Willson Center Grants and Awards

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 $1,500 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 August 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.

Deadlines:

• September ’23 (next academic year)
• February ’24 (following academic year)

Notification dates:

• September deadline: Early October
• February deadline: Early April

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 $500 requires a commitment of matching funds from the department and/or another funding source. *Due to COVID-19, the Department-Invited Artist or Lecturer program for academic year 2021-22 will provide for the option of a $200 matching award to support a virtual presentation. 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 the Willson Center (wcha@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.

Deadlines:

• Rolling

Notification dates:

• First of each month

The Willson Center Graduate Research Award provides support of up to $1,250 toward research and practice‐related expenses for arts and humanities projects that are essential components of a graduate degree program. Applicants should explain the importance of their proposed activity and justify it within their field(s) of study in a context of research excellence. The Willson Center is particularly interested in fostering interdisciplinary research at the graduate level.

Application is open to any humanities and arts graduate student registered for an advanced degree. Previous Willson Center Graduate Research Award recipients are ineligible. 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.

Deadlines:

• September ’23 (next academic year)
• Jan-Feb ’24 (following academic year)

Notification dates:

• September deadline: October
• Jan-Feb deadline: March

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.

Deadline: October ’23
Notification date: December

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 Fellowship guidelines (and deadline) align similarly with the National Humanities Center (NHC) Fellowship program and the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) Fellowship program. Applicants are encouraged to submit applications to the NHC and the ACLS. The NHC deadline is in October. The ACLS deadline is in late September. Faculty are also encouraged to apply for the NEH Fellowship in the spring.

Deadline: October ’23

Notification date: December

Following the report of the UGA Task Force on Arts Research and Practice, an Arts Lab Cluster has been formed to support creativity across the university. As part of this, six Arts Lab Faculty Fellowships are available for faculty in the performing or creative arts for academic year 2023-2024. Funding for this round of Arts Lab Faculty Fellowships is provided by the Office of the Provost, and the Willson Center for Humanities and Arts.

• Arts Lab Faculty Fellowships are designed for faculty members in the performing or creative arts to develop practice, research and curriculum in the arts
• Support comprises one course release, and support funds up to $2000. The course release portion of the award is a transfer to the Franklin College to support the unit’s instructional replacement costs. Funds for arts instructional faculty who cannot commit to a semester away from instruction, but have need of a shorter period of study, practice, or research, can be considered by the selection committee.

Application Materials

• An artist’s statement (five pages maximum), comprising
  • A clear list of objectives for the fellowship, which may include the possibility of archival, training, or networking travel; preparation for possible external grant sources
  • A clear timeline for these activities, which may include justification for a whole, or partial, semester course release
• A description of the possible impacts of the fellowship on future teaching, scholarship, and practice
• A CV, which includes links to examples of practice and performance (five pages maximum)
• An email of approval for the application from the applicant’s unit head to the applicant

Applications should be submitted as a single PDF to the Willson Center (wcha@uga.edu).

Deadline: TBA

Notification date: TBA

The goal of the Junior and Senior Faculty Research Grants in Humanities and Arts Program is to support and encourage the development of a strong 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. The Faculty Research Grant (FRG) program is funded by the Office of Research through the University of Georgia Research Foundation.

In general, grants are funded up to $15,000. Award is for the following academic year. *If awarded, FRGs allow for a one-time request for a one-year extension with appropriate justification (see Research FAQs) to be coordinated through the Office of Research.

Eligibility

Ranks: Assistant Professor, Associate Professor or Professor

Submission limited to one proposal per eligible individual per year

• Overview and Detailed Guidelines [pdf]
• Budget Template

Deadline: February ’24

Notification date: April

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 ’24

Notification date: April

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.

Deadline: October ’23

Notification date: December

The Willson Center will consider special funding requests outside of established grant programs throughout the academic year, subject to availability of funds. These can include 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, faculty should download and complete the PDF form, then return it to wcha@uga.edu.

NOTE: Special Funding Requests are closed until July 2023.