Grants for Harvard Faculty

The Center for the Study of World Religions (CSWR) offers a limited number of grants to Harvard University faculty to support faculty-led research and other initiatives in world religions. As an international academic community engaged in the study of the religions of the world, the CSWR is particularly interested in supporting projects that

  • employ a comprehensive approach to the study of religion
  • encourage the exchange of ideas from many scholarly perspectives
  • complement the CSWR's global focus on religion
  • bring together scholars from within and outside the University to work collaboratively at the Center.

Please see Recent Grant Recipients for information on projects supported by CSWR faculty grants in earlier years.

Eligibility

All faculty who will be at Harvard during the year of the grant may apply. Preference will be given to permanent faculty from the Harvard Divinity School and the Committee on the Study of Religion who have not received a grant from the CSWR in the previous two years. For 2009-10, the CSWR particularly encourages faculty projects that do not include conferences. 

Selection

Applications are vetted and awards made by the CSWR director or acting director in consultation with the CSWR Advisory Board or other selected faculty. Selection criteria include:

  • the intellectual strength of the proposed project
  • the project's significance to the field of religious studies
  • the project's significance to the teaching of religion at Harvard
  • the extent to which the project provides opportunities for collaboration between project personnel and other faculty members at Harvard
  • the involvement project participants will have in the scholarly community at the CSWR

Awards

Grants of up to $15,000 are typically awarded. Please note that CSWR grants are not intended to be used as income by recipients, and cannot be disbursed as lump sum awards. Rather, the grants are to be used for the support of the recipient's research expenses in the form of direct payment of expenses and/or reimbursement accounts. Specific grant amounts are determined by the CSWR, based on the funding needs of each project, as reflected in the applicant's project budget.

CSWR grants may be combined with other awards. Applicants are encouraged to think of CSWR faculty grants as seed money for work to be funded by other grantors.

Grantees are expected to generate a publication or present a public lecture at the CSWR during or soon after the term of their awards. To encourage interaction between projects and the CSWR community, grant recipients and associated student assistants may be provided with work space and limited other support (e.g., computer facilities, photocopying, general office equipment). The CSWR does not provide administrative assistance.

Application Requirements and Deadlines

The deadline for faculty grant applications for 2009-10 has passed; the deadline for 2010-11 is likely to be mid-February 2010. Email is the preferred method of communication.

Applications must include the following:

  1. A completed CSWR Faculty Grant Application Form (see below);
  2. A project budget (form provided);
  3. A project proposal of up to 5 pages describing the specific research project or initiative. In addition to describing the actual work to be undertaken, proposals should include information about project staffing (the CSWR does not provide administrative help, so please indicate how you will take care of any administrative functions; you may use faculty grant funds to hire student administrative assistance), schedule, funding, and final outcome or product (e.g., publication, lecture). Please address the following in your proposal:
    1. the project's significance to the field of religious studies;
    2. its significance to teaching of religion at Harvard;
    3. extent to which the project provides opportunities for collaboration between project personnel and other faculty members at Harvard;
    4. and its involvement of the scholarly community at the CSWR;
  4. A statement of support from any major collaborator or resource used (for example, if the project includes building a database, the applicant should include a statement from the IT department at Harvard involved; or, if the project includes a conference, please include a statement of support from the entity that will act as organizer). This can be an informal communication, such as email;
  5. The applicant's curriculum vitae and that of any other faculty or postdoctoral researchers who will contribute to the project.

Please use the following application and budget forms (Adobe Reader required):

Applications should be submitted by email (preferred), mail, or fax to:

Susan Lloyd McGarry, Manager of Planning and Special Projects
Center for the Study of World Religions, 42 Francis Avenue, Cambridge 02138
Tel. 617.496.1608; Fax. 617.496.5411

Susan Lloyd McGarry is also happy to provide further information about CSWR Faculty Grants—including writable-format application forms in Microsoft Word and budget forms in Excel.