Frequently Asked Questions

• We welcome applicants from outside the US to apply. We do require that all applicants hold full-time graduate student or faculty positions at an accredited college or university. Preference will be given to research directly tied to IHS focus areas and to applicants from top research institutions.

• Yes, you are eligible to apply for consideration.

• Unfortunately, we have a policy against coaching applicants before they submit applications. If you apply for funding through our website, you should receive a decision within 6–8 weeks, depending on the program you are applying for. If you have specific questions about the application process, please reference our FAQ or reach out to Funding@TheIHS.org.

• Occasionally, applicants receive decision updates sooner than 6–8 weeks, but this is based on the volume of applications being reviewed. Our review committee cannot guarantee a faster turnaround.

• We realize this was not the outcome you were looking for, but we appreciated your application regardless. When reviewing applications, our review committee leans into whether the topic falls within our focus areas, the cost, and the tradeoffs with other applications. Unfortunately, our review committee is unable to provide individual feedback due to the volume of applications we receive. However, you are welcome to apply for future funding opportunities.

• Our review committee consists of a variety of individuals with differing backgrounds in academia and our focus areas. Our recommendation is to write for an interdisciplinary audience while including a few signals that will help experts within your field situate your project.

• Applications for our funding opportunities are open on a rolling basis. However, depending on the funding program, we ask that applicants apply at least 4–6 weeks before their project or travel start date. For programs like our Grants for Course Buyouts and Graduate Sabbatical Grants, please submit your application at least 6 months in advance.

• You may need to ensure that pop-up blockers are turned off and/or submit the application on a different web browser. If you are still unable to submit the application form, please reach out to Funding@TheIHS.org.

• There is not a certain amount of time you will need to wait to apply for funding to support other projects. However, we ask that you wait until substantial progress has been made to apply for funding to support your current project.

• Please select the focus area that you feel most closely aligns with your research. If you have a question about a specific focus area, please reach out to Funding@TheIHS.org.

• Most of our application questions have a word or character limit. If you require more space, please include additional information in an attachment at the end of your application.

• We typically ask that each activity you are requesting funding for has its own application. For example, if you are requesting funds for a conference presentation and research assistant support, we would prefer two applications to review the expenses and the impact on your project separately. If you are unsure, please contact us at Funding@TheIHS.org.

• We do not require letters recommendation; however, you are welcome to provide any additional documentation by contacting Funding@TheIHS.org.

• Yes, proposals for all of our funding programs are reviewed by an internal review committee.

• We are happy to pay out the funds to whoever you prefer. Once you receive your acceptance email, you will be prompted to fill out a confirmation form where you may signal the preferred payee for your grant.

• Once you provide all of the information and documents needed to be able to pay out the grant, you should receive the funds within 2–3 weeks. Please allow this time for processing. If it is after the 3 week mark, please reach out to Funding@TheIHS.org and we will be happy to assist.

• Once we receive your completed DocuSign forms or other required paperwork, you should receive your award payment within 3–4 weeks. Please let us know if you do not receive the funds within this timeline by contacting Funding@TheIHS.org.

• No, IHS grants cannot support institutional overhead or indirect costs.

• Our Junior Fellowship program is by invitation only. Participants are selected by our review committee from the top scholars involved in the IHS community and active in our focus areas. To be considered, we encourage interested parties to continue participating in our community through our funding opportunities and events and programs. You may also want to sign up for our newsletter to stay updated on the latest opportunities from IHS.

• The Institute for Humane Studies is a nonprofit organization with a 501(c)(3) status.

• Unfortunately, we do not provide scholarships or funding to cover tuition costs. Please contact us at Funding@TheIHS.org if you have any questions about our funding opportunities.

• You may update your email preferences through our email preference center.

• The Institute for Humane Studies should be acknowledged as a sponsor of the supported project whenever feasible. Like the NSF and other leading grantmaking organizations, IHS asks that you acknowledge our support for this project using the unique identifier that you received with your award email. We suggest using language similar to the following in your funded publication(s):
  • I am grateful to the Institute for Humane Studies for their support (grant no. XXXXX).
  • This work received support from the Institute for Humane Studies under grant nos. XXXXX and XXXXX.

• All submitted applications are subject to consideration for a different IHS funding opportunity. When this happens, a grantee receives an acceptance email from the appropriate funding opportunity.

• To be eligible to apply for Expense Support, applicants must be full-time students or faculty at an accredited college or university. Preference will be given to research directly tied to IHS focus areas and to applicants from top research institutions.

• Expense Support grants are typically supplemental and are designed to offset a project’s total cost. This includes, but is not limited to:
  • Travel for conference presentations and archival research
  • Research collaboration and hiring a research assistant
  • Journal submission fees
  • Purchase of data sets
  • Book publication expenses (e.g. copy editing, indexing)

• Expense Support cannot cover any of these expenses:
  • Living expenses (e.g. rent)
  • Hardware costs (e.g. laptops, printers)
  • Tuition expenses
  • Salary support
  • Retroactive expenses

• Yes, previous applicants and winners are welcome to apply.

