FACULTY FELLOWSHIP SUGGESTIONS
2010 - 2011
Fellowship Proposal Guidelines
The following suggestions are based on the experience of the Institute executive committee over the past several years. They reflect its knowledge that the differences separating successful from unsuccessful proposals are often very small.
AUDIENCE
Each proposal will be evaluated by the Institute director and members of the Institute for the Humanities Executive Committee, who come from a variety of disciplines . They take their collegial responsibilities seriously, and they avoid serving as advocates for proposals from their units. Although several members of the committee may know applicants by name or reputation, it is unlikely that more than one or two will have any genuine familiarity with an applicant’s work. Most members of the review committee will not be specialists in the field of any single applicant. For names of Executive Committee members, please see the Humanities Institute website: Executive Committee
SCHOLARLY CONTEXT
The committee will expect each proposal to provide a conceptual, historical, and/or methodological framework that explains the relationship of the project to existing scholarship in the field.
RESEARCH PLAN
The committee has funded projects both at their beginning and middle stages, although its predisposition has been toward projects in which investigators have already made significant intellectual investments and on which substantial work has been accomplished. The research plan should be detailed and feasible. The proposal narrative should be approximately 1,500 words in length. It should be accompanied by a bibliography, not to exceed one page.
QUALIFICATIONS
A CV alone cannot define an applicant’s qualifications to pursue the research proposed. A proposal should clarify the relationship of the project to the applicant’s training and scholarly career. If a project suggests a new scholarly direction, applicants should discuss the extent to which their work has prepared them to undertake the new project.
FORMER FELLOWS
Those faculty who have been Institute fellows are eligible to apply for a second fellowship five years after their former fellowship elapsed (2005-2006 or earlier). Those who have had two fellowships are eligible to reapply ten years after their last fellowship elapsed (2000-2001 or earlier). Earlier successful applications will be made available to the selection committee; applicants should indicate research and publications which have resulted from previous Institute Fellowships. An application for a subsequent fellowship must be for a new project.
LETTERS OF REFERENCE
Applicants must obtain three letters of reference from scholars outside of UIC in support of their projects. The most effective letters of reference show a detailed knowledge of the candidate’s past work and address directly both the importance of the proposed project and the candidate’s qualifications to pursue it. General praise, however glowing, is not very helpful to the committee.
SEEK ASSISTANCE
Applicants should take full advantage of the intellectual resources at UIC and elsewhere. It helps to develop a draft proposal in time for referees to offer substantive advice on the project as well as support. Colleagues both within and outside the applicant’s field could be asked to comment on the proposal. The assistance of those who have been successful in Institute or national fellowship competitions may also be particularly helpful. Former successful Institute proposal narratives are available to be consulted in the Institute.
Completed applications for 2011-12 Fellowships are due Monday, January 24, 2011
