Willson Center Grants and Awards
The Willson Center awards grants through competitions. Aside from the Graduate Research Award, grants and fellowships are awarded primarily to University of Georgia tenured or tenure-track faculty. For grants that have an “Apply Online” option, applicants will need to create an account. The system will not automatically recognize UGA MyID login credentials. Once an account has been created, all current and future Willson grants will be accessible through the system.
For questions regarding grant applications, please email wsmith78@uga.edu.
- Applications for grants open approximately six weeks before the deadline and are accepted until 11:59 p.m. on the date due.
- Unless otherwise noted, funding is for the following academic year (July 1 – June 30).
Willson Center Distinguished Artist or Lecturer
The Willson Center Distinguished Artist or Lecturer program supports individual faculty or interdisciplinary groups in bringing leading thinkers and practitioners to campus in support of ongoing and innovative research projects. The program provides a $2,000 honorarium out of which the artist or lecturer pays his or her travel expenses. There are two deadlines for the Distinguished Artist or Lecturer program during the year. The September deadline is for the current academic year. The February deadline is for the following academic year. Distinguished artists and lecturers are nominated by the faculty and are selected by the Willson Center’s Academic Advisory Board. Faculty are encouraged to conceive of this program as an opportunity to create broader impacts that include engagement with the student body, the public, the locality and state.
Applicants are encouraged to involve more than one department; applications may include partnership with relevant departments, centers and institutes other than the Willson Center. A primary criterion is the academic excellence of the nominee and the interdisciplinary impact they will have on the UGA research community in the arts and humanities.
Lectures and locations should be coordinated through the Willson Center. In accepting the award, the faculty sponsor agrees to communicate all relevant information regarding the visitor’s activities while at UGA and to credit the Willson Center in all publicity about the visitor.
Willson Center Department-Invited Artist or Lecturer
The Willson Center Department-Invited Artist or Lecturer program supports speakers during the current academic year who would not fall into the distinguished artist or lecturer category, but whose expertise can nonetheless contribute significantly to illuminating current discussions in the field as well as enhance student learning.
The award of up to $500 requires a commitment of matching funds from the department and/or another funding source. Proposals are accepted on a rolling basis and considered at the first of each month. Funding is contingent on overall merit of the proposal and the availability of funds with a limit of two awards per department per year. In addition to giving a public lecture, the speaker should visit at least one class to share his/her research or otherwise formally interact with undergraduate and/or graduate students.
Faculty should submit a one-page proposal by email to Willson Center associate director Winnie Smith at wsmith78@uga.edu. Please describe the speaker’s major accomplishments and how the speaker will contribute significantly to current discussions in the field. Please also indicate the proposed date of the public lecture, the specific plans for class interaction or other formal engagement with undergraduate and/or graduate students, and the source and amount of matching funds or other commitments.
NOTE: We are not accepting proposals for Department-Invited Artists or Lectures at this time.
Deadlines:
-
Rolling
Notification dates:
- First of each month
Willson Center Graduate Research Award
The Willson Center Graduate Research Award provides support of up to $2000 total toward research and practice‐related expenses for arts and humanities projects that are essential components of a graduate degree program. Applicants can receive more than one grant in separate competitions of this award during the course of their graduate study. The combined total of funds awarded will not exceed $2000. Please be mindful of this in preparing your grant application in context of your progress and needs: a strong and detailed budget helps with a strong and detailed proposal. Applicants should explain the importance of their proposed activity and justify it within their field(s) of study in a context of research excellence.
Application is open to any humanities and arts graduate student registered for an advanced degree. Graduate students may be supported in travel to archives, installations and performances, and other sites related to their research or creative activity. Applicants who give a lecture or presentation of their work at another institution during the award of this grant must recognize the Willson Center as a source of support.
Both deadlines (August and January) provide support for the current academic year.
Travel to Conferences and Professional Meetings
Applicants who are applying for travel support to present a paper at a domestic conference are encouraged to direct their request to the Graduate School.
