NEH Summer Stipend Internal Competition

The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Summer Stipends program supports individuals pursuing advanced research that is of value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. Eligible projects usually result in articles, monographs, books, digital materials and publications, archaeological site reports, translations, editions, or other scholarly resources. Summer Stipends support continuous full-time work on a humanities project at any stage of development for a period of two consecutive months. This program requires all applicants to be nominated by an official on their campus.

Because of the restricted number of submissions allowed, Washington University conducts an internal competition to select the university’s nominee. The Center for the Humanities coordinates the internal competition on the university’s behalf.

Note: Applicants applying for the Summer Faculty Research Grant (FRG) are encouraged to apply for the NEH Summer Stipend as well. Beginning with the fall 2024 cycle, the application for these awards is combined and they share the same deadline.

Important dates & details

For faculty applying during the 2024–25 academic year

Grant amount

NEH - $8,000 awarded directly to the individual

  • Provided that sufficient funds are available, a nominee from Arts & Sciences who is successful in the NEH competition will also receive an FRG supplement up to $2,000.
  • If a nominee is not successful, an FRG in the amount of up to $7,000 will be awarded.

Internal application deadline 

Tuesday, September 3, 2024, 11:59 pm CDT

Internal nomination notification

September 10, 2024 - The selected applicant will work with the humanities center to finalize their applications in advance of the NEH’s September 18, 2024, submission deadline (anticipated).

Grant period

Support is for continuous full-time work for a period of two months during the summer. Projects may start as early as May 1, 2025.

Eligibility

A nominee must be a faculty member teaching full-time and a United States citizen or foreign national who has been living in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least three years prior to the application deadline.

A complete set of the NEH eligibility requirements and application guidelines are available at http://www.neh.gov/grants/research/summer-stipends.

How to Apply

Internal application requirements

Internal applications must include:

  1. Completed and signed Application Cover Sheet (included in linked form below)
  2. Completed Budget Sheet – for internal use only (included in linked form below)
  3. Short CV (2-page maximum)
  4. Work plan: 1 page, describing the part or stage of the project that will be supported by the Summer Stipend and the activities or steps that you will use during the period of performance to carry it out. Use a timeline that includes each activity, based on a full-time commitment to the project for two consecutive months.
  5. Narrative: No more than three single-spaced pages using a font size no smaller than 11 point. Within the narrative, applicants should provide an intellectual justification for their projects, conveying the ideas, objectives, methods and work plan. A simple need or intent is insufficient. The narrative should not assume specialized knowledge and should be free of technical terms and jargon. 
    It should include the following sections:
  • Significance and contribution: Describe the intellectual significance of your proposed project, including its value to humanities scholars, general audiences, or both. State the project’s claim and provide an overview, explaining the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined. Explain how the project will complement, challenge, or expand relevant studies in the field.
  • Organization and methods: Describe your method(s) and clarify the part or stage of the project that will be supported by the funding. For written projects, provide a brief chapter outline or an overview of the argument. For digital projects, describe the technologies that will be used and explain how the scholarship will be presented. For edition or translation projects, describe the annotations or other scholarly apparatus that you plan to include. If you are proposing to translate into English a work for which English translations exist, provide a rationale for the new translation.
  • Competencies, skills, and access: Explain your competence in the area of your project. If the area of inquiry is new to you, explain your reasons for working in it and your qualifications to do so. Describe where the study will be conducted and what research materials will be used. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives or institutions that contain the necessary resources.
  • Final product and dissemination: Describe the intended audience and results of the project. Explain how the results will be disseminated and why these means are appropriate to the subject and audience. While a publication contract is not required, describe any expressions of interest from publisher(s). If you are planning to develop digital material, explain how the public will access the material and how the project’s digital results will be maintained. 

Internal application download: (link to application form)

Application requirements: Submit your internal application as a single pdf to: cenhumapp@wustl.edu using the following naming convention for your application pdf: Last Name First Name FRG.NEH.

Internal evaluation criteria

Applications will be reviewed by a selection committee convened by the Center for the Humanities and ranked according to:

  • The potential to advance the field of study in which it is proposed and make an original and significant contribution to knowledge.
  • The quality of the proposal with regard to its methodology, scope, theoretical framework, and grounding in the relevant scholarly literature.
  • The feasibility of the project and the likelihood that the applicant will execute the work within the proposed timeframe.

Stronger applicants to the Washington University internal competition will have carefully reviewed the NEH Summer Stipend Guidelines and prepared their materials in answer to these guidelines.

Full submission to NEH

Although humanities center staff is available to assist, individuals are responsible for the final submission to NEH through the Grants.gov system in accordance with the NEH’s deadline of 11:59 pm Eastern Time on Wednesday, September 18, 2024 (anticipated).

Note: NEH recommends registering with Grants.gov at least two weeks before the NEH application deadline. In addition, the NEH strongly suggests submitting your application no later than 5 pm Eastern time on the day of the deadline to allow sufficient time should you encounter a technical issue with the Grants.gov site.