Scholarly Development Fund

Please note: There are now three deadlines for the Scholarly Development Fund. The Dresher Center cannot fund expenses retroactively. Only apply when you will be expending the funds in next three to four months, otherwise wait for the next deadline.

September 15, December 15, and April 15

This fund is intended to provide research-related support to full-time tenure-track faculty, as well as graduate (M.A. and Ph.D.) students pursuing humanities-based research (such as archival work, fieldwork, or interviews) in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences.

All funding requests will be reviewed by the Dresher Center Director and Associate Director. This fund is intended only for scholars who have already exhausted other UMBC funding (DRIF, departmental, CAHSS, or Graduate Student Association). The maximum award to an individual is $2,000.

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)

Click here to apply

Please note: 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.