— Investing in the Future of Humanities at UC Riverside —

The Mellon Humanities Grant at the UCR Center for Ideas and Society seeks to enrich research and collegiality in the humanities at the University of California, Riverside by supporting the development and promotion of humanities-related projects of the highest merit and significance.

The grant offers release from teaching for one academic year and comprises two categories of award: Mellon Term Professorships and Mellon Second Project Fellowships. Depending on eligibility, candidates may apply for one or the other but not both.

Note: The grant does not support projects in creative writing, fine arts or performance, or projects that are primarily quantitative or experimental in scope.

Mellon Term Professorships in Residence

Deadline: February 27, 2023
What: 4 course releases over one academic year plus $2850 in research funds
Award period: July 1, 2023- June 30, 2024

The Center for Ideas and Society invites applications from Associate and Full Professors in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences for a year’s release from teaching to pursue a humanities-related project.

Mellon Term Professors occupy offices at the Center for Ideas and Society and meet monthly to discuss on-going work. They receive funds to offset four (4) course releases (over one academic year) as well as $2850 in research monies to be used for manuscript preparation, research assistance, subvention requests and/or travel to conferences and short-term visits to research sites or other universities. Some portion of these funds may also be used for a manuscript workshop in which invited external scholars comment on the Mellon Professor’s work in progress.

Applicants must provide evidence of having applied for at least one external award granting course releases for the same period of time as the Mellon grant. (Eligible NEH applications are those that were due in April, 2022 for fellowships to be held for the full 2023-24 academic year.)

Mellon Term Professors are in residence at the Center for Ideas and Society and receive funds to offset four (4) course releases (over one academic year) as well as $2850 in research monies to be used for manuscript preparation, research assistance, subvention requests and/or travel to conferences and short-term visits to research sites or other universities.

Mellon Second-Project Fellowships in Residence

Deadline: February 27, 2023
What: 4 course releases over one academic year plus $2850 in research funds
Award period: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2024

The Center for Ideas and Society invites applications from Assistant and Associate Professors in the College of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences for a year’s release from teaching to pursue work on their second humanities-related project after completing their first (usually related to tenure.)

Mellon Second Project Fellows occupy offices at the Center for Ideas and Society and meet monthly to discuss on-going work. They receive funds to offset four (4) course releases (over one academic year) as well as $2850 in research monies to be used for manuscript preparation, research assistance, subvention requests and/or travel to conferences and short-term visits to research sites or other universities. Some portion of these funds may also be used for a manuscript workshop in which invited external scholars comment on a Fellow’s work in progress.

Applicants must provide evidence of having applied for at least one external award granting course releases for the same period of time as the Mellon grant. (Eligible NEH applications are those that were due in April, 2022 for fellowships to be held for the full 2023-24 academic year.)

Submit the online application form and all required documentation by 11:59 PM on the deadline. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.

Online application form

The online application will require:

  1. Project title and abstract (250-word limit)
  2. Project proposal and timeline (no more than three pages, single spaced, in Times New Roman 12-point font)
  3. Evidence of having also applied for at least one externally funded grant that involves a release from all teaching during the whole of the 2023-24 academic year. (Eligible NEH applications are those for fellowships to be held for the full 2023-24 academic year.)
  4. Project Bibliography (no more than two pages)
  5. CV/Publications list (no more than two pages), with 3 most significant publications highlighted
  6. List of recent fellowships and research funding you have received from external sources, UCR and/or CIS within the last 3 years
  7. Mellon Second-Project applicants ONLY: Evidence of having completed a first research project and of making some progress on a second research project in the form of drafts of the project, publications and/or papers given.

Letters of reference must be submitted by the writers to cis@ucr.edu (in PDF format only.) The email subject line should read: Mellon Faculty Fellowships/applicant’s name.

A total of THREE letters are required:

  • Two letters of reference (at least one of which should be from a non-UCR source) should address the significance of the proposed research to the applicant’s field, to the department or college, and to the future of humanities at UC Riverside. Letters should also assess the applicant’s ability to complete the project as proposed.
  • An additional letter from the chair of the applicant’s home department should address the quality and impact of the project and indicate approval of the teaching releases.

The Center for Ideas and Society’s Advisory Committee will evaluate all eligible proposals on the following criteria:

  • The importance of the questions, issues, or problems the project seeks to address
  • The capacity of the project to enhance or develop insights into or an understanding of these questions, issues, or problems
  • The extent to which the project has appropriately taken account of existing research and scholarship
  • The appropriateness, effectiveness, and feasibility of the proposed approach or research methods
  • Candidate’s academic record and accomplishments
  • The ability of the applicant to complete or significantly advance the project
  • The feasibility of the timetable and milestones
  • The appropriateness and effectiveness of the proposed dissemination methods

Awards are processed by the Center for Ideas and Society with support from the CHASS Contracts and Grants Office.

In order to facilitate fellowship and community, awardees are expected to maintain a substantial presence at the Center – typically at least three days a week. The Center also asks fellows to contribute to its scholarly community by attending Center events, providing feedback on peer work at monthly lunches and serving as occasional interlocutors with Center speakers, guests and Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellows.

Grantees must submit a final report at the end of their residencies and keep the Center apprised of publications that result from the award. When acknowledging the award in future publications, please acknowledge the support of the UCR Center for Ideas and Society and The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Investments in Humanities Faculty Grant.

For questions, please contact Katharine Henshaw, Executive Director, at katharine.henshaw@ucr.edu.

Learn more about current and past fellows’ research on our Fellows page.

Sponsored by a grant from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and the Center for Ideas and Society.