• We recognize that new and unexpected expenses may emerge in the process of advancing a research project. Should you be the recipient of an Expense Support award for a particular project and new expenses arise (such as the need for additional data sets, the assistance of an editor or research assistant, or an archival trip), you may apply for additional support.

• You will receive a decision within 6 weeks of submitting your application. Feel free to follow up on the confirmation email you should have received after submitting your application. If you do not see this message in your inbox, it may have been filtered to your spam folder.

• A receipt needs to include the payment date, method of payment, vendor, items/services received, and amount. If you are acquiring a hotel or flight receipt, calling the hotel or airline/booking agency will often allow you to get a receipt emailed to you. If you are unable to acquire one of these, a screenshot of your credit card/bank account statement that shows the same vendor and price as the booking confirmation and includes the date of payment works. You can find more information about reimbursements here.

• Full-time graduate students and faculty can request funds for hosting in-person and online events, such as research workshops or academic conferences. Events must be rigorously academic in nature and may take place either in person or online. Preference goes to events that deal with the IHS focus areas. Events should feature speakers or texts that represent the diversity of views within the broad liberal tradition.

• If you are awarded funding to host a research workshop, you will receive exclusive access to our IHS Digital Community and self-organizing digital solution to support you in running a successful event. More information on how to access the platform will be included in the acceptance email.

• We are currently accepting applications to support academic conferences and research workshops.

• You may apply to Event Support to be considered for funding to support an event you plan to host inside or outside of the US.

• Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis and must be submitted at least 4 weeks prior to the proposed event. For events that are run through the IHS Digital Community, decisions will be announced within 3 weeks of submission. All other event decisions will be announced within 8 weeks of submission.

• Applicants must be full-time faculty (including postdocs) at an accredited college or university. International faculty are welcome to apply, but preference will be given to research directly tied to IHS focus areas and to applicants from top research institutions.

Faculty can request a course buyout, salary support, and full sabbatical funding to help prepare work for publication. A small number of applications are selected for full sabbatical funding, based on need and the expected influence of the work. Priority for these grants goes to:

• Manuscripts under contract with top academic publishers
• Papers likely to be accepted in top peer-reviewed journals
• Research directly tied to IHS focus areas
• Applicants from leading research and teaching institutions

• Grantees are expected to make significant progress on their project during the grant period. Failure to do so could result in forfeiting eligibility for future IHS programming and funding support. We require any changes or major updates to the project during the grant period to be shared with IHS. Grantees are also expected to complete our post-program survey, which will be sent at the conclusion of the buyout along with a series of reporting emails sent 1 month, 9 months, and 18 months after the end date of the buyout period.

• This grant is available to full-time students enrolled in a PhD program or a postdoctoral fellowship at accredited universities and colleges. International students are eligible; however, priority is given to applicants at top research institutions. Previous winners are welcome to apply for consideration.

• The Humane Studies Fellowship provides up to $5,000 to support students completing major research projects, presenting their work at top conferences, and publishing their work in major journals. This award is intended to foster those key projects which maximize a recipient’s research impact and career prospects. We generally do not fund students studying the natural sciences, medicine, or engineering.

• Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis, and decisions are sent on a monthly basis. If you have not received an application update within 8 weeks of submitting a proposal, please contact us at Funding@TheIHS.org.

• You will either produce and submit a paper to a highly regarded peer-reviewed journal, present at an important conference in your field, or complete a substantial portion of your academic research for advancement in your program. Failure to produce one of these results could lead to ineligibility for future IHS programming and funding support. We also require that you share any changes or major updates on your project during the grant period. You will complete our post-program survey, along with a series of reporting emails sent 6 months and 12 months after the end date of your application.

• This grant is available to full-time students enrolled in a PhD program or a postdoctoral fellowship at accredited universities and colleges. Previous applicants and winners are welcome to apply, and prior participation in IHS programs is not required. Applicants must have published previously or have an article currently under review. International students are eligible; however, priority is given to applicants at top research institutions and research directly tied to IHS focus areas.

• This grant provides up to $15,000 to PhD candidates (ABD) and postdocs to buy out teaching or research assistant responsibilities for a semester to focus on developing dissertation chapters or other work into publishable paper drafts within 6 months. These highly competitive grants can be renewed for grantees who show exceptional progress. Summer fellowships for graduate students are available. Applicants who do not receive a sabbatical offer may be invited to receive a Humane Studies Fellowship. These awards give you access to other IHS opportunities including in-person and online events, and much more.

• Applications can be submitted on a rolling basis, and decisions are sent on a monthly basis. If you have not received an application within 8 weeks of submitting a proposal, please contact us at Funding@TheIHS.org.

• You will produce at least one paper that you will submit to a peer-reviewed journal for publication. Failure to complete a paper could result in forfeiting eligibility for future IHS programming and funding support. We require that you share any changes or major updates on your project during the grant period. You will also complete our post-program survey, which will be sent at the conclusion of your sabbatical, along with a series of reporting emails sent 6 months and 12 months after the end date of your application.