NEH Grant ProgramsTeaching Development Fellowships, Online Applications accepted through October 1, 2009
The deadline for this program has passed. New guidelines will be available in advance of the next deadline. In the interim, the guidelines below can be used for reference, but should NOT be used to prepare an application.
Date posted: June 30, 2009
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 45.160
Questions?
Contact NEH’s Division of Research Programs at
202-606-8200 or TDFellowships@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
I. Grant Program Description
Teaching Development Fellowships (TDF) support college and university teachers pursuing research aimed specifically at improving their undergraduate teaching. The program has three broad goals: 1) to improve the quality of humanities education in the United States; 2) to strengthen the link between research and teaching in the humanities; and 3) to foster excellence in undergraduate instruction.
Projects must improve an existing undergraduate course that has been taught in at least THREE different terms and will continue to be taught by the applicant. Proposals for new courses or for mere course preparation will NOT be considered. The research project must be closely related to the applicant’s core interests as an interpreter of the humanities.
The research undertaken as a part of the project may involve engaging with fundamental texts or sources, exploring related subjects or academic disciplines, or cultivating neglected areas of learning. Projects may entail the acquisition of new language or digital skills as a means to performing the proposed research. The project must be directed primarily towards course improvement, not scholarly publication.
Research in any area of the humanities is welcome.
Fellowships may not be used for
Providing Access to Grant Products
As a taxpayer-supported federal agency, NEH endeavors to make the products of its grants available to the broadest possible audience. Our goal is for scholars, educators, students, and the American public to have ready and easy access to the wide range of NEH grant products. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
III. Award Information
Teaching Development Fellowships cover periods lasting from three to five months and carry stipends of $4,200 per month. Thus the maximum stipend is $21,000 for a five-month award period.
Applicants should request award periods that suit their schedules and the needs of their projects. A request for a shorter award period will not improve one’s chances of receiving a fellowship.
Recipients may begin their award as early as June 1, 2010, and as late as March 1, 2011.
The award period must be continuous. Fellows may carry up to a half-time teaching load while on tenure of the fellowship. The proposal’s workplan should reflect the applicant’s teaching load during the term of the proposed fellowship.
Those with questions are encouraged to contact the Teaching Development Fellowships staff at TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Cost Sharing
Teaching Development Fellowships do not require cost sharing.
Concurrent Grants from Other Organizations
Recipients may simultaneously hold grants from sources other than NEH in support of the same project during their award period, including sabbaticals and grants from their own institutions.
Multiple Applications
Applicants successful in more than one NEH-administered program in support of individual research (e.g., Fellowships, Summer Stipends) may hold only ONE award in the 2010 federal fiscal year (October 1, 2009-September 30, 2010).
Eligibility
The Teaching Development Fellowships program accepts applications from faculty members who meet the citizenship requirement below and who carry a full-time teaching load at two-year or four-year colleges and universities. Applicants whose part-time teaching positions at different colleges or universities amount to the equivalent of a full-time teaching load are also eligible.
Applicants must have their department or program chair or dean certify in writing that the institution supports the proposed project and will offer the proposed course after the completion of the award. (See Section IV, no. 5, below.)
Applicants must have completed formal education by the application deadline. While applicants need not have advanced degrees, individuals currently enrolled in a degree-granting program are ineligible to apply. Graduate students seeking support for a degree in the humanities should consider the Department of Education’s Jacob K. Javits Fellowship Program. Those who have satisfied all the requirements for a degree and are awaiting its conferral may apply for a Teaching Development Fellowship, but such applicants need a letter from the dean of the conferring school, attesting to the applicant’s status as of October 1, 2009. This letter may be faxed to the Teaching Development Fellowships program at 202-606-8204; alternatively, a PDF version of the signed letter may be included as an attachment to an e-mail message sent to TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Citizenship Requirement
All U.S. citizens are eligible to apply, whether they reside inside or outside the United States. Foreign nationals who have been living in the United States or its jurisdictions for at least the three years immediately preceding the application deadline are also eligible.
Late, incomplete, and ineligible applications will not be reviewed.
Application and Submission Information
HOW TO PREPARE YOUR APPLICATION
Application advice
Prior to beginning, applicants should review the evaluation criteria listed below in Section V and consult the Frequently Asked Questions.
