SBS Faculty Awards & Grants
The College of Social and Behavioral Sciences offers a number of awards and grants to celebrate and support our staff.
SBS Dean's Service Award
The Dean's Service Award is given by the Dean to a faculty or staff member in recognition of exceptional and extraordinary service, as well as a commitment to supporting the College's goals and mission.
SBS Outstanding Advising Award
Application Deadline: March 22, 2024
The SBS Outstanding Advising Award was instituted in 2021 to recognize outstanding contributions to the SBS advising program and student success mission. Recipients receive a $1000 award and a plaque. Up to two awards will be granted each year.
Members of the SBS Advising Network whose work involves academic or career and professional advising, or directly enhances the quality of SBS advising and our SBS Pathways model are eligible for nomination. Nominees must have been members of the SBS Advising Network for at least two years at the time of the nomination. Those who have received the Outstanding Advising Award within the past five years are not eligible. The Outstanding Advising Award selection committee is comprised of the Senior Associate Dean for Education and Student Development (committee chair), plus two past award recipients and one undergraduate peer advisor or intern.
See Full Criteria & Nominate Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Outstanding Mentor Award
Application Deadline: March 22, 2024
The SBS Outstanding Mentor Award recognizes and encourages faculty who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to mentorship of students. The intent of the award is to celebrate faculty who have effectively guided students at UMass individually or more broadly through the creation of mentoring communities or building infrastructure for the mentorship of graduate students and/or undergraduate students. Award recipients will receive an award of $1,000 and a plaque. One award will be made each year.
Nominees must be faculty members at any stage of their career who fit the criteria described above. Nominators may recognize the many forms that mentorship can take. Some examples of mentorship include:
- Creating a respectful and supportive environment to help mentees move forward in their career, scholarship, and/or teaching goals.
- Helping mentees take full advantage of institutional, academic and professional opportunities.
- Embracing a philosophy of diversity and inclusion inside academia and a commitment to integrating mentees into the broader culture of the discipline.
- Demonstrating leadership and initiative at the program level to improve mentorship access and quality for mentees. Facilitating a mentorship community, whether formal or informal, that enhances or expands mentorship opportunities.
See Full Criteria & Nominate Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Outstanding Research Award
Application Deadline: March 22, 2024
The SBS Outstanding Research Award was introduced in the spring of 2016 and recognizes distinguished achievement in scholarship and research. Award recipients will receive an award of $1,000 and a plaque.
Tenure line faculty at all ranks are eligible for the award. Self-nominations are welcome, as well as nominations from faculty peers, Departmental Personnel Committees, and Department Chairs. The types of achievement envisioned should be within the last five years and include:
- The winning of a prestigious prize.
- Receipt of distinguished awards from one's peers.
- Receipt of a major grant.
- Noteworthy publications in the field.
See Full Criteria & Nominate Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Outstanding Teaching Award
Application Deadline: February 16, 2024
The SBS Outstanding Teaching Award was instituted in 1995 to augment the University Distinguished Teaching Award by recognizing a larger number of talented teachers within SBS. Candidates for the SBS Outstanding Teaching Award are nominated by their peers and selected by the SBS Outstanding Teaching Award Committee, which is comprised of past award recipients and a student, and is chaired by the Senior Associate Dean for Education and Student Development.
Each program in the college is invited to nominate one candidate for this award. The nominations are made by department personnel committees and/or department chairs. Any full-time faculty member who has been a member of SBS for a minimum of three years has who has taught at least two semesters before being nominated is eligible.
The programs are:
- Anthropology
- Communication
- Economics
- Journalism
- Landscape Architecture
- Legal Studies
- Managerial Economics
- Political Science
- Resource Economics
- Public Policy
- Social Thought and Political Economy
- Sociology
- Sustainable Community Development
See Full Criteria & Nominate Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Associate Professor Research Leave Grant
Application Deadline: October 20, 2023
These grants are open to full-time tenure system SBS Associate Professors and are intended to promote the development and sustenance of research that will lead to promotion to Professor and continued scholarly achievement. Preference will be given to faculty who have been at the rank of Associate Professor for five or more years and to those whose progress towards promotion has been constrained by significant service obligations.
We anticipate up to two grants being awarded annually. Ideally, this grant will be attached to a one-semester sabbatical, effectively providing the recipient with a full year's leave and limiting the service burden on the department. Each grant recipient will receive:
- A semester-long release from teaching, with departments compensated by the college.
- Departmental and college service leave for one semester.
- A research stipend up to $3,500.
See Full Criteria & Apply Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Non-Tenure System Faculty Professional Development Grant
Application Deadline: October 20, 2023
These grants are open to full-time faculty outside the tenure system and are intended to recognize past achievements in teaching, advising, leadership, and service, and provide opportunities to further enhance success in these areas.
We anticipate at least eight grants per year, of up to $1,000 each from SBS. This grant is expected to be matched 1:1 by departments, for a total maximum grant of $2,000 per person. The grants can be used for conference attendance, curriculum development, research related to teaching or advising, and other responsibilities related to the faculty member's position.
See Full Criteria & Apply Now >
See Past Recipients >
SBS Faculty Grants
In order to support the growth of the diverse and excellent faculty research in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, the Dean's Research Council offers the following grants each year:
Research Support Grants (Application Deadline October 20, 2023)
Research Support Grants are intended for generating new research activity. Up to $7,000 per Principal Investigator. Up to $14,000 with two PIs from SBS. Some of these are now donor-funded and we might request a brief thank you letter or email to the donor. Faculty should review the Research Support Grant details prior to applying.
Conference and Visitor Grants (Application Deadline October 20, 2023)
Conference and Visitor Grants are intended for bringing a speaker or colleague to campus or to host a conference or workshop on campus. Up to $1,500 support with matching from other sources. Please indicate the sources of the matching funds. Faculty should review the Conference and Visitor Grant details prior to applying.
Grant-Writing Fellowship
Please note that applications for the Institute for Social Science Research Scholars Program (a course reduction for year-long proposal preparation seminar) are solicited once per year under a separate call during the spring semester. For more info, contact jkamilar [at] umass [dot] edu (Jason Kamilar), Director of the Institute for Social Science Research (ISSR).
Rapid Response Grants
For research activities requiring rapid response, requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis by the Senior Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development in consultation with the Dean's Research Council. A case must be made for the urgency of the application, explaining why the fall and spring deadlines are inapplicable.
The quality of faculty research proposals is high and the funds are limited, making it a competitive funding process. A strong preference is given to generating a new research project or a new direction within an existing project. Priority in most cases is given to those new projects that are likely to lead to external foundation or government funding; however, SBS has smaller grants to support high-quality, meritorious research for which opportunities for extramural funding are limited.
All ranks of tenure track faculty and lecturers whose major responsibilities include research are eligible to apply to both categories. If you have any questions, please contact Jennifer Lundquist, Senior Associate Dean of Research and Faculty Development.
For assistance in preparing your budget, including information about RA costs, please contact bonniesmith [at] umass [dot] edu (Katie Smith) or Carrie Morrison Penland. Questions about SBS Faculty Grants submission process, please contact sdepaula [at] umass [dot] edu (Saulo DePaula).
