Through a partnership between the Center for Global Studies and the Humanities Institute, Global Humanities Research Impact Grants are now being offered to support Penn State scholars pursuing advanced global humanities research with a grant of up to $5,000 for international research travel.

Recognizing that global research requires additional funds for international travel, these awards offer faculty the opportunity to develop research projects with the potential for significant impact. They are designed as middle-stage awards for substantial projects (i.e. a monograph, major external grant proposal, etc.), where international research travel is required prior to late-stage writing. These grants are designed to supplement the already existing funding mechanisms available to global humanities faculty, such as early-stage research support available through the CGS International Travel Award and late-stage writing through the Humanities Institute’s Faculty Scholars in Residence.

These awards can be combined with existing institutional support (semester releases, sabbaticals, fellowships) to further facilitate the added costs of international research agendas. Grants are awarded for the academic year, allowing faculty to choose when to travel for their work. Funds will be allocated as reimbursable travel expenses subject to all appropriate Penn State unit protocols and procedures. 

Application Requirements:

Application packet:

1. Cover page with applicant’s name, professorial rank and academic title, contact information (including campus address and e-mail), project title and funding amount requested.
2. Description of project, including scholarly significance, need for travel, description of activities during travel, outcome (publication, exhibition, etc.) and timetable for project’s completion (not to exceed four pages, double-spaced, 12-point font). Applicants who plan to be on a semester-long sabbatical during the same academic year as the proposed project or who have other course release support must also indicate this plan.
3. Budget: Detailed budget of proposed travel.
4. Curriculum vitae (not to exceed four pages). Please include internal and external grants received in the past five years as well as any non-administrative release time from teaching in the past two academic years.

Application packets are to be emailed to cgs.psu@gmail.com by September 9, 2023.

Supporting materials: A short letter of evaluation from the applicant’s department head or program director (approx. 200 words).  This should indicate the degree of support from the perspective of the department, that the project is appropriate for the applicant’s research trajectory, and

that the travel proposed is feasible for the department. For applicants with joint appointments: A letter from the majority head/director as stated above is required. A brief email acknowledging support of the applicant from heads/directors of other budgeted units should be included. 

All letters should be sent to cgs.psu@gmail.com  with a subject line that indicates Global Humanities Research Impact Grants and the applicant’s name by September 9, 2023.

Application review criteria:

• The significance of the proposed project, including its value in promoting the global humanities
• The need for international travel to advance the project’s goals
• The quality of the conception, definition, organization, and description of the project
• The feasibility and appropriateness of the proposed plan of work
• The likelihood that the applicant will complete the project
• The contribution of the project to the scholar’s field, the likelihood that it will make significant impact, and the feasibility of the scholar’s plans to disseminate the work

Timeline:

Application due: September 9, 2023.

Expected Notification date: October 1, 2023.

Travel completion and funds fully expended by June 20, 2024. 

 

2022 Grant Recipients 

Dr. Carla Chamberlin, Professor of Applied Linguistics and Communication Arts and Sciences, Penn State Abington, “Media Literacy as Empowerment for Immigrants, Displaced Persons, and Refugees”

Dr. Jens-Uwe Guettel, Professor of German Literatures and Languages and History, Penn State University Park, “Radical Democracy in Germany, 1871-1923”