Because of the large number of applications, NEH staff is not able to read and comment on draft proposals. However, potential applicants may discuss with the staff specific concerns or questions that arise during the preparation of their proposals. Contact NEH’s Division of Research Programs at 202-606-8200 or TDFellowships@neh.gov. Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
Once an application has been submitted, staff will not comment on it except with respect to issues of completeness and eligibility.
NEH does not accept applications by e-mail or fax.
You will prepare your application for submission via Grants.gov just as you would a paper application. Format pages with one-inch margins and with a font size no smaller than eleven point. Applications exceeding the page limits will not be reviewed.
In addition to the forms described in Step 4 below, your application should consist of the following five parts.
  1. Narrative—Not to Exceed Three Single-Spaced Pages
    Applicants should provide an intellectual justification for their projects by explaining how their research as interpreters of the humanities will enhance classroom teaching and student learning. A simple statement of need or intent is insufficient.
    The narrative should not assume specialized knowledge and should be free of technical terms and jargon.
    In the course of writing a narrative, applicants should address the following areas:
    • Teaching Value and Intellectual Significance
      Discuss the basic ideas, problems, or questions examined by the research project, including the proposed project’s intellectual significance. Explain the importance of the course within the applicant’s teaching portfolio and within the institution’s overall curriculum. Include relevant information such as the number of times the course has been offered, whether the course is currently taught, and the number of students enrolled when the course was most recently offered.
    • Methods and Work Plan
      Provide an overview of the research project and describe what will be accomplished during the award period. Include a detailed work plan that explains the specific ways in which the proposed research will enhance the particular course.
    • Skills and Materials
      Explain the research materials to be used, the knowledge to be learned, the skills to be acquired, or the course materials to be developed. If applicable, specify the level of competence in the languages or digital technologies needed for the study, or how these skills will be acquired. If relevant, specify the arrangements for access to archives, collections, or institutions that contain the necessary resources.
    • Final Product and Access
      Specify the end results in terms of improved class materials and enhanced subject or discipline competency by faculty and students. Explain how the proposed research will improve faculty teaching and student learning. If the course appears on a Web site, please provide the URL.
      NEH expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. In the case of digital products NEH strongly encourages projects that will offer free public access to online resources. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
  2. Course Syllabus
    Provide a copy of the course syllabus that will be revised with the proposed research.
  3. Bibliography—Not to Exceed One Single-Spaced Page
    The bibliography should consist of primary and secondary sources that relate directly to the project. Include the works that you plan to study and related literature and other sources that you intend to consult.
  4. Résumé—Not to Exceed Two Single-Spaced Pages
    Your résumé should provide the following:
    • Current and Past Positions.
    • Education: List degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations.
    • Awards and Honors: Include dates. If you have received prior support from NEH, indicate the dates of these grants and the publications that resulted from them.
    • Course List: List courses taught within the last five years. Provide basic information about your teaching in the last year, including the number of students taught, the number of courses offered, and the number of different preparations.
    • Other Relevant Professional Activities and Publications.
  5. Reference Letters—Two must Be Submitted Online to NEH Not Later Than October 20, 2009
    Based on the information provided in the application, NEH contacts the referees by e-mail requesting that they submit their letters online (see Step 4, below).
    Applicants are responsible for providing referees with relevant materials. Letters of reference should attest to the promise of the proposed research, the quality of the applicant’s teaching, and the applicant’s abilities as an interpreter of the humanities.
    One letter MUST be from the applicant’s department or program chair or dean and certify that the institution supports the proposed project and will offer the course in question. Ideally, the chair or dean would also explain the importance of the course within the institution’s overall curriculum.
HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION VIA GRANTS.GOV
Grants.gov, the central federal government portal for all grant applications. To do so, applicants must have a computer with Internet access and the current version of the free Adobe Reader. The latest version of Adobe Reader, which is designed to function with PCs and Macintosh computers using a variety of popular operating systems, is available at no charge from the Adobe Web site (www.adobe.com). What follows is a step-by-step guide for submitting your Teaching Development Fellowships application through Grants.gov.
STEP 1: Register with Grants.gov
All applicants must register with Grants.gov and create a username and password. Please note, though, that the Grants.gov registration process has recently changed.
