Internal Research and Funding Resources

Information + Applications
Click the links below for information on each funding opportunity.

School Funding Opportunities

Dean's Faculty Development Fund
SHASS Faculty Travel Fund
Kelly/Douglas Humanities Fund
Levitan Prize in the Humanities
SHASS Research Fund
SHASS Teaching and Learning Fund
MISTI Global Seed Fund

MIT Funding Opportunities

Alumni-Sponsored Funding Opportunities
d'Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education
MISTI Global Seed Fund
MIT-Balliol Faculty Exchange

The School's Funding Opportunities

Dean's Faculty Development Fund

All faculty, permanent lecturers and senior lecturers, and principal/senior research associates are eligible to apply. Visiting faculty and staff are ineligible. Priority will be given to individuals without alternative sources of support (e.g. discretionary funds).

Proposals requesting up to $2,000 are accepted three times per academic year. Funding decisions will be made within roughly three weeks following the due dates:

October 4, 2013
February 7, 2014
April 11, 2014
Brief (1-2 pages) requests are invited to support well defined activities related to the scholarly and professional development of SHASS faculty, lecturers, and senior research staff.
Download the application cover page for the 2014 Dean's Fund.
Electronics submissions are much preferred.
Send to: deansfund@mit.edu.

If electronic submission is not possible, send application to: Office of the Dean, School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, MIT, 4-240, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, MA 02139 | Attn: Dean's Faculty Development Fund.
If you have questions, please direct all inquiries to deansfund@mit.edu.

SHASS Faculty Travel Fund

Members of the faculty may ask the Dean's Office to reimburse the cost of attending one conference per fiscal year. Regular faculty members (assistant professor and above) are eligible. The faculty member must be involved in professional activity at the conference (i.e. presenting a paper or moderating a panel discussion).

The maximum reimbursement is $1,000 toward airfare/transportation and lodging.
Prior approval must be obtained from the department headquarters and the Dean's Office. Retroactive approval for expenses will not be allowed.

Download the Faculty Travel Fund Application

Download the Travel Policies

MISTI Global Seed Funds

MISTI (MIT Science and Technology Initiatives) offers seed funds to MIT faculty and researchers to support early-stage international projects and research collaboration. Applicants are encouraged to involve MIT students—both undergraduate and graduate—in their projects.

MISTI GSF includes a general fund for projects in any country and six country funds, each with its own specific set of requirements. Projects that match the requirements of a country fund should apply to that fund; all others should apply to the general fund. Download the PDF application form.

For more information visit MISTI Global Seed Funds.
Soundings Magazine Fall 08 article on Global Seed Funds

MIT Funding Opportunities

Alumni-Sponsored Funding Opportunities

The generous support of alumni from the classes of 1951, 1955, and 1972 provides resources to faculty for educational initiatives.

Class of '51 Fund for Excellence in Education
Class of '55 Fund for Excellence in Teaching
Class of '72 Fund for Educational Innovation

Proposals should be submitted in the spring to the Dean for Undergraduate Education for projects to be undertaken in the next academic year.
For more information, visit the alumni fund web site.

The d'Arbeloff Fund for Excellence in MIT Education

Established through a grant from Brit, SM '61, and Alex d'Arbeloff '49 this program funds educational initiatives. A request for proposals is distributed annually in the fall.

For more information, visit the d'Arbeloff Fund.