Multicampus Faculty Working Groups, 2025-26

The Multicampus Faculty Working Group Grant supports UC faculty as they collaborate on innovative agendas in ways that contribute to the advancement of the specific working group topic and the humanities as a whole. Although we will consider all humanistic topics, UCHRI is particularly interested in working groups that approach humanistic problems broadly related to its new theme, Entanglement. The initiative offers grant opportunities for University of California researchers interested in following the trail of entanglements great and small in order to better understand both the human condition and our planetary predicament. We invite research that addresses the intertwining of cultural, linguistic, social, political, technological, and environmental factors across time and space as well as the role of art and interpretation in making these connections visible. Potential areas of inquiry include the knotting of different historical periods, styles, scales, and temporalities in works of art; the entangling of the humanities with other disciplines; intricate systemic problems such as climate change, homelessness, and incarceration; intersecting causalities in ethnic, gender, and disability studies; entangled life in global religious and philosophical traditions; and the entanglement of AI with human labor, energy consumption, and racialized capital.For more information, please consult the Entanglement initiative page.
UCHRI welcomes collaborative projects that explore the entanglement of humanistic thought with disciplines that are methodologically distinct, in the service of building a complex and layered web of research across our campuses. If you wish to apply for a one-time renewal after the conclusion of the initial grant period, you may do so by demonstrating outcomes or concrete progress toward your stated goals. Successful applicants from the 2024-25 academic year are eligible to apply for a renewal in 2025-26 (see details below).

We also encourage you to think about productive ways of engaging graduate students in your project and apply for our Graduate Student Supplement. If you are working on topics related to entanglement, broadly conceived, you may also consider our Entanglement Supplement, which can be used to fund public engagement, community collaboration, pedagogical initiatives, or other similar activities. Eligible applicants may apply for both supplements.

Applications must be submitted online via Submittable by 11:59 PM (Pacific time) on the deadline date.


Application Details

Faculty organizers must be UC ladder rank faculty members who will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of the working group. Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their respective campus representative on the UCHRI Grants Review Committee for guidance in the application process.

Prospective faculty organizers must apply online via Submittable. Required documents include:

  • Project Title and Abstract (200 words max)
  • Project Description (2,000 words max, see details below)
  • Proposed Budget (500 words max, see details below)
  • Curriculum Vitae of the Faculty Organizer(s) (2 pages max)
  • Applicants requesting a renewal should submit a narrative progress report on their current 2024-25 UCHRI grant. To receive further instructions with a list of questions we would like you to answer, please contact grants@hri.uci.edu

Successful applications should clearly demonstrate how the topic and activities will contribute to research excellence in the humanities and include faculty participants from at least two UC campuses. Preference will be given to projects that engage three or more UC campuses and those that incorporate broader and more diverse publics in the expressive or interpretive work of the humanities. We also encourage interdisciplinary projects that include faculty from social or natural sciences. All project activities must take place between July 1, 2025 and December 31, 2026.

Project Description

The project description should be a maximum of 2,000 words and include the following elements:

  • Problem Statement, including a description of the topic or issue that the working group seeks to address and its short- and long-term significance to the humanities.
  • List of Participants, including each participant’s name, campus, department, brief biography, and relevance/contribution to the collaborative project and its stated objectives.
  • Proposed Objectives, broadly defined, which may include scholarly publication, digital tool development/refinement, programmatic initiatives (e.g., curriculum development), or the completion of external grant proposals or applications.

Wherever possible, the project description should also address the way the working group plans to engage multiple campuses, disciplines, and publics in their work. 

Proposed Budget

The proposed budget is made up of two elements:

Budgets may cover travel and lodging expenses for workshop meetings of working group members as well as necessary group-related research expenses. Catered and group meals may not exceed 25% of the total budget. Grant funds do not cover alcoholic beverages.

Please note that restrictions on UCHRI funding do not allow honoraria to be paid to UC faculty. Compensation should be in the form of a direct contribution to the faculty member’s research fund and is limited to a maximum of $500 for UC-faculty presenters/panelists. Honoraria may be paid to non-UC presenters/panelists and should also be capped at $500.

UCHRI may also consider administrative costs (up to 15% of the total requested amount), provided justification is detailed in both the budget template and the budget narrative. Amounts should be determined in advance and in writing with the administrative unit (e.g., the faculty organizer’s department or campus humanities center). Campuses are prohibited from charging indirect costs on funding from the Office of the President.

You may also consider applying for the following supplements:

Supplemental $5,000 Graduate Student Funding

Supplemental $5,000 Entanglement Funding

Funds will be transferred directly from UCHRI to the appropriate campus PI administrative unit. 

For program related questions, please contact grants@hri.uci.edu. Please include the name of the grant for which you need assistance.

For technical assistance, please contact Submittable at support@submittable.com.