Fellowship Guidelines
Faculty Fellowship Awards
Applications are invited from U of I faculty members for selection as IPRH Faculty Fellows for the 2010-11 academic year. The fellowship will provide release time for one semester in residence to enable Fellows to develop their research projects; to teach one course, at the undergraduate or graduate level, that is related to the fellowship project; and to participate in the year’s activities, including the yearlong interdisciplinary Fellows’ Seminar and other related programming. The IPRH is especially interested in fostering interdisciplinary work, and encourages the submission of joint applications from faculty members in different disciplines. (Please note that, for the 2010-11 year, the IPRH fellowship competition will not be guided by an annual theme; applications will be judged on the scholarly merit of the proposed research project.)
Each applicant should submit two (2) complete sets of the following materials, in this order:
- A completed IPRH application form, including 100-word abstract (the form can be downloaded here)
- A current curriculum vitae
- A statement of 2,000 words describing the faculty member’s research on the proposed project
- A description of the proposed course, including a tentative syllabus
The applicant should arrange for the IPRH to receive two (2) letters in support of the application, and a letter of support from the executive officer of the applicant’s primary department, attesting to the department’s willingness to release the applicant from all regular teaching duties other than thesis direction for one semester in 2010-11. (Executive officers of campus units who submit an application to the IPRH must include a letter from the dean of their college, approving the application and any release time that would result from a successful proposal.) Applicants should make certain that their teaching and research obligations do not prevent them from participating fully in IPRH activities, and should identify in the narrative statement any other applications being made for either sabbatical leave or for other campus or external grants and fellowships.
In the narrative statement, the applicant should describe his/her research in reasonable detail, explaining its significance to the broader scholarly community at the U of I and elsewhere. The statement should be prefaced by a project title and brief abstract (no more than 100 words). The statement should also indicate the applicant’s willingness to participate in IPRH activities, especially the Fellows’ Seminar.
Applications being made for joint projects should include all of the elements required of faculty applicants as described above, with the exception of the following: each applicant should complete a copy of the IPRH application form; the narrative statement should be 3,000 words and jointly authored to address both the collaborative nature of the project and the individual strengths brought to it by each applicant; and each applicant should arrange to have two support letters and the letters from their department’s executive officer sent to the IPRH. If the applicants intend to teach a joint course, then one course proposal and sample syllabus should be submitted; if each applicant plans to teach an individual course, then the applicants should submit two course proposals and syllabi.
All IPRH Fellows are expected to maintain residency on the U of I campus during the award year. Faculty members who have previously held an IPRH fellowship may not reapply to the IPRH for five years following the award year. Faculty members are likewise prohibited from holding IPRH fellowships and Center for Advanced Study, Center on Democracy in a Multiracial Society, or other campus release-time awards simultaneously. Only full-time tenured and tenure-track U of I faculty are eligible to apply for the awards.
Completed applications must be submitted, and letters of support must arrive, by 5:00 p.m. on Wednesday, December 2, 2009. Be sure that both sets of application materials are assembled and complete, and proofread all submissions carefully; changes or additions cannot be made after the application has been submitted to the IPRH. Send all materials to:
Illinois Program for Research in the Humanities
805 West Pennsylvania Avenue, MC-057
Urbana, Illinois 61801
Letters of support should be mailed to this address; sent via fax to (217) 333-9617; or e-mailed to Christine Catanzarite at catanzar@illinois.edu. IMPORTANT: Please submit letters in one format only: if a letter is sent by e-mail or fax, do not also send a hard copy.
All applications will be acknowledged shortly following the deadline. Please do not contact the IPRH about the status of a file; because of the volume of applications that the IPRH receives, we cannot answer individual questions about materials that have been sent.
For more information about the IPRH fellowship program, please contact Christine Catanzarite at 244-7913 or catanzar@illinois.edu. Awards will be announced on or about February 1, 2010.