Awards for Faculty at Tribal Colleges and Universities

The Awards for Faculty program seeks to strengthen the humanities at Tribal Colleges and Universities by encouraging and expanding humanities research opportunities for individual faculty and staff members. Awards support individuals pursuing humanities research that is of value to scholars, students, and/or general audiences. While the program welcomes proposals in all areas of the humanities, projects related to Indigenous knowledge that sustain and strengthen tribal languages and/or cultural traditions are especially encouraged.

Research pursuits can be centered at the applicant’s home institution, but may also involve activities at another institution, such as an independent research center or library.

This program offers flexibility in project types and award periods. Awards may support faculty research that engages undergraduate students at the affiliated institution or members of the local community. Common to all projects must be research on humanities topics, such as languages or literature, history, philosophy, or religion. Examples of eligible projects include:

• research related to tribal or institutional priorities, goals, or interests, such as projects that draw on cultural or institutional collections
• the development of materials in support of sustaining, preserving, and revitalizing culture or language
• research leading to the improvement of a single existing undergraduate or graduate course
• travel to and research in archival or cultural collections with significant holdings in the researcher’s area of expertise or in an area of tribal or institutional priority or interest
• research and preparation leading to the development of a humanities seminar for students at the affiliated institution and/or members of the local community. Humanities seminars must be prepared and led by an individual faculty or staff member and must engage participants with primary sources. Seminars should develop participants’ knowledge and skills with humanities research methodologies, such as the collecting of oral histories, Indigenous research methods, language or linguistic methods, and/or archival research.
• the development of books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, e-books, digital materials, translations with annotations or a critical apparatus, critical editions, or other scholarly resources
• research leading to digital or web-based products intended to supplement a course revision, humanities seminar, or publication project.

The program is open to all faculty and staff members, including full-time, part-time, adjunct, and retired faculty and staff at a TCU. Awards support individuals who work between half time and full time on their projects. Projects may be at any stage of development.

Check this page periodically for information on a webinar for the 2024 deadline.

Note about Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence

This grant program is one of ten NEH programs that are part of NEH’s Humanities Perspectives on Artificial Intelligence initiative, which is encouraging research on the ethical, legal, and societal implications of AI. To learn more about the initiative, please see our page about the AI initiative.

Watch a Recording of the Online Information Session

A live online information session was held on January 25, 2023. The session explained the goals of the program, the eligibility requirements, how applications are reviewed, application materials, and how to submit the application package. To watch a recording of the session, please click here. The main presentation is about forty minutes long, followed by Q&A.;