Faculty Fellowship Program

Kaplan Humanities Institute Faculty Fellowships enable Northwestern faculty to pursue independent research projects of significance to the humanities within an interdisciplinary community of scholars. Faculty can apply for a 50% teaching reduction (that doesn't count against leave clocks) or a full year of supported leave (funds permitting).

Kaplan invites faculty working in the humanities and humanistic social sciences in the Weinberg School of Arts and Sciences; Bienen School of Music; Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing and Communications; School of Communication; and School of Education and Social Policy to apply to become Kaplan Institute Fellows. Fellowships are open to full-time faculty members on continuous appointments, with two fellowships reserved for junior faculty.

Fellowship highlights

• The ability to devote significant time to research as part of a vibrant community of scholars, including faculty, graduate and undergraduate Franke Fellows, Library Fellows, and visiting artists from across disciplines at Northwestern 
• Participation in lunch colloquia ("Kaplan Conversations"), including the opportunity to present research and receive interdisciplinary feedback and learn about faculty research from a range of humanities fields
• The opportunity to design and teach an innovative undergraduate course—in the year following the fellowship—that situates the Fellow's research as a new addition to the curriculum, or as a generalist humanities topic not ordinarily offered in their home department

How are the Fellowships awarded?

Three senior humanities scholars from outside Northwestern, completely unaffiliated with the university, evaluate applications for scholarly merit. Fellowships are judged on the originality, quality, clarity, and importance of the proposed project as well as the applicant’s ability to contribute productively to an interdisciplinary group. Final selections are based on the external reviewers’ rankings and the need to ensure distribution across rank and department.

Eligibility guidelines

• Full-time faculty members on continuous appointments may apply.
  • Note: SESP faculty eligibility includes tenure line faculty, pre- and post-tenure, as well as non-tenure eligible teaching faculty on multi-year appointments.
• Applicants must be eligible for an academic leave and must secure approval/confirmation of eligibility for leave from their Department Chair before applying.
• Faculty applying for a full year of fellowship funding must also simultaneously apply for an external fellowship.
• Applicants for a teaching reduction may not have been on leave in the year preceding the fellowship year.
• Faculty members are not allowed to apply for a fellowship during the year in which they are up for tenure review.
• Previous Institute Fellows may apply for a second fellowship only after an interval of five years. Preference is given to applicants who have not previously held a fellowship at the Institute and to projects that have not been previously funded by the Institute.
• Applicants from Bienen, Medill, School of Communication, and SESP must also secure approval from their Dean in addition to their Department Chair.

Questions? Please contact Tom Burke: thomas.burke@northwestern.edu