Digital Humanities Travel Grants


This grant program is currently paused for budgetary reasons, but we hope to resume when funds are available.

Digital Humanities Travel Grants provide KU faculty members, academic staff, and graduate students with up to $1,000 in financial support for domestic or international travel undertaken in order to: 1) conduct research for a digital humanities project, 2) present on digital humanities research at an academic conference, OR  3) participate in a digital humanities professional development and/or training initiative.

Deadline
Digital Humanities Travel Grants are reviewed twice annually. Deadlines are November 1st at 11:59pm and April 1st at 11:59pm. 

Questions
Applicants should direct all questions about the Digital Humanities Travel Grants to IDRH co-director Brian Rosenblum (brianrosenblum@ku.edu).

The Digital Humanities Travel Grant reimburses successful applicants for travel expenses up to the maximum amount stated in the award letter.  Award amounts vary but will not exceed $1,000; no more than half of IDRH’s annual travel grant fund will be distributed in each half-year awards cycle.  Funds can be used for transportation, lodging, meals reimbursement, and research-related expenses (e.g., photocopying, access fees).  Awards may be less than the amount requested; final award amounts will depend upon amount of funding available to IDRH, number of overall applications, and other factors. Priority will be given to travel applications which demonstrate that the applicant intends to use their travel award to:

  1. Give a presentation on digital humanities research at an academic conference;
  2. Conduct digital humanities research that will be publicly presented at the KU Campus after the applicant’s return; and/or
  3. Attend a digital humanities conference, workshop, or training that will have a direct and demonstrable impact on the applicant’s research or teaching activity.

Grants are intended to provide support for travel that applicants would otherwise be unable to afford. Only one application per individual is permitted each academic year.

Eligible applicants will:

  1. Be a tenure-track faculty member (including tenured faculty in phased retirement), a full-time academic staff member, or a currently-enrolled graduate student at the University of Kansas;
  2. Demonstrate that the travel for which funding is requested relates directly to the digital humanities;
  3. Have not been awarded a Digital Humanities Travel Grant at any time during the previous three academic years preceding the application deadline; and
  4. Applicants who have permanent research budgets provided by the University will receive lower priority in the selection process. 

Digital Humanities Travel Grant recipients are required to:

  1. Complete all travel within 12 months of the date of the award;
  2. Submit a brief report on the work accomplished and its impact on the overall project, due within 60 days of the completion of the travel;
  3. Register travel through the University by completing the form or following the appropriate authorization process for your unit.
  4. Submit all receipts, with travel authorization number, for reimbursement within 90 days of the date the expense was incurred to: idrh@ku.edu. Central accounting requires that receipts be accompanied by a travel itinerary detailing the work undertaken during each day of travel.

All application materials must be submitted to idrh@ku.ed. Paper submissions will not be accepted.  For an application to be verified as complete, and thus forwarded for committee review, applicants must submit the following:

  1. Cover Email: This should include your full name, department affiliation, phone number, email address, mailing address, travel destination, travel dates, and a brief (no more than one sentence) explanation for why the travel relates to the digital humanities.
  2. Project Description: Please attach to your cover email a description of your proposed travel, not to exceed two double-spaced pages, with one-inch margins and twelve-point type. Endnotes are included in the page limitations.  Explain the goals, methods and significance of the proposed travel and its contribution to your digital humanities work as a scholar, teacher, or staff member.  Explain what the proposed travel will allow you to accomplish with regard to your current project and why you need financial assistance from the IDRH Travel Grant fund.
  3. Project Budget: Please attach a full budget for your project, including the following information:
  • Destination (To/From)
  • Dates of Travel
  • Airfare (Amount and Explanation)
  • Ground Transportation (Amount and Explanation)
  • Lodging (Location, # of days, $ per day)
  • Meals (# of days, $ per day)
  • Registration Fees (if attending a conference or training)
  • Photocopying (# of copies, $ per copy)
  • Supplies (# of units, $ per unit)
  • Other Travel Related Costs

If the requested Digital Humanities Travel Grant funds will not cover the full cost of your proposed travel, please explain how the remaining costs will be covered.

  1. Curriculum Vitae: Please attach a no more than two-page CV, including:
  • A record of the applicant's education, including the dates when degrees were awarded;
  • A record of applicant's employment;
  • Al list of applicant's publications, including page numbers for journal articles and book chapters, if applicable; and
  • A list of applicant's awards and grants received during the last five years.

No extraneous materials will be considered.  The Project Description, Project Budget, and Curriculum Vitae should be attached to the Cover Email as one single PDF with the filename “IDRH-travel-grant.YEAR-Semester.ApplicantLastName.ApplicantFirstName” (ex. IDRH-travel-grant.2019-Spring.LastName.FirstName. The email subject heading should read: “Digital Humanities Travel Grant Application: Applicant Last Name, Applicant First Name” and should be sent to idrh@ku.edu before the deadline for the upcoming review period.

A committee appointed by the IDRH co-directors selects grant recipients according to the following criteria:

  1. Significance of the contribution that the proposed travel will make to digital humanities research and teaching at the University of Kansas;
  2. Relevance of the proposed travel and to the applicant’s research, teaching, and/or work-related goals;
  3. Quality of the conception, organization, and description of the travel as presented in the application; and
  4. Financial need of the applicant.

An interdisciplinary panel of KU faculty with successful digital humanities track records is nominated to select awardees twice annually by the IDRH co-directors.  Reviewers meet to discuss individual applications and determine awardees.  A synopsis of reviewer comments will be sent to all applicants, regardless of whether or not a grant is awarded, by the IDRH co-directors within two months after the submission deadline in order to help applicants improve their written proposals.

Application Overview

  • Deadline: Applications Closed

  • Eligibility: Tenure-track faculty, full-time academic staff, or currently-enrolled graduate student at KU