Summer Term Research Stipend Program for Untenured Faculty

Opportunities for Summer Term Research Stipends for Untenured Faculty

Generously supported by the Oleon Family Fund, the purpose of this program is to enable Social Science and Humanities faculty members in the tenure stream to work full-time on research projects for a minimum of two consecutive summer months. Assistant Professors are eligible for one summer term research stipend ($6,000) between the second summer following the start of their appointment to the faculty and the term in which they submit their tenure dossier. Assistant Professors considering an application for a summer term research stipend are welcome to contact Hannah Johnson, Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Recruitment, who is available to consult on research, publication, and grant and fellowship strategies.

We expect to allocate between five and seven summer research stipends per academic year.

Application Guidelines

The Dietrich School Faculty Grants Committee will review applications and award funds for FY23-24.

The application deadline is Friday, January 30, 2024. Awards will be announced in the beginning of April. The Faculty Grants Committee cannot provide applicants with individual evaluations of proposals.

Restrictions

Applicants must not be employed in any way in the summer term for which they are applying. Faculty members who have contractual obligations, including monies advanced for writing, or those engaged in traditionally compensated Third Term teaching or administrative assignments, or holding other University or sponsored research summer salary support are not eligible. Summer stipends are not awarded for projects known to be lucrative commercial ventures, nor for curricular development.

Application Procedure

Applications are submitted online. The application platform asks for basic information about the project, details about the applicant’s previous funding history, and applications pending, or funding expected, for the same period of time and/or project. The application requires two attachments:

  1. CV: maximum of two pages
  2. Proposal Narrative and Bibliography in a single document

The Narrative should be no more than three pages, single-spaced, one-inch margins, and no smaller than 11-point font size. It should provide an intellectual justification of your project, conveying its key claims, ideas, objectives, methods, and work plan. A simple statement of intent and/or need is not sufficient. Do not assume specialized knowledge. Avoid technical terms or jargon. The narrative should address the following topics.

Research and Contributions

State the thesis or claim of the proposed project, describe its intellectual significance, and explain how the project will challenge, expand, or complement relevant studies in the field. Briefly outline your own related previous work, if applicable.

Methodology and Work Plan

Describe your method(s) and clarify the part of the project that would be supported by the summer stipend. Provide a work plan based on a full-time commitment for two consecutive months. If you do not anticipate finishing the project during the period of the summer stipend, discuss your plan and timeline for doing so.

For book projects, provide a brief chapter outline. For digital projects, describe the technologies you will use and/or develop. For projects involving data collection and/or analysis, describe your proposed methods and techniques. For edition or translation projects, describe the annotations or other scholarly apparatus that you aim to include. For scholarly or creative activity that will result in outputs other than books, articles, translations, editions, archaeological reports, or digital materials or publications, please describe your intended scholarly and/or creative resource.

Audiences

Describe your intended audiences and how the results will be disseminated.

Competencies, Skills, Logistics

Explain your competence in the area of the proposed project. If you are moving into a new area of inquiry, explain your rationale and your qualifications to do so. If your study requires digital technology, other technical skills, or foreign languages, specify your level of competency. Describe where your study will be conducted, the research materials you will use, and – if relevant – arrangements for accessing institutions, archives, and collections that contain required resources.

Bibliography

The bibliography should be a 1-page, single spaced document that lists primary and secondary sources directly related to the project’s substance and its theoretical or methodological approaches. Reviewers will refer to the bibliography to assess your knowledge of the subject area. Any standard format is acceptable.

No offprints, photocopies, tapes, or other examples of previous work should be attached.

Apply for a Summer Term Research Stipend. Proposals that are emailed or mailed will not be considered.

The University of Pittsburgh is an affirmative action, equal opportunity institution.

Questions about these funding opportunities should be directed to Lisa Lang.