/professional development support for the three-year duration of the fellowship. After three years, financial support will end, but winners of this honor will retain the title of HFA Dean’s Fellow until an award like Provost Professor or Distinguished Professor supersedes it.
HFA Faculty Research and Creative Activity Award
Three awards of $1,000 are made annually to recognize junior, mid-career, and senior HFA faculty for their outstanding contributions in scholarship, performance, or creative activity. Recipients are recognized at the end-of-year ceremony.
HFA Global Engagement Award
This recognition annually awards $1,000 to a faculty member who has expanded their work beyond the habitual reach of the University and established global partnerships through research, community engagement, or teaching. The recipient is recognized at an end-of-year ceremony.
Joye Bowman Social Justice Award
This award recognizes members of the HFA community — faculty, staff, and students — who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to advancing equity, justice, and service to the College. Recipients will have a proven record of sustained impact on the College in the realms of leadership, teaching, scholarship and/or outreach. Each awardee will receive a $500 cash award.
HFA Outstanding Staff Award
This award recognizes two administrative, financial, human resources, communications, research and faculty support, and advising and student support staff for outstanding contributions to their department or College. Each awardee will receive a $500 cash award. Contact Randy Grzych, rrgrzych [at] admin [dot] umass [dot] edu, for more information.
HFA Outstanding Graduate Student Award
This award recognizes graduate students for exceptional research, creative activity, or performance. Up to two awards of $500 will be made annually. Recipients will be recognized at the end-of-year HFA Awards and Recognition Ceremony.
Nominations must be submitted by the student’s Graduate Program Director (GPD) and are due on Monday, March 9, 2026. Nominations submitted by respondents other than the nominee’s GPD will not be considered.
If you do not see the opportunity that you are looking for here, please see campus-level funding, awards, and fellowships.