Scholarly Development Fund

The Scholarly Development Fund has a rolling deadline between the start and the end of the academic year.

If you are interested in applying, submit an email to dreshercenter@umbc.edu. Include the subject line, “Scholarly Development Fund.”

This fund is intended to provide research-related support to UMBC full-time faculty or graduate (M.A., M.F.A., M.P.S., M.S., and Ph.D.) students in the humanities. The maximum award to an individual is $2,000 (there is no minimum) and all funding requests will be reviewed by the Dresher Center Advisory Board.

The following list offers examples of potentially fundable expenses. All expenditures must be connected to humanities-related activities:

  • Research travel to archives or to speak at symposia or conferences (where not funded through other sources)
  • Services of a research or editorial assistant
  • Transcription or other technical assistance
  • Purchase of research-related materials (books, documents, copies, images, maps, etc)

Scholarly Development funds are intended only for scholars who have already exhausted available DRIF, departmental, and CAHSS support.

A complete application will include:

  • A letter of need explaining the purpose for the funds, the precise amount of the request, and why this support would make a difference in the scholarly goals of the applicant. Reference should also be made to why no other DRIF, departmental or CAHSS support is available or sufficient to this need.
  • A brief memo (1-2 paragraphs) of support from a Chair or Graduate Program Director noting that all available departmental and CAHSS funds have been tapped first.

Please note that these funds are intended only for scholars who have already exhausted available DRIF, departmental, and CAHSS and CAHSS Center support.

Applicants should not simultaneously apply to more than one CAHSS research center small grant programs for faculty and PhD students (e.g.,the CS3’s Small Research Grants or CIRCA’s Contingency Fund). Applicants should first apply to the center that best suits the nature of their project and receive a determination on that application, before requesting funding from another center. In such cases, please indicate whether funding has already been applied for and/or received from one of the other centers.