Willson Center Public Impact Grant
The Willson Center Public Impact Grant supports faculty in the organization on campus of conferences, exhibitions, and performances that showcase humanities and arts research in broad context. The Public Impact Grant is designed to offer interaction between national and international scholars and UGA faculty and students. The award provides support of up to $10,000. Faculty may apply for the Public Impact Grant in partnership with graduate students. Interdisciplinary projects are encouraged.
Applicants are encouraged to consider other external and internal sources of funds. Award is for the following academic year.
In accepting the award, the faculty organizer agrees to communicate to the Willson Center all relevant information regarding the program activities and to credit the Willson Center in all publicity.
Willson Center Fellowship
The Willson Center Fellowship supports excellence in arts and humanities research or creative practice and activity. Applicants must hold doctorate or equivalent scholarly credentials. Tenured and tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply. Fellowships can be held every five years. Willson Center Fellowships are intended to support humanities and arts scholars or practitioners. Interdisciplinary research or creative practice and activity is encouraged, including with the sciences, social sciences and other domains. Fellowships provide course release from two normally assigned courses in one academic year. The award is a transfer to the Franklin College to support the unit’s instructional replacement costs. Award is for the following academic year.
The Willson Center Research Fellowship guidelines (and deadline) align with those of the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) and National Humanities Center (NHC) fellowship programs. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications to the ACLS and the NHC, which have deadlines in September and October, respectively. Faculty are also encouraged to apply for the NEH Fellowship in the spring.
Willson Center Faculty Research Grant
The goal of the Junior and Senior Faculty Research Grants in Humanities and Arts Program is to support and encourage the development of an impactful program of research or creative practice and activity by faculty in the humanities and arts. Grants are considered “seed money” for research, in that they should lead to the growth and development of continuing research or creative programs, in particular those that lead to external awards, grants, fellowships and other forms of significant recognition, including books, performances and installations. Proposals are solicited once per fiscal year.
Eligibility
- Ranks: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor
- Submission limited to one proposal per eligible individual per year
- Any faculty member that received an FRG within the last three years (an FY22 grant or later) is not eligible.
Deadline: March 1
Notification date: April 2025
Willson Center Research Seminar
The Willson Center Research Seminar Program provides $2,000 to faculty organizing year-long interdisciplinary discussion groups on particular research topics. The funds are to be used to bring to campus scholars from other institutions. Award is for the following academic year.
A one page proposal should be submitted by email to the Willson Center (wcha@uga.edu).
Deadline: February 14, 2025
Notification date: April
Willson Center Short-Term Visiting Fellowship
The Willson Center Short-Term Visiting Fellowships bring distinguished scholars, artists and performers to the arts and humanities community at the University of Georgia. Individual UGA faculty or interdisciplinary groups may nominate Visiting Fellows who contribute to intellectual life on campus by engaging with current research in a public context. Fellows are funded for five-day ($5,000) programs. The amount of the award includes honorarium and travel expenses. Award is for the following academic year.
Each Fellow is expected to conduct workshops for faculty and graduate students, and to give public presentations of their work. Interdisciplinary engagement is encouraged. In accepting the award, the faculty sponsor agrees to communicate to the Willson Center all relevant information regarding the visitor’s activities while at UGA and to credit the Willson Center in all publicity about the visitor.
Willson Center Special Funding Request
The Willson Center will consider special funding requests once per faculty member, per academic year. These requests should be submitted outside of established grant programs and are subject to availability of funds. Requests may include conference travel support, funds for events, and book subvention requests. Assistant professors in the Franklin College seeking subvention for their first book should direct their requests to the Franklin College’s First-Book Subvention Program. To submit a special funding request or for questions with this process, please contact Winnie Smith at wsmith78@uga.edu.
NOTE: While Special Funding Requests will be considered, funding is extremely limited. The maximum request considered will be $500.