AAS Humanities Professional Development Grants

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These grants are designed to provide support contingent faculty at 2- and 4-year institutions of higher learning and underemployed, unemployed, or independent scholars who are Asia specialists.

Grants will support activities such as: development of curriculum that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion; development and implementation of mentorship programs for Black, LatinX, or first-generation graduate students in Asian Studies; and seminars on teaching on South and Southeast Asia.

AAS Mentorship Grants and AAS DEI Curriculum Development Grants may be awarded up to $20,000 per recipient. AAS Seminar Grants may be awarded up to $5,000 per recipient.

Jump to:

  1. AAS Mentorship Grant
  2. AAS Seminar Grants on Teaching South and Southeast Asia Grant
  3. AAS DEI Curriculum Development Grant
  4. How to Apply
  5. Timeline
  6. FAQ
  7. Funding Restrictions

AAS Mentorship Grant

AAS Mentorship Grants of up to $20,000 per recipient will be awarded to fund the development and implementation of mentorship programs for Black, LatinX, first-generation junior scholars, and graduate students in Asian Studies. Mentorship programs can be focused on areas such as publication, course development, job talks, job application materials, among other areas of interest. Further, the expectation of the program is for mentors to work with multiple participants over a 6 to 9-month period including follow-up sessions. The mentorship programs will culminate in a workshop. The expectation would be that the mentors would be provided with an honorarium for each of the workshops, as unpaid labor is a concern particularly amongst contingent and minority faculty. If travel becomes viable during the grant cycle, costs will include a per diem, honoraria, transportation, and, if needed, accommodations.

AAS Seminars on Teaching South/Southeast Asia and Global Asias Grant

AAS Seminars on Teaching South, Southeast, and Global Asia Grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded to Asia humanities scholars for projects focused on supporting pedagogical practice and knowledge of South and Southeast Asian Studies, as well as Global Asias. Funds will support development of materials as well as virtual seminars and workshops designed to improve content and pedagogy in Asian Studies. The $5,000 for each seminar will go toward time to prepare as well as (in the case of in-person workshops) travel, accommodation, per diem, and honoraria for those leading the workshops as well as support for assistants and others organizing and facilitating the workshop. Costs will be adjusted if the workshop cannot be held in person. Applicants are required to submit a proposal that includes proposed format and venue, a detailed budget, and a timeline. Once each seminar is complete, organizers will be required to submit detailed participant demographics, funds allocated, schedule of proceedings, and images from the event within 30 days of completion.

AAS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Higher Education Curriculum Development Grant

AAS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Higher Education Curriculum Development Grants are semester-long grants providing curriculum support for contingent faculty at 2- and 4-year institutions of higher learning to develop curricula that foster diversity, equity, and inclusion. The grant supports research aimed at redeveloping Asian Studies curricula to consider alternative histories and pedagogical approaches. Final submission of results should include sample syllabi and summary of pedagogical approaches based on the research. The grant period would culminate in virtual curriculum workshops for all DEI curriculum grant recipients, in which participants would exchange ideas and share the results of their research (workshops should be held no later than Feburary 2023).

How to Apply

Please note, you may only submit an application to one grant program. Multiple applications will not be accepted. 

What you will need to prepare to apply:

  • Curriculum Vitae of the Organizer (2 pages max)
  • A project statement, not to exceed 1,000 words. The project statement must describe the topic of this project and the role the support will play in enabling the project’s completion.
  • Short Curriculum Vitae for any keynoters or principal participants. This should be compiled into a single pdf file.
  • A budget outline of how your funds would be used

Timeline

The application period will close on Friday, January 14th, 2022 at 5:00 pm ET.

AAS Mentorship Grants will need to submit follow up reporting upon project completion. The projects will need to start after May 1, 2022 and be completed before April 30, 2023.

  • Funding will be distributed on a reimbursement basis. The grant recipient must submit receipts and an AAS reimbursement form after the project is complete to grants@asianstudies.org.

AAS Seminars on Teaching South and Southeast Asia Grants will need to submit follow-up reporting within 30 days of event completion. Seminars will need to be hosted after May 1, 2022 and before April 30, 2023.

  • Funding will be distributed on a reimbursement basis. Organizers must submit receipts and an AAS reimbursement form after the workshop to grants@asianstudies.org.

AAS Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Higher Education Curriculum Development Grants will culminate in virtual curriculum workshops for all DEI curriculum grant recipients in which participants would exchange ideas and share the results of their research (workshops should be held no later than Februrary 2023). AAS will host the workshop on Zoom, at no cost to grant awardees.

  • Funding will be distributed at the opening of the fall semester 2022 to support the research of recipients.

Eligibility

  • Applicants must possess US citizenship or permanent resident status or have lived in the United States for a period of three years or more.
    • Foreign nationals who take up permanent residence outside of the United States any time between the application deadline and the end of their period of performance will forfeit their eligibility to receive an award. (Leaving the U.S. on a temporary basis is permitted.)
  • Current students are ineligible to apply for these grants.

FAQ

What amount of funding should I request?

For AAS Seminar grants, funding requests should not exceed $5,000, but AAS Curriculum Development and AAS Mentorship grants may request funds up to $20,000.

Funding Restrictions

Please note that if you are awarded a support grant from this program, funds may not be used for:

  • research by students enrolled in a degree program, including research for doctoral dissertations or theses
  • educational impact, language impact, or technical impact assessments
  • the writing of guidebooks, how-to books, and self-help books
  • promotion of a particular political, religious, or ideological point of view
  • advocacy of a particular program of social or political action
  • support of specific public policies or legislation
  • lobbying
  • projects that fall outside of the humanities and the humanistic social sciences (including the creation or performance of art; creative writing, autobiographies, memoirs, and creative nonfiction; and quantitative social science research or policy studies)

All individuals awarded funding will need to adhere to the cost principles outlined in CFR 200 Subpart E – Cost Principles

Please note if you are awarded grant funds from another NEH supported program, you will be ineligible for this award since NEH does not allow for overlapping funding.