2025-2026 Research Group Fellowships
Application
Theme: LAND
The OSU Center for the Humanities invites applications for its fourth cohort of Humanities Research Group Fellows. This is a flagship program of the Center that incentivizes a shift from individual, often siloed, research structures to a cross-disciplinary team model in which participants unite under a shared research focus, with the goal of envisioning new collaborative research opportunities.
In the 2025-2026 academic year, there will be 2 research groups, each of which will include 3 competitively selected fellows. Fellows will participate in an academic-year cohort tasked with creatively envisioning collaborative research outcomes. During those two semesters, fellows will be expected to meet twice monthly with their research cohort and 4-6 times over the year with all the fellows. The full cohort meetings will focus on logistical-support topics such as grants and funding application tips, publishing across disciplines, campus resources, mentoring, advocacy, and leadership. Selected fellows will be awarded $3,000 each in funding for the year in respectful acknowledgment of the commitment required for participation in this program.
Research groups will be expected to present a proposal at the culmination of the fellowship year for putting their collaborative vision into action. While creative thinking for what those collaborative outcomes might be is not limited, examples of outcomes might include co-authored publications, public programs, exhibitions, digital resources, collaborative classroom, or teaching opportunities. Applicants should be interested in exploring innovative approaches to addressing social problems and impacting communities both within and beyond campus.
Fellows may include faculty, staff, and graduate students and come from diverse disciplines within and beyond traditional humanities areas. The program aims to bring together complementing perspectives and skills as well as disciplines, and seeks individual applicants who are open to being matched into groups with the goal of creating a new research project collaboratively.
Expectation of commitment to working with diverse perspectives
Although research in this program can focus on a wide range of topics, participating fellows must be invested in intentionally practicing models that support diversity, equity, and inclusion within the fellow cohorts. This includes respecting a diversity of positionalities from participants and intentionally including participants with different modes of contributing to the group. Cohort members will come with varying degrees of experience and points on a career trajectory, but everyone brings unique contributions to the collaboration. There will be times when individuals will need to step back, step forward, and/or lift up members within your cohort.
2025-2026 area of focus for research groups
Both of this year’s research groups will involve the theme of “Land.” This topic is intentionally broad to offer a wide range of inclusive possibilities for collaborative and interdisciplinary projects grounded in the humanities. Moreover, we encourage all groups to consider how their projects might align with the public humanities, social justice, equity and access, and anti-racism work. With this in mind, each group should consider a public-facing component for their project; examples might include exhibitions, community partner collaborative programs, open-access resources, or digital products. We welcome applications from those interested in pushing the boundaries of the humanities to be more experimental, innovative, and expansive. See examples of past Fellow collaborative projects on the OSU Center for Humanities website.
LAND
Projects and interests in may include (but are not limited to): environmental justice, ecocriticism, landscapes, climate change, water rights, sovereignty, the Land Back movement, land grant institutions, sustainability, and impacts on health.
Additional possible subfields and/or topics may include social justice, peace and/or conflict studies, nonviolence studies, democracy, human/animal studies, human geography, health and science perspectives.
Application Details
- Due June 20, 2025, submit a google form with attachments.
- Info session: Virtual, Tuesday, May 27, 12-1pm Central
- Register for Zoom link here.
Application
- Complete the application form.
- Attach your CV.
- Provide letter of intent (maximum length, 2 pages, single-spaced).
Your letter of intent should:
- Describe your experience or interest in the theme.
- Outline your experience or interest in collaborative and/or interdisciplinary research; feel free to list the skills, approaches, or roles for collaboration you would bring to the group.
- Explain how you would bring your individual subject expertise to a collaborative space in order to think through unique solutions under a shared umbrella, rather than having preconceived projects in mind.
- Discuss how you envision humanities-based research and practice affecting the public good (either/both on and off campus).
- Optional: Provide ideas regarding potential collaborators - Do you know people or applicants on campus already who have shared interest in joining this program?
Funding Details
- Salary Option: $3000 as additional salary, delivered in December 2025. This option will be subject to taxes as regular salary.
- Research Grant Option: $3,000 to support a research/scholarly project. The grant becomes available July 1, 2025 and must be used by June 30, 2026. Eligible budget items include supplies, equipment, and research-related travel. Restrictions on the use of state funds apply (no food, gifts, personal memberships, etc.). All OSU travel policies and procedures must be followed. Please coordinate with your departmental financial assistant before making purchases or planning travel.