ISLA Humanities Fellowships

Eligibility Restrictions

• Fellows must be tenured or tenure-track faculty with a primary appointment in the College of Arts and Letters.
• Applicants must also apply to one external fellowship for their proposed year of leave. Applicants should work with research administrators to make sure this external application is documented in Cayuse, the university’s internal record system. If their external application is successful, faculty will no longer be eligible for an ISLA Humanities Fellowship.
• Applicants must propose a research project grounded in the humanities (see FAQ below for more details). They need not be appointed in a program or department classified within the humanities division of the College.
• Faculty may not apply during the year of their tenure review.

Fellows must meet all other eligibility requirements for research leave as outlined in the College of Arts and Letters Research Leave Policy and have their application approved by both their department chair and the divisional associate dean.

Application Instructions

Timeline

• ISLA will begin accepting applications in November 2024.
• All application materials must be submitted to ISLA via Submittable by 11:59 p.m. Eastern on February 1, 2025.
• All applicants will be notified of their status by mid-March 2025.

Applications will be evaluated based on the following criteria:

1. the scholarly rigor of the proposed project
2. the clarity and organization of the proposal
3. the likely impact that the proposed project will have for humanities scholarship, the wider public, or both
4. the scholarly record and/or promise of the applicant

Application Requirements:

• An application form is available through Submittable.
• An indication of support from the applicant’s department chair requested through Submittable.
• A 250-word abstract that outlines your project's primary goals and planned contribution.
• A proposal (2000 words max.) that includes 1) the primary goals of your project; 2) your sources and methods and how they will help you achieve the goals of the project; 3) the specific contributions your project will make to scholarship, society, or both; and 4) what you plan to accomplish during the fellowship period.
• A current CV.
• Two external letters of recommendation. These letters must come from researchers unaffiliated with the University of Notre Dame and must be uploaded to Submittable no later than 48 hours after the application deadline.

All applicants are encouraged to contact Josh Tychonievich, Associate Director for Research Development, with questions and for help with proposal development.

Frequently Asked Questions

What counts as humanities?

The Institute follows the definition of the humanities used by the NEH and outlined in the 1965 National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act, which states:

"The term 'humanities' includes, but is not limited to, the study and interpretation of the following: language, both modern and classical; linguistics; literature; history; jurisprudence; philosophy; archaeology; comparative religion; ethics; the history, criticism and theory of the arts; those aspects of the social sciences which have humanistic content and employ humanistic methods; and the study and application of the humanities to the human environment with particular attention to reflecting our diverse heritage, traditions, and history and to the relevance of the humanities to the current conditions of national life."

Faculty in any department in the College of Arts and Letters are eligible to apply provided they propose a project that uses interpretive methods and engages the fields listed in the definition above. Applicants should make clear in their application materials how their project employs humanistic methods and advances humanistic scholarship.

Are TPAC faculty eligible to apply?

No. Only tenured or tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply for ISLA Humanities Fellowships. TPAC faculty are eligible for most other Institute grants.

I am working on a research project with a collaborator who is also a faculty member in the College of Arts and Letters. Can we both receive fellowships?

Collaborative projects are eligible for support but fellowships are awarded to individual researchers. Provided all other eligibility requirements are met, you and your collaborator may both apply separately for fellowships. One, both, or neither of you may be awarded fellowships, depending on the outcome of the review process.

I was supported by a premium external fellowship the year before last. Am I eligible for this fellowship?

No. Per the College of Arts and Letters Research Leave Policy, faculty must teach four consecutive semesters since their previous leave before being eligible for another leave. That policy applies to this fellowship. In most cases, faculty awarded an ISLA fellowship will be required to teach at least four consecutive semesters after their fellowship to be eligible for an externally funded leave.

I have taught for the past four semesters but I am not yet eligible for a scheduled leave. Can I apply for this fellowship?

Yes. If you have taught at least four consecutive semesters since your last leave you are eligible to apply for this fellowship. Note that this fellowship will award just one semester of leave.

If I am eligible for a scheduled semester of leave at full salary, may I combine an ISLA Humanities Fellowship with this scheduled leave to receive a full year of leave at full salary?

Yes, provided that you meet all other requirements as outlined in the College of Arts and Letters Research Leave Policy and have approval from your department chair and the divisional associate dean.