For Faculty

Alexandra Minna Stern, dean of the UCLA College Division of Humanities, welcomes proposals for support from the Dean’s Discretionary Fund for AY 24-25.

Please note that applications may be submitted during the fall, winter and spring quarters.

Priority is given to proposals that contain one or both of the following criteria:

1. Research funding requests from faculty members who do not already have a general-purpose research fund available to them.
2. Funding requests for conferences or seminars to be held at UCLA, which will benefit many Humanities faculty members and students.

Given that the available funds are limited, the majority of awards are given out in the range of $500 to $1,500, although in exceptional cases larger awards will be made if it is established that several faculty members will benefit. In the case of conference support, the proposal needs to demonstrate that the conference organizers will seek funding from other sources in addition to the Humanities Division.

To apply

To request support, please note the application deadlines below. Submissions must include:

1. A description of the project for which you are requesting support (conference, seminar, etc.), including a brief statement making a case for the intellectual merits of the project.
2. An itemization of the budget that also details funding requests to all other sources, including the Academic Senate, with information on whether funding has been received.
3. In the case of a workshop or conference, an estimate of the likely number of attendees, and/or a statement of how the event will benefit other faculty members and students at UCLA (with particular reference to Humanities scholars).

Applicants should submit funding requests for their project long enough in advance to allow for ample time for a funding decision prior to the project’s own deadline.

Application deadlines for 2024-25

The UCLA College of Letters & Science has an exchange agreement with the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa, Italy, whereby one UCLA faculty member or graduate student is invited to participate in a research exchange with the Scuola Normale Superiore each academic year in order to encourage professional development in the areas of the Humanities, Social Sciences and Physical Sciences. This exchange allows for one visiting scholar to visit the Scuola Normale Superiore in Pisa for one to three months.

The next exchange is planned for spring/summer 2025, with exact dates to be set by the faculty or graduate student recipient in coordination with the Scuola Normale Superiore (SNS). The home institution provides roundtrip airfare and $2,000 per month for living expenses for up to three months.

Previous recipients of this exchange award proposed research at SNS on a wide range of topics, including the study of long-distance trade in the Mediterranean World, coding within the field of cosmology, and archival work on the first printed gazettes in the early Italian novella.  

Funding amount

Roundtrip airfare and $2,000 per month for three months’ living expenses

Deadline

December 13, 2024

To apply

Applications should be submitted directly to Aaron Hodgdon (ahodgdon@college.ucla.edu) and should include:

• CV
• 2-page (maximum) description of the proposed research that will be conducted during exchange
• Brief endorsement by the department chair (for faculty applications) or by the dissertation director or other suitable faculty mentor (for graduate student applications)

The Center for the Study of Women | Barbra Streisand Center invites you to apply for funding to support self-organized writing retreats for UCLA faculty. Applicants must be willing to schedule the retreat for winter or spring 2025. If you need staff support, please reach out to your department staff to confirm their availability before submitting this application. This grant is made possible by the generous support of our cosponsors, the Division of Humanities, Division of Social Sciences and Herb Alpert School of Music.

Grant amounts

Between $300 and $2,000

Deadline

November 22, 2024 at 11:59 p.m. PST

Criteria

Applicants must be UCLA senate faculty or non-senate faculty (with an active UCLA appointment during AY24-25). All others may inquire about eligibility (email rosa@women.ucla.edu).

Recipients of the grant must agree to the following

• Execute the writing retreat by June 30, 2025
• Acknowledge CSW | Streisand Center, Division of Humanities, Division of Social Sciences and School of Music in any marketing materials
• Submit a brief (1 to 2 paragraphs) post-retreat report detailing number of participants, (projected) outcome, etc.

To apply

The application requires the following materials:

1. Completed form

2. Itemized budget (use the budget template at this link)

The intent of this annual grant opportunity is to provide seed funding for substantive endeavors for senate faculty that hold a full or partial appointment within the Division of Humanities. Grants will generally be in the range of $10,000 to $30,000, renewable for up to 2 additional years, based on the scope of the project and its potential for scholarly and/or public impact. Collaborative projects with other Humanities faculty are welcome. Typical number of awards is 3 to 4 grants per year. 

