2026-2027 Institute for the Humanities Faculty Fellowship

The Institute for the Humanitiesfounded in 1987 promotes interdisciplinary research and discourse in the humanities and the arts. Fellows spend an academic year in residence in the institute pursuing their research and participating in a cross-disciplinary weekly seminar. We seek applicants working in humanities research areas who demonstrate capacity to contribute to and gain from interdisciplinary exchange through the fellows seminar.

The institute has a faculty director and small staff who manage its programming and facilitates research by the resident fellows. To the core community formed by the faculty and graduate student fellows we add several distinguished visiting fellows who typically join us for anywhere from one week to a full term.

Faculty Fellowship
Faculty fellows are released from their usual teaching and service duties to pursue their research while continuing to receive their normal salary and benefits. Faculty fellows take up residence at the institute for the full academic year (September 1 - May 30) participate in the weekly fellows seminar and present a lecture in our Hear Here: Humanities Up Close series. For LSA faculty the institute directly funds 50 percent of a faculty members salary and benefits. For other schools and colleges the institute funds 50 percent of a faculty members salary and benefits up to a cap of $75000. The balance for either is funded by the faculty members home school/college.

Norman Freehling Faculty Fellowship for Flint and Dearborn Faculty Members

Effective Academic year 2024-25 the Institute for the Humanities will guarantee at least one Faculty Fellowship to a faculty member on the Flint or Dearborn campus. The institute will fund 100% of the faculty members salary and benefits for the academic year. The Norman Freehling Visiting Faculty Fellow will also be provided with $5000 in research support. Funds may be used for research travel conference attendance and research or teaching materials. Equipment (including may not be purchased with these funds. Up to $2500 of any funds remaining at the end of the fellowship may be transferred to the faculty members research account in their home unit.

Expectations

1. Faculty fellows must be in residence at the institute for the academic year (September 1 - May 30).
2. Faculty fellows must attend and participate in the weekly two-hour fellows seminar and attend the institutes Hear Here series throughout the year.
3. Faculty fellows are required to present a lecture in the institutes Hear Here series.
4. Faculty fellows are expected to participate in the life of the institute such as meeting with our undergraduate interns and attend events of interest.

Policies Set by the College of LSA/Eligibility

1. Applicants must hold a full-time tenured/tenure-track appointment on one of the universitys three campuses: Ann Arbor Flint or Dearborn.
2. Faculty may not apply during the year in which their tenure will be decided (i.e. faculty who submitted their tenure dossier in May-June 2025 are precluded from applying).
3. LSA Faculty must have returned from an academic leave to one year of active duty in order to qualify for a fellowship a Modified Duties leave is not considered an academic leave for these purposes. They may apply during their year of active duty for the fellowship year following. Faculty in other schools and colleges must adhere to the leave policy in those units.
4. Newly hired faculty in tenure-track positions must teach for two consecutive years in order to take up a fellowship. That fellowship may occur in their third year of employment or thereafter.
5. Assistant Professors who are not renewed during their third year review process may not accept a fellowship for their terminal year.
6. University of Michigan emeritus faculty members are not eligible to apply.
7. Faculty eligible for any college-funded leave who accept our fellowship offer will be expected to combine that support with institute support during the fellowship year. Other schools and colleges have generally followed LSAs pattern.
8. During a given year faculty may not apply for a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowshipif they have applied either for a Michigan Humanities Award offered by OVPR and LSA or for a fellowship in the Frankel Institute for Advanced Judaic Studies.
9. Faculty who have already held a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowship become eligible to re-apply six years after the end of their earlier award.
10. The fellowship year does not count towards sabbatical equity.
11. Prospective applicants must consult with their chairs or deans about unit policies and expectations regarding leaves and fellowships before applying.
12. Applicants must notify the head(s) of the unit(s) in which they hold funded appointments of their intention to apply for a Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowship.

If selected as a fellow faculty must accept or decline the fellowship within the specified time period in the fellowship offer letter. Fellowship awards may not be deferred to a future year under any circumstances.

Selection Criteria
The selection committee looks for applicants and projects that will benefit from and contribute to the interdisciplinary nature of the group of fellows and the work of the Fellows Seminar. It seeks to achieve variety and balance in the disciplines represented by the fellows.

Projects are judged based on (A) promise and significance of the proposed research project; (B) the humanities and arts content of the project; (C) the quality significance and breadth of the applicants prior work.