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Humanities Labs

Pilot funding to support interdisciplinary research centering the arts and humanities

Access the CFP

Humanities Labs provide multiyear funding to teams of faculty and students working across disciplinary boundaries

Together, research teams tackle research questions of social relevance, strengthen community partnerships, and explore potential new curricular directions that connect humanities scholarship to today's challenges.
  • Who is eligible for the award?
  • Teams of at least two Senate faculty members, one of whom must be L&S faculty, and at least one graduate or undergraduate L&S student are eligible to apply. 
  • What types of projects will be considered? Or, is there anything specific that applications should include?
  • Projects should last an initial period of two years and must involve collaboration between faculty in at least two different departments (one of whom must be L&S faculty). They must engage at least one student for at least a portion of the award period. Finally, projects must have as a goal (among potential others) to either generate ideas for new curricular directions, create or deepen community partnerships, or create experiential learning opportunities for undergraduate students. 
  • When are applications due?
  • Applications are due October 30, 2026!
  • Where can I apply?
  • Go to InfoReady (or follow this link) and use your UC Davis login to access the CFP and reference materials.
  • When will awardees be announced?

  • Awardees should be announced in January 2027.

     

Why Labs?

From coordinating and translating across different methodological approaches to developing meaningful relationships with new partners, interdisciplinary research can be logistically challenging and resource-intensive.

To address some of the challenges inherent to interdisciplinary research, Humanities Labs awards come with both financial and technical support: 
  • Funding is earmarked for at least two years, to give initiatives time to take root and mature
  • The DHI will provide free meeting space and assistance with communication, fundraising, and event planning
  • Teams will have opportunities to showcase their work on- and off-campus, magnifying their reach and impact

While the value of interdisciplinary research has been widely recognized, there is often the risk of arts and humanity perspectives being sidelined in favor of strictly quantitative approaches. Humanities Labs seek to address this risk by supporting interdisciplinary projects that explicitly center humanities and arts methodology.