The National Endowment for the Humanities invites two-year colleges to apply in a special Challenge Grant competition to strengthen their long-term humanities programs and resources. Two-year colleges are major educational assets that have too often been overlooked, even though over half of students in post-secondary education attend two-year institutions. The humanities can and should play a vital role in community colleges.[1] The perspectives of history, philosophy, and literature can enrich the educational experience of students attending two-year colleges, deepening their understanding of questions related to differences among cultures, as manifested in diverse understandings of citizenship, politics, and ethics. NEH seeks to encourage two-year colleges to develop models of excellence that enhance the role of the humanities on their campuses. The goals of this initiative are
- to enable two-year colleges to strengthen programs in the humanities, especially the study of the world’s many cultures and civilizations;
- to support model humanities curricula at two-year colleges that may be replicated at other institutions; and
- to encourage two-year colleges to broaden the base of financial support for the humanities.
[1] The terms “two-year college” and “community college” are used interchangeably for the purposes of this special initiative.
Program Statistics
In its first two competitions the Challenge Grants for Two-Year Colleges program received an average of 34 applications per year. The program made an average of six awards per year, for a funding ratio of 18 percent.
Questions?
Contact the staff of NEH’s Office of Challenge Grants at 202-606-8309 or at challenge@neh.gov [1]. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.