Guidelines

Proposals can encompass one or more of the following areas:

1. A research project that carries unique expenses beyond typical archival or field work (example: requires software/equipment).
2. A project in the area of pedagogical innovation.
3. A community-engaged project.

Deadline

April 25, 2025

To apply

To request support for the upcoming academic year, please forward the following materials to Aaron Hodgdon at ahodgdon@college.ucla.edu:

1. Two-page (maximum) description of the support you are requesting, including a brief statement making a case for the intellectual merits of the project, and its potential scholarly and/or public impact. 
2. Itemization of the budget that also details funding requests to all other sources, if applicable, with information on whether funding has been received. Grants do not provide course releases or summer payments (i.e., 9ths). Grant expenses may include travel, supplies, RA-ships, part-time staffing support, licenses, and/or software and equipment.

Existing research account balances will be taken into account in selecting proposals. Faculty who are successful in obtaining a small grant award may not apply for funding again for a period of at least three years and will be asked to submit a brief progress report at the end of the grant period.

The intent of this annual funding opportunity is to provide funding to support professional development and pedagogical work for non-Senate academic appointees (specifically, unit 18 lecturers, adjunct faculty and academic coordinators/administrators) in the Humanities Division.

Grants will generally be in the range of $2,000 to $10,000, renewable for up to two additional years, based on the scope of the activity. The division intends to award two or three such grants per year. 

Guidelines

Proposals may encompass one or both of the following areas:

• Travel and registration fees, within allowable limits, to a professional development conference or workshop.
• Supplies, software and equipment to support pedagogical and curricular innovation.

Deadline

April 25, 2025

To apply

To request support for the upcoming academic year, send the following materials to Aaron Hodgdon at ahodgdon@college.ucla.edu:

1. One-page description of the support you are requesting, including a brief statement outlining how funds will support your professional development.
2. Itemized budget that also details funding requests to all other sources, if applicable, with information on whether funding has been received. The budget may not include course release or compensation. Funds are provided in support of professional growth as elected by the applicant and do not entail added work for the university. For unit-18 lecturers, the itemization should include plans for use of any non-Senate faculty professional development grant funds awarded by the Chancellor’s Office, to ensure that funding is not duplicated.
3. Letter from the applicant’s department chair/program director confirming their support for the proposal.

The National Endowment for the Humanities’ Scholarly Editions and Translations program provides grants to organizations to support collaborative teams who are editing, annotating, and translating foundational humanities texts that are vital to generating new scholarship but are inaccessible or only available in inadequate editions or translations. Works from any humanities field may be the subject of an edition. Since the program’s inception in 1966, the NEH has funded editions and translations of some of the most significant historical, literary, philosophical, and music texts.

The program supports continuous full-time or part-time activities during the period of performance of one to three years. Typical project expenses include salary for editorial and research activities, travel to collections to verify source material, and consultant fees for translation, editorial work, and the implementation of a digital edition.

Editions and translations may be print, digital or a combination of both, but all editions and translations must contain additional and new scholarly material such as introductions, annotations and critical apparatus. The Scholarly Editions and Translations program includes two funding levels: Planning and Implementation.

Maximum award amount: $300,000 in outright funds; up to $450,000 may be available if requesting at least $150,000 in matching funds.

Expected output: Annotated edition, annotated translation, digital edition, print volume.

Period of performance: One to three years.

Optional application draft due: September 30, 2024

Deadline: December 4, 2024

Expected notification date: August 31, 2025

Project start date: October 1, 2025 – September 1, 2026

For more information and to apply, visit the NEH website.

The National Endowment for the Arts supports projects for the translation of specific works of prose, poetry, or drama from other languages into English through fellowships to published translators.

The work to be translated should be of interest for its literary excellence and merit. We encourage translation projects that feature languages, perspectives, and writers that are not well represented in English, as well as work that has not previously been translated into English.

The NEA is committed to diversity, equity, inclusion, and fostering mutual support for the diverse beliefs and values of all individuals and groups. Individual U.S. citizens or permanent residents of the U.S. who meet specific publication requirements are eligible to apply. An individual may submit only one application for FY 2026 Literature Fellowships funding.

Grant amounts range from $10,000 to $25,000.

For more information and to apply, visit the NEA website.