2026-2027 Competitions
Faculty Competitions
Vice Chancellor for Research and Friends Book Publication Awards
DEADLINE MON SEP 28, 11:59 PM
These awards provide financial support to aid in the publication of a manuscript based on humanities research, written by a KU faculty member and accepted by a refereed press. The authors of manuscripts selected for these awards receive up to $1,500 for use towards publication of their books. The awards can be used to reimburse expenses such as illustration costs, the production of maps or charts, the preparation of online databases as supplements to physical books, and direct subventions required by presses.
Faculty Research Travel Grants
DEADLINE MON OCT 5, 11:59 PM
These grants provide KU faculty members with up to $3,500 in financial support for humanities-oriented research (such as archival work, fieldwork, or interviews) that requires domestic or international travel. Funds can be used for transportation, lodging, meal reimbursement, and project-related expenses (such as photocopying and access fees).
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Mid-Career Research Fellowship
DEADLINE MON NOV 2, 11:59 PM
The Mid-Career Research Fellowship contributes to a mid-career faculty member’s scholarly growth by providing a full academic year of release time from teaching and regular service obligations. This fellowship provides faculty members in the humanities at the associate professor level an opportunity to focus on a post-tenure research project of the kind required for promotion to full professor.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Hall Center Resident Humanities Faculty Fellowship
DEADLINE MON NOV 2, 11:59 PM
The Hall Center’s Resident Humanities Faculty Fellowships provide one semester of release time from teaching and service, taken in the Fall or Spring semester, so that awardees can focus entirely on research or creative work and scholarly engagement.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Scholars on Site
DEADLINE MON MAR 8, 2027, 11:59 PM
The Scholars on Site program supports partnerships between KU Humanities Scholars and community organizations that bring humanities research to the public. The Scholars on Site program provides grants of up to $15,000.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Graduate Student Competitions
Graduate Student Research Travel Grants
DEADLINE MON OCT 5, 11:59 PM
These awards provide financial support to aid in the publication of a manuscript based on humanities research, written by a KU faculty member and accepted by a refereed press. The authors of manuscripts selected for these awards receive up to $1,500 for use towards publication of their books. The awards can be used to reimburse expenses such as illustration costs, the production of maps or charts, the preparation of online databases as supplements to physical books, and direct subventions required by presses.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Richard and Jeannette Sias Graduate Fellowships in the Humanities
DEADLINE MON NOV 2, 11:59 PM
Provides two KU humanities doctoral students with one semester each of financial support to focus entirely on the dissertation, along with the opportunity to interact with the Hall Center’s interdisciplinary cohort of faculty and public fellows.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Applied Humanities Boot Camp
DEADLINE MON MAR 8, 2027, 11:59 PM
The Applied Humanities Boot Camp is a great opportunity for all graduate students in the humanities, arts, and social sciences to think about the skills they are acquiring through their graduate training and the ways they can apply those skills in a range of exciting careers. The annual Boot Camp provides intensive training, practical advice, and professional networking opportunities to twenty graduate students.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Applied Humanities Summer Fellowships
DEADLINE MON MAR 22, 2027, 11:59 PM
These fellowships support Ph.D. or M.A. students who would like to explore ways they can apply the research skills they have acquired as graduate students in career paths other than academic research or teaching. This program provides each fellow with a $3,000 stipend for summer work at a local community organization, or with a unit at KU that would give them experience in programmatic development, grant development, or other university administrative activities.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Undergraduate Student Competitions
Undergraduate Research Travel Grants
Funds from this program are dispersed until depleted, beginning in August each year.
These grants provide funding to support KU undergraduate students working on research projects in the humanities that require access to research materials at archives, libraries, museums, and other research sites, either locally or out-of-state.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Beyond KU
Simons Public Humanities Fellowship
DEADLINE MON APR 5, 2027, 11:59 PM
This program gives individuals of experience and accomplishment from outside the university the time and freedom to engage with humanities-based learning for a short period. At the same time, the Hall Center and the University benefit from the presence of an accomplished leader from beyond the academy. Applicants cannot hold an academic position or otherwise work at an institution of higher education. Simons Fellows participate in the intellectual life of the university for a period ranging from one month to one semester.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON
Byron Caldwell Smith Book Awards
DEADLINE MON MAY 3, 2027, 11:59 PM
These awards are given biennially to one individual in each of three categories, residing or employed in Kansas, who has authored an outstanding book published within the two calendar years preceding the application deadline. One $750 award for fiction, one $750 award for non-fiction, and one $750 award for poetry is given each competition cycle. The recipients receive their awards at a public presentation and reception held at the Hall Center.
APPLICATION INFO COMING SOON