Many Emerson School of the Arts and VMA faculty have expressed interest in finding funding for narrative and documentary film, and media projects. ORCS has prepared a list of film and media funders to get you started.
Some of these funders make awards to individual artists; some may require a fiscal sponsor. Emerson can serve as a fiscal sponsor many of those cases. Please contact us at orcs@emerson.edu for more details.
Emerson has a number of internal grant programs with deadlines in the Fall and Spring semesters. Here is a summary of what grant programs are offered this fall, and which ones to look for in the spring.
Formed from a partnership between the Graduate Student Association, the Office of Graduate Studies, and the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship, the Graduate Research Assistantship (GRA) grant intends to extend students’ classroom learning, expose them to current challenges in their discipline, build analytical skills, and provide a meaningful work experience that will also benefit faculty in the development of their research and scholarship agenda. Through this program, we also hope to encourage external grant applications that include graduate research assistants.
Faculty Advancement Fund Grant (FAFG) due annually in December; Pre-Approval forms due annually in November. 2023 Pre-Approval Deadline: November 1, 2023 2023 Application Deadline: December 1, 2023
The Faculty Advancement Fund Grant (FAFG) supports the scholarly and creative activities of the full‐time tenured and tenure-track faculty members. The Fund was established to enable the professional work of Emerson’s faculty in its efforts to sustain academic excellence in teaching, research/creative activity, and service. The Faculty Advancement Fund Grant supports proposals deemed likely to substantially improve the quality of research, publication, creative activities, teaching, and service that advance the mission of the College and the careers of its faculty.
The Affiliated Faculty Professional Development Fund (AFDF) supports the scholarly and creative activities of the affiliated faculty members of Emerson College. The AFDF will provide support for approved projects up to $1,500 each. Types of activities include travel and expenses leading to the production of scholarly, creative and artistic works, conference attendance, faculty development seminars, etc.
Internationalization, diversity, equity, and inclusion are strategic priorities for Emerson. Inclusive approaches to curriculum development and equitable pedagogical practices help ensure that learning experiences at Emerson are designed to foster student success in a culturally diverse and global society. The aim is to offer curricula that assists students in developing the required critical consciousness, values, awareness, skills and knowledge of differences to thrive as culturally competent, global citizens.
In 2024, the PFCI will support faculty participation in a Faculty Development Seminar in Ghana. The purpose of this seminar is to provide an intensive short-term faculty development experience that builds on Emerson’s capacity for international education and the internationalization of the curriculum. Faculty selected for the Seminar will receive airfare, lodging and meals for 10 days in Ghana in July, 2024.
The Diversity Fellows Program (formerly known as the Inclusive Excellence Fellows Program) is an annual, cohort-based program. This program invites full-time and affiliated faculty participants to critically reflect upon the relationship between social realities, social futures, and their pedagogical practices. Each Fellow will develop goals unique to one of the courses they teach and a pedagogical action plan based on intertwining sociocultural knowledge, content and industry-based knowledge, and empowering pedagogical practices. Fellows will be compensated $1,000.
Several years ago, the late Dr. Norman Stearns and Irma Mann Stearns, class of 1967, established a distinguished faculty award to honor a full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member in recognition of outstanding scholarly or creative achievement. A $3,000 award is presented annually to one applicant. This funding may be used to enhance an ongoing project or for the development of a new scholarly or creative endeavor. Travel is strongly encouraged to be a part of the project activity.
The Kasteel Well Faculty Development Fund (KFDF) supports the scholarly and creative activities of the affiliated faculty members of the Emerson College Kasteel Well Program in the Netherlands. Castle administrative staff manage the fund with assistance from the Office of Research and Creative Scholarship (ORCS). Small grants of up to $500 are offered from a total available funding pool of $1,500.
Jeffrey Greenhawt ’68 and Jan Jacobs Greenhawt ’69 have generously provided a gift to Emerson College for the expressed purpose of enabling Emerson faculty to procure resources that might assist them in obtaining external project support. The aim is to assist faculty who desire to pursue external funding for their research and scholarly endeavors, but lack experience in writing successful proposals, or the mentoring connections in grantsmanship that are common at larger institutions.
Funds can be used for activities such as travel to meet with a faculty mentor at another institution for the purpose of assisting in writing a proposal; fees to attend a workshop or seminar on proposal writing and grantsmanship; or consulting services in proposal writing or proposal review. A limited number of grants between $500 and $2,000 will be awarded each year.
As the summer comes to a close, it’s a good time to start thinking ahead to the fall, when a lot of fellowship applications are due. Fellowships have deadlines all year, but a large majority are due in the fall (September through December) for the following academic year.
This post provides examples of some fellowships of interest to Emerson faculty that are due this fall.
For more information about fellowships, how they can supplement a pre-tenure or sabbatical leave, or when to apply for one, please contact us at orcs@emerson.edu.
