NEH Awards for Faculty Acceptance Instructions and Form

You must accept or decline the offer of a 2018-2019 NEH Award for Faculty no later than February 16, 2018.  To accept the award, please complete, print, manually sign, and return the acceptance form  to the NEH Awards for Faculty Program by either scanning and e-mailing it to @email or faxing it to (202) 606-8204 by this deadline.

Instructions for Completing the Acceptance Form

The acceptance form is used to accept an NEH Award for Faculty and to indicate the exact dates of your award term.  You should retain a copy of the completed form for your records and notify the program whenever you make modifications to the arrangements agreed to by NEH as per the terms and conditions of this award. 

The acceptance form must include the following information:

1.  Application Number:  Your application number, a combination of a two-letter prefix (HB) plus six digits, can be found on your offer letter.

2.   Name

3.  Social Security Number

4.   Mailing Address, Home and Office Phone Numbers, and E-Mail Address

5.   Award for Faculty Tenure Period:  Your Award for Faculty term must be continuous, that is, no breaks from work on the project are allowable for the duration of your award term.  Awards may be held full time, part time, or a combination of the two.  Part-time study is defined as any amount of release time between half time and full time.  In any case, you must complete your award term within two years of the start date you choose.

The acceptance form includes a worksheet for plotting your award term.  Be sure to account for the entire term you have selected.  Periods should be listed chronologically.  This information will be used to establish a payment schedule for your entire term, so accuracy is important.

Indicate the month and year in which you will begin your Award for Faculty term and the month and year in which you will end your term.  Please note that your Award for Faculty term must begin on the first day of your chosen first month and end on the last day of your chosen final month.  Be certain of the term dates you enter on the acceptance form so that no changes will be required later.

You may start any month during the 21-month window from January 2018 through September 2019.  While the term dates you provide on the acceptance form may differ from the dates you originally requested in your application, you may not increase the number of full-time-equivalent months beyond your original request. You may, however, decrease them, with a corresponding reduction in the amount of the award.

Example: You could combine half- and full-time work to design an Award for Faculty term for the equivalent of 12 full-time months over the course of 20 months from January 2018 through August 2019 as follows:

–January 2018 through June 2018, teaching half time.  Total time on your NEH project: 6 months @ .5 commitment = 3 months full-time equivalent

–July 2018 through August 2018, no teaching.  Total time on your NEH project: 2 months @ 1.00 commitment = 2 months full-time.

–September 2018 through June 2019, teaching half time.  Total time on your NEH project: 10 months @ .5 commitment = 5 months full-time equivalent.

–July 2019 through August 2019, no teaching.  Total time on your NEH project: 2 months @ 1.00 commitment = 2 months full-time.

This term is equivalent to 12 full-time months.

Award for Faculty Grant Amount:  The final amount of the stipend is based on the following calculation:  For each full month of your term, NEH provides $4,200; part-time months are prorated based on your designated time commitment to the project during those months (e.g., half, three quarter, two thirds).

6.  How would you like the stipend paid?  All payments are made electronically by the U.S. Treasury Department and can be deposited either in your bank account or in your employing institution’s bank.  (Note that payments cannot be sent to foreign addresses or deposited in non-U.S. banks.) Please indicate on the acceptance form the payment option you prefer.  Please choose only one.

Awards for Faculty are paid in installments and prorated according to the term length.  Typically, the first payment is made at the beginning of the term period and subsequent payments are made every third month through the fellowship term.  The payment schedule and amounts for your particular award will be provided with the letter officially making the award.

Benefit Coverage: Some institutions are willing to continue paying healthcare and other benefits if grant payments are made through them.  Please consult with your institution about this option.  

Unspent Award Funds: If payment is made through your institution, institutions are authorized to return any unspent award funds to the fellowship recipient at the end of the award period to cover additional costs not administered through the institution.

BANK ACCOUNT INFORMATION: The acceptance form does NOT request banking information for direct deposit of your award payments.  Once NEH receives your completed and signed acceptance form, you will be sent two official award documents by e-mail: an award letter and a payment schedule (called a Notice of Action).  The latter includes instructions for submitting your banking information to NEH.

7.  Do you need your first payment early?  You may receive your first payment 30 days before your term begins if, for example, you anticipate major travel expenses early in your term.  However, no payment can be made before January 1, 2018.

8.  Do you need a larger first payment?  If you have particularly high initial expenses, you may receive a larger first payment to cover them.

9.  Acceptance and Certification:  You must accept or decline the offer of a 2018-2019 NEH Award for Faculty no later than February 16, 2018.  To accept the award, please complete, sign, and return the NEH Awards for Faculty Acceptance Form to the NEH Awards for Faculty Program by either scanning and e-mailing it to @email or faxing it to (202) 606-8204 by this deadline.