The University of Minnesota’s single submission will be submitted through Mellon’s online grant portal. Juliet Burba, IAS Grants Developer, will facilitate the submission process. 

The application consists of the following:

1. An executive summary (description of proposed work).
2. The rationale for raising the indicated problem/topic, the central questions to be addressed, and the potential significance of the inquiry to be pursued, including its impact on the institution.
3. A description of the cases to be studied and the humanities methodologies to be brought to bear on them; the thematic “threads” that will run through the seminar; and evidence of concrete buy-in and support from university administration. 
   
   Note: The text covering these first three components typically ranges from 3,000 to 6,000 words and must not exceed 8,000 words.
    
4. If support for a postdoctoral fellow and/or dissertation research fellow(s) is envisioned, the procedures to be used in recruiting for these positions. Please note: hiring of postdocs or awarding dissertation research fellowships is not a requirement this year.
5. A well-developed preliminary plan for the seminar that outlines the specific topics to be addressed in each session, provides the names and qualifications of the scholars and community partners who would ideally participate, and offers direction for developing a resource that summarizes and aims to institute the seminar’s findings.
6. A budget and budget description, informed by the budget guidance below.
7. Short CVs (1-2 pages) for the principal seminar organizers. Information about other core participants should be limited to a few lines of text included as an appendix.
8. An endorsement letter signed by an institutional officer. 
    

The proposal, budget, and budget description should be entered in the appropriate fields in the system. Each of the components outlined above will be entered into its own field, with the exception of the CVs, which should be uploaded as PDFs. There is an additional compliance section in the online application. While we do expect this to be completed, it is required for internal purposes, and will not be viewed by the selection panel.

Applicants will be notified of selection decisions by late February 2025. Selected finalists will work with Higher Learning staff through an iterative process to finalize materials that will be presented to the Foundation’s Board of Trustees for approval in June 2025.

Following approval, funds are disbursed to the institution. Annual reports on the progress of the seminar are required for the grant term.

Budget: Funding requests should not exceed $300,000 for each seminar. Budget periods should align with reporting dates that work for the institution, but the first budget period must begin with July 1, 2025. For this reason, the first period may be longer or shorter than 12 months. Funds may support: one postdoc; up to two dissertation research fellows (in the form of graduate tuition or supplemental funding); travel and living expenses for short stays by visiting scholars; costs associated with coordinating seminars, including meals, honoraria, consulting fees, and stipends. Unlike in previous years, there are no required expenditures. Funds may not be used to cover released time for regular faculty participants, rentals of university space, or indirect costs.