Multicampus Graduate Student Working Groups, 2024-25

The Multicampus Graduate Student Working Group Grant supports UC PhD students in the humanities and humanistic social sciences 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. This year, UCHRI is particularly interested in working groups that approach humanistic problems broadly related to its new theme, Care & Repair. The initiative offers grant opportunities for University of California researchers interested in exploring care for objects and communities of study, care for environments, care for the self and others, care as a concept in humanist research and pedagogy, as well as the limits of care and repair as approaches to damage, harm, and trauma. UCHRI welcomes collaborative projects that put humanistic scholars in conversation with those from disciplines that are methodologically distinct, enhancing the ways in which humanistic research might strive to repair what is broken, frayed, mishandled, abandoned, or abused.

Eligible Applicants: UC humanities PhD students in good standing throughout the 2024-25 academic year, in conjunction with a faculty member who has agreed in advance to serve in the role of Principal Investigator (PI)
Maximum Award: Up to $5,000
Application Deadline: Wednesday, January 31, 2024
Award Announced (Expected): May 2024
Funding Source: UCHRI/UCOP

Final awards for all of our grants are contingent upon available funding. Funding must be spent in accordance with all applicable UC rules and regulations.

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

Working groups may consist of 5 to 15 individuals (primarily UC graduate students, from at least two campuses) who will collaborate over one academic year to address a clearly-defined and timely issue or the early stages of research on an emergent topic in the humanities. Throughout this year, members must engage in regular, ongoing virtual communication and meet in person at least two times.

Graduate student organizers will be responsible for coordinating all aspects of the working group, including grant reporting, and will work in conjunction with the faculty PI and the appropriate staff member in their department to manage the award. Please note that for administrative purposes, the Faculty PI must be in the same department as the lead graduate student. Faculty PIs are not expected to take an active role in the working group’s research or programming; their sole responsibility is to help facilitate the administration of funding.

Applicants are strongly encouraged to contact their respective campus representative on the UCHRI Advisory Committee for guidance in the application process.

Prospective graduate student 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 (see details below)
• Curriculum Vitae of the Graduate Student Organizer(s) (2 pages max)
• Letter of Commitment from the Faculty PI, who will facilitate the administration of funding

Successful applications should clearly demonstrate how the proposed topic and activities will contribute to research excellence in the humanities and include graduate student 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. All project activities must take place between July 1, 2024 and December 31, 2025.

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.
• Calendar of Proposed Dates and Locations for two in-person meetings as well as a schedule for regular virtual meetings and any other group-sponsored events or activities.
• Proposed Objectives, broadly defined, which may include a scholarly publication, a working paper, a well-curated online tool, or programmatic initiatives (e.g., curriculum development).

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:

• The Applicant PROPOSED Budget Template
• A Budget Narrative (500 words max) that explains how estimates were determined

Proposed budgets should include itemized cost estimates and may cover any necessary group-related research expenses or materials and are primarily intended to offset expenses for working group members to attend in-person working group meetings, such as travel, lodging, meals, and incidental expenses. When preparing budgets, please keep in mind that 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. Campuses are prohibited from charging indirect costs on funding from the Office of the President.

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.