For new applicants only: Applicants who have never registered as individual applicants at Grants.gov must go to: https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/IndCPRegister and enter this Funding Opportunity Number:
20091001-FW
Tip: NEH strongly recommends that you complete your registration at least one week before the application deadline. Grants.gov has provided easy step-by-step instructions (in pdf format) here: www.grants.gov/assets/IndvUserGuide.pdf.
For returning applicants only: Applicants who have registered as individuals for past competitions need not re-register with Grants.gov to submit their proposals.
Applicants who lose their username and password can request a reminder at https://apply07.grants.gov/apply/secured/ApplicantLogin.jsp.
If you have problems registering with Grants.gov, contact the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726 or support@grants.gov.
STEP 2: Download the current version of the free
Adobe Reader
To fill out your application, you will need to download and install the current version of the free Adobe Reader. To download the Reader or update the Reader already installed on your computer, go to www.adobe.com. Click on “Get Adobe Reader” and then “Download Now.” Once installed, this software will allow you to view and fill out Grants.Gov application packages for any federal agency.
STEP 3: Download the Application Package

To submit your application, you will need to download the application package from the Grants.gov Web site. You can download the application package at any time. (You do not have to wait for your Grants.gov registration to be complete.) Click the button to the right to download the package.

Save the application package to your computer’s hard drive. Like any other file on your computer, the NEH Teaching Development Fellowships application can be selected, opened, and saved; you do not have to be online to work on it.
You can save your work by clicking the “Save” button at the top of your screen. Tip: If you choose to save your application package before you have completed it, you will receive a message indicating that your application is not valid. Click “OK” to save your work and complete the package another time.
The application package contains two forms that you must complete in order to submit your application
  1. Application for Federal Assistance SF424-Individual—this form asks for basic information about the project and the applicant.
  2. NEH Attachment Form—this form allows you to attach your narrative, course syllabus, bibliography, and résumé.
In addition, you need to download the NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals form. This form—in Portable Document Format (.pdf)—can be found here.
To assist applicants, Grants.gov provides a helpful troubleshooting page.
STEP 4: Prepare the Application Forms
A complete application includes the following items:
How to Fill Out the SF424-Individual Form
Select the SF424-Individual form in the Mandatory Documents field of the application package. Move it to the Mandatory Documents for Submission field using the right-facing arrow button. Click the “Open Forms” button to begin using the form. Provide the following information:
Name of Federal Agency: This will be filled in automatically.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: This will be filled in automatically.
Date Received: Please leave blank.
Funding Opportunity Number: This will be filled in automatically.
Applicant Information: Supply the name, address, telephone, and other contact information for the applicant.
For question “e,” please enter the number of your Congressional district. For example, if you live in the 5th Congressional District of your state, enter “5.” If you don't have a Congressional district (i.e., you are in a state or U.S. territory that doesn’t have districts or you are in a foreign country), enter a “0” (zero). To determine your Congressional district, visit the House of Representatives Web site at www.house.gov and use the “Find Your Representative” tool.
Disclosure of all or part of your Social Security Number is optional. Funded applicants will be required to supply their full Social Security Number after the competition is completed.
Project Information: Enter the title of your project. Your title should be brief, descriptive, and informative to a nonspecialist audience. Provide a description of your project not to exceed 1,000 characters written for a nonspecialist audience and stating the importance of the proposed work to larger issues in the humanities. Enter the starting and ending dates for your project.
Check the box “By signing this Application. . .”
Use the “Close Form” button at the upper left of the form to save your work and return to the main menu.
How to Fill Out the NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals Form
This form can be downloaded and saved to your computer in Portable Document Format (.pdf) here. Open the form and provide the following information:
Field of Project: From the drop-down menu, choose the field of study that best describes the field of your project.
Project Director Field of Study: From the drop-down menu, choose the field of study that best describes your area of expertise.
Address Information: Please indicate if the mailing address given on the SF424-Individual Form is your home or work address.
Institution: Please complete the information for the institution of higher education at which you would teach the proposed course. Applicants are strongly encouraged to include their institution's DUNS number and TIN/EIN number. These numbers are generally provided by an institution's sponsored research office and greatly improve efficiency when your application is being processed.
Reference Letters: Provide the names, e-mail addresses, and affiliations for your two recommenders. After the deadline, NEH will contact these individuals, requesting that they write their letters of recommendation. Letters must be submitted online not later than October 20, 2009.
