Purpose
The purpose of the CAHSS Research Fellows Program (CRF) is to support outstanding research and creative activity and to advance the careers of College faculty members by permitting release time for one semester to focus on scholarship. Fellows will be relieved of teaching duties and, as possible and appropriate, of service duties for the Fall Semester or Spring Semester, to pursue their proposed research programs. Each Fellow’s academic department will be compensated the College’s standard rate for two course releases.
Eligibility
Only tenured Associate Professors and full Professors are eligible to apply. Three fellowships will be available to tenured Associate Professors preparing for promotion to full. A fourth fellowship will be available with preference given to a full Professor.
Criteria
Likelihood that the award will have a significant impact on the faculty member’s scholarship and career enhancement. Priority will be given to:
- Associate Professors preparing for promotion review in the next two years
- Faculty members who are competing for prestigious externally funded awards and fellowships
- Faculty members for whom the release time would materially help bring a research project to completion
- Faculty members who are shifting directions in their scholarship or research and for whom the fellowship would provide support for their transition
- Faculty members who have not recently received a fellowship award or other full release from teaching assignments to support research
Expected of recipients:
Fellows will submit a report of their accomplishments during the fellowship period to the Dean by the first day of classes of the subsequent semester. Send to the Dean via Tammy Brown.
Application Guidelines:
- Cover Sheet: (available here)
- Narrative: A proposal of about 750 words, or about three double-spaced typewritten pages. Applicants should take care to ensure that the proposal is clear to non-specialists in their fields. The proposal should provide:
- Description of activities to be performed
- Clear and concise statement of the goals and expected outcomes of the fellowship semester
- Explanation of the impact of fellowship support on the faculty member’s career advancement and program of research or scholarship
- the significance of the project to the field
- A current curriculum vitae in the UMBC format.
- A letter of support from the department Chair. Please note, in the event of multiple department submissions, ranking by the Chair is no longer required.
Evaluation Criteria:
Proposals should be written with attention to the application guidelines and submitted in the requested format by the specified due date. Given the variety of disciplines in which proposals may be received, reviewers will not be asked to judge the scholarly merit of the proposed project per se, but applicants should describe the proposed project so that it may be understood by reviewers with little background in the area of proposed study. Proposals should outline a realistic and feasible set of objectives to be accomplished during the fellowship period. The proposal should be well organized, well written, and persuasive.
The CAHSS Research Advisory Committee will review the applications and provide its recommendations to the Dean, including the rationale for the recommendations.
Deadline: October 15
Completed proposals and supporting documents must be emailed as one pdf document directly to Box at: CAHSS_R.a0of4m582u23kwfm@u.box.com
Questions: All questions should be directed to Associate Dean Preminda Jacob (pjacob2@umbc.edu)