Miami University Logo
Humanities Center
Email for Humanities CenterFacebook for Humanities CenterTwitter for Humanities Center

Receive Funding for Your Public Event

Humanities Grants foster interdisciplinary collaboration, public engagement, and innovation in research and teaching. Each year, the Humanities Grants Program supports dozens of lectures, readings, symposia, and conferences. Grants are not awarded for individual research, faculty travel, equipment, salary, curriculum development, classroom activities, or non-Miami events. Supported events must be open to the public, and applicants must be full-time faculty.

To apply for funding, download the application form and read the guidelines carefully. Email your completed application as a Word or PDF attachment to humanitiesgrants@miamioh.edu. Applications are reviewed three times a year. Please refer to the Faculty Opportunities page for current deadlines.  Requests for event or program support are reviewed by the center’s steering committee within several weeks of submission.

Depending on the number and success of proposals in the early funding rounds, significantly less funding may be available in later rounds.  In making awards, the committee prioritizes support for programs that will draw large audiences; have appeal beyond a single department or discipline; engage diverse audiences of faculty, students, and people outside the university; and have connections to curriculum or implications for humanities teaching and scholarship.  

The budget worksheet contained in the application form is designed to help applicants understand typical event costs and be good stewards of limited resources. The committee prioritizes projects with committed support, where possible, from the applicant’s home department and/or other university departments and funding units. The committee scrutinizes budgets and sometimes requests cuts.  Applications should explain  atypical or unusually expensive expensive items in a proposed budget. Honoraria for lectures are expected to run between $200 - $1,000, with $500 being a typical fee for a lecture and classroom visit. Fees closer to $1000 indicate significant seniority and professional accomplishment. If a speaker’s bureau represents the proposed visitor, fees can be very high; please consider discussing negotiation tactics with the director of the Humanities Center.  

All applicants must check the Humanities Center Calendar of Events prior to submission and agree not to schedule in competition with another humanities event.  If a conflict seems unavoidable, please contact the director of the center.  Applicants are urged to plan events six months in advance and to share tentative plans as soon as possible by writing a brief note to the center's staff at humanitiescenter@miamioh.edu.  If plans for your event are firm, please place it on the calendar using our simple Submit an Event form.  Sharing this information has multiple advantages, including enhanced support for your event.  Grant recipients agree to publicize their events in order to attract sizeable audiences.  The center will circulate reminders about your event, but applicants are responsible for generating print and/or electronic advertising.  Costs for advertising (including design charges) should be included in your budget.   Recipients agree to submit a post-event report and any unused funds in excess of $200 within 45 days of the event.  We appreciate receiving pictures or media from your event.  To apply, please email this document, as a Word or PDF attachment, to humanitiesgrants@miamioh.edu.  You should receive an auto-generated reply informing you that your application has been received in good order.