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Humanities and Emerging Arts Grant

Overview

The  UT Dallas Humanities and Emerging Arts (HEArts) grant program is an internal funding mechanism designed to promote scholarly activities in the form of research, outreach, and/or creative activities in all disciplines that will result in publications, recognition, awards, or exhibitions/performances. This program is well-suited to support the endeavors of those faculty with school affiliations that are outside of STEM. Activities not eligible for support through this mechanism include consulting, dissertation completion, research/analysis pertaining to the operation of UT Dallas, and curriculum development.

Award Information

  • The maximum allowable budget for a HEArts grant is $8,000.
  • The duration of the HEArts award is 12 months.

Submission Deadline: February 28, 2025

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Program Guidelines

The HEArts grant program is meant to support scholarly activities that have impact, bring recognition to UT Dallas and faculty and/or offers a means to pursue extramural funding. A successful HEArts grant proposal will demonstrate compelling evidence that the resulting effort will have scholarly impact, visibility for the institution and result in publications, recognition, awards, or exhibitions/performances.

Eligibility Guidelines

  • The PI must have a primary, full-time UT Dallas appointment and must be PI eligible.
  • Adjunct faculty, affiliate faculty, visiting researchers, and postdocs are not eligible to serve as PIs but may participate in the proposed project.
  • Previous HEArts grant awardees may submit an application no sooner than three calendar years from a prior award period. For example, a winner from spring 2019 would not be eligible to submit another application until spring 2022.
  • Faculty with greater than $100,000 in discretionary funds (e.g. Research Enhancement and Chair cost centers) are not eligible to serve as PIs. Start-up funding does not count towards the discretionary fund limit.
  • A faculty member may submit only one HEArts grant proposal as a PI or co- PI during each submission period.
  • Faculty participating in the review process are not eligible to apply concurrently for a HEArts grant.

Allowable Expenses

  • Supplies, equipment, and publication costs
  • Graduate student stipend, benefits and tuition
  • Postdoctoral or Research Staff support and benefits
  • Travel, conference/workshop attendance, or conference/workshop hosting for team-building.

Unallowable Expenses

  • Faculty salary and/or benefits (neither academic year nor summer support permitted)
  • Transfer of funds to institutions or individuals outside of UT Dallas
  • Administrative or secretarial support
  • Indirect costs

Required Submission Materials

Proposal documents should have 1-inch margins and use 12 point font. Upload one combined document (preferably in PDF format).

  • Summary. In 300 words or less describe the project, the potential impact, and the collaboration for a general audience.
  • Proposal. Limited to three pages with the following section headings in sequence. The bibliography does not count against the page limit.
    • Rationale and Vision. Explain the goal, the current state of the art, and how your scholarly work is innovative and impactful.
    • Plan. Provide a description of your plan and how it will bring recognition to UT Dallas.
    • PI Qualifications. Explain why your background qualifies you as a candidate for this award.
    • Justification. Explain why a HEArts grant is required to foster the proposed project .
    • Participating Personnel. List all participating faculty members, providing a clear explanation of each member’s role.
  • Budget. Limited to one page, provide a table summarizing the budgetary needs and justification for costs.
  • Previous seed grant funding. Limited to one page, if any team member has had previous seed grant funding through a UT Dallas program, detail the distinction between previous funding and the proposed project; and the past success of the seed grant funding.

Application Review Process and Evaluation Criteria

HEArts grant applications will be reviewed by a committee of UT Dallas faculty with a range of scholarly experience. Applicants will receive a brief list of strengths and weaknesses with a numerical rank (10=highly meritorious and recommended for funding, 1=low priority for application consideration). Awards will be announced following the completion of reviews and funding will be available soon after. Evaluation criteria include:

  • Impact of the scholarly product for the field, capacity to enhance visibility for the faculty member and institution, and/or future external funding opportunities.
  • The skills and abilities of the PI to pursue the proposed project.
  • The extent that the HEArts grant support is vital for the proposed endeavor.
  • If applicable, the extent of difference between previous seed grant funding and the proposed project; and the past success of the seed grant funding.

Awardee Requirements

Upon award, you must submit the following information to the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation:

  • Within 1 month of project end: A two-page progress report including scholarly outcomes. If progress is hindered, a clear explanation for the delay and a mitigation plan must be provided.
  • Upon request: Provide a brief presentation at UT Dallas during a symposium or other event to highlight the HEArts grant impact.
  • Recipients will serve on Seed Grant review panels as requested. By accepting an award, recipients agree to score and provide written comments on assigned proposals before the review deadline and participate in in-person review meetings.

Other Terms and Conditions

  • Funds will not be released until all necessary compliance related approvals and/or training are acquired, such as IRB, IACUC, IBC, RCR, and COI.
  • Funds expire and must be used within 12 months of award. No carryover of funds or no cost extensions will be permitted. Any unexpended funds must be returned to the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation.
  • Failure to comply with any of the Awardee Requirements will result in suspension of funds and faculty becoming ineligible for future seed grant competitions from the UT Dallas Office of Research and Innovation.
  • The HEArts grant award must be acknowledged in any resulting publications, exhibitions, or events, including press releases, using the following language: “This effort was funded (or partially funded) by The University of Texas at Dallas Office of Research and Innovation through the HEArts grant program.”

Contact Us

For further information please contact Emily Lacy.