Grant Opportunities and Proposal Development in the Humanities Peter C. Mancall Professor of History

The Program (part one) Identify funding sources Download and follow application directions Craft a convincing narrative: never exceed max length Amend narrative to specific cfp Tell why you are the person to fund for this project Devise a schedule for the work Create a reasonable budget Choose referees wisely Send in application before the deadline

The Program (part two) Decision time! –Proposal funded: celebrate and negotiate –Proposal rejected: go to next step

The Program (part three) Request written responses (from NEH) Rewrite proposal taking account of critiques Reapply (repeat steps one through seven) Celebrate award!

Rules to remember (round one) Proposals will be read by scholars who are not necessarily specialists in your field Proposals will be rejected by readers who cannot follow them Use the opening statement to express your main idea Specify your contribution to your field Narratives must demonstrate competence and the ability to finish the proposed work Avoid technical jargon Avoid passive constructions Use bibliography to reveal depth of knowledge Check the accuracy of the c.v.

Rules to remember (round two) Everyone gets rejected; everyone should reapply Money follows money Small grants lead to larger grants Short-term grants can lead to long-term grants Grants make people happy –(People = You, your chair, your dean, your associate vice provost for research advancement, your university)

Deadlines to remember NEH Fellowship: May 1 Guggenheim Fellowship: September 15 ACLS Fellowship: October 1 Fulbright Fellowship: –May 1 (distinguished chairs) –August 1 (lecturing/research)

Residential and USC Opportunities Center for Advanced Studies in the Visual Arts (National Gallery of Art): October 1 Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study (Harvard): October 1 (?) American Philosophical Society (sabbatical fellowship): October 15 National Humanities Center: October 15 Stanford Humanities Center: October 15 Folger Shakespeare Library: November 1 Getty Research Institute: November 1 American Association of University Women: November 15 Institute for Advanced Study (Princeton): November 15 Huntington Library: December 15 Newberry Library: January 10 John Carter Brown Library: January 10 American Antiquarian Society: January 15 Smithsonian Institution: January 15 Kress Foundation (curatorial fellowship): March 1 USC opportunities –Advancing Scholarship in the Humanities and Social Sciences: January 15 –Zumberge: January 15

The Pledge I _____________ (your name here) do hereby promise to apply for a fellowship for university professors from the National Endowment for the Humanities in 2008.