Funding Opportunities and Awards

Grants and funding for research and creative activities are available from the Dean's Office from several programs that operate on a competitive basis. Applications to these college-based programs are accepted annually or bi-annually. Additionally, the University supports faculty research through several programs to which the college’s faculty members may apply. 

Faculty members in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts are also encouraged to seek external sources in the form of grants or fellowships that will offer direct funding of their research or creative activities.

 

Any full-time HFA faculty member at the college for three or more years may be nominated for the HFA College Outstanding Teacher Award. 

 

Conference Grants offer partial support for events to be held at UMass Amherst. To be eligible, applicants are required to secure funding from other sources. Grants of up to $3,000 will be made based on a 1 to 2 match, that is to say, a proposal that has a commitment in hand or has otherwise secured $1,500 in funding, would be eligible for up to $3,000 toward expenses from HFA.  

 

HFA faculty members have secured grants and fellowships from prestigious funding organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, the National Endowment for the Arts, the American Council of Learned Societies, the Ford Foundation, and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Recognizing the value and benefit of off-campus funding, the College of Humanities and Fine Arts is committed to helping faculty members identify potential funding sources and prepare competitive applications. Information and application »

Funds from the Lois E. Toko Lecture Series endowment support lecture series that bring women speakers to campus.  Awards shall be given on a rotating basis to two departments each year. 

 

 

The HFA Mid-Career Research Award was developed to help faculty members progress toward their promotion to Full Professor.  Award recipients will be provided with one semester's release from teaching responsibilities, department obligations, and college service. The award may be scheduled in conjunction with an approved sabbatical leave, thereby yielding a full year's leave. 

 

Supports ongoing research projects and creative activities.   Full-time tenure-track faculty and non-tenure track faculty on full-time continuous appointments in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts may apply. Funding may be for materials and expenses related to an upcoming or ongoing research project or a creative activity. 

 

The Provost and the Dean of the College of Humanities and Fine Arts support the Research Intensive Semester (RIS) program developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Society of Professors. (A description of the program and its eligibility requirements are in Appendix D of the MSP/MTA/NEA contract.) The program gives HFA departments the ability to offer tenure-track junior faculty members who meet the eligibility requirements a “research-intensive semester” during which they can focus on those projects critical to their upcoming tenure review. In this context, we use the word “research” to include a broad range of creative and scholarly work. 

 

 

Full-time tenure-track faculty and non-tenure track faculty on full-time continuous appointments in the College of Humanities and Fine Arts may seek support to present the results of their research, creative, and scholarly efforts at conferences, educational institutions, and professional meetings nationally and internationally. To encourage this activity, the College offers the Supplemental Research Presentation Program. 

 

 

HFA Subvention Grants offer partial support toward expenses incurred in the publication of single-authored scholarly books and monographs, the recording or performance of creative works, and the installation of artistic exhibits.

 

The University’s Office of Research and Engagement supports campus research and creative efforts with several grant and award programs. Information and application »