How to Use the NEH Attachments Form
The component parts of your application must be attached to the Attachments Form in Portable Document Format (.pdf). NEH cannot accept attachments in their original word processing, graphic, or spreadsheet formats. If you do not have access to software to convert your files into PDFs, many low-cost and free software packages will do so. To learn more, go to www.neh.gov/grants/grantsgov/pdf.html .
When you open the NEH Attachment Form, you will find fifteen attachment buttons labeled “Attachment 1” through “Attachment 15.” By clicking on a button, you will be able to choose the file from your computer that you wish to attach. You must name and attach your files in the proper order, as listed below:
ATTACHMENT 1 : To this button, please attach the completed NEH Supplemental Information for Individuals form. Please name the file “NEHinfo.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 2: To this button, please attach your project narrative. Please name the file “narrative.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 3: To this button, please attach your course syllabus. Please name the file “syllabus.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 4: To this button, please attach your bibliography. Please name the file “bibliography.pdf”.
ATTACHMENT 5: To this button, please attach your résumé. Please name the file “resume.pdf”.
No other attachments should be included. Applications submitted with additional attachments or with attachments that exceed the length limitations will not be reviewed.
STEP 5: Upload Your Application to Grants.gov
When you have completed the SF424-Individual Form and attached the component parts of your application to the Attachments form, save your work to activate the “Submit” button. You are now ready to upload your application package to NEH via Grants.gov.
To submit your application, click the “Submit” button. Your computer will automatically connect to the Internet, and you will be asked to supply your username and password (see Step 1 above). Once you have successfully entered your username and password, electronically sign and submit your application. When you click the “Sign and Submit Application” button, your application package will be uploaded to Grants.gov.
Please note: Past NEH applicants have reported slower response times from Grants.gov during the high usage periods between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time.
After the upload is complete, a confirmation page, which includes a Grants.gov tracking number, will indicate that you have submitted your application to Grants.gov. Please print this page for your records. You will also receive a confirmation e-mail message.
NEH suggests that you submit your application no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on the day of the deadline. That way, should you encounter technical problems, you will still have time to contact the Grants.gov help desk for support. The Grants.gov help desk is open Monday to Friday from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time at 1-800-518-4726. You can also send an e-mail to support@grants.gov.
Deadlines
Applications for NEH Teaching Development Fellowships must be received by Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on October 1, 2009. Grants.gov will date- and time-stamp your application after it is fully uploaded. Applications submitted after that date will not be accepted.
Application Review
Evaluators are asked to apply the following criteria when judging the quality of applications.
  1. The intellectual significance of the research, and its potential for strengthening the proposed course.
  2. The value of the proposed course for undergraduate teaching.
  3. The applicant’s preparation for undertaking the proposed research.
  4. The overall quality of the application, including the clarity of expression.
  5. The feasibility of the proposed plan of work and the likelihood that the applicant will complete the project.
NEH expects grantees to provide broad access to all grant products, insofar as the conditions of the materials and intellectual property rights allow. For projects that lead to the development of Web sites, all other considerations being equal, NEH gives preference to those that provide free access to the public.
All other considerations being equal, preference will be given to projects that provide free access to materials produced with grant funds.
Review and Selection Process
Knowledgeable persons outside NEH will read each application and advise the agency about its merits. NEH staff comments on matters of fact or on significant issues that otherwise would be missing from these reviews, then makes recommendations to the National Council on the Humanities. The National Council meets at various times during the year to advise the NEH chairman on grants. The chairman takes into account the advice provided by the review process and, by law, makes all funding decisions.
Award Administration Information
Award notices
Applicants will be notified of the result of their application by letter or e-mail not later than early March 2010. They may obtain the evaluations of their applications by sending a letter or e-mail message to NEH, Division of Research Programs, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Room 318, Washington, D.C. 20506 or TDFellowships@neh.gov.
Responsibilities of Award Recipients
Before submitting an application, applicants should review NEH’s Research Misconduct Policy.
Award conditions
The requirements for awards are contained in the General Information on NEH Fellowships and any specific terms and conditions contained in the award document.
Reporting requirements
A final performance report will be due within ninety days after the completion date of the award period. The final report form is available online and electronic submission is required via the NEH Web site.
Recipients will be expected to submit a revised course syllabus, a bibliography, and other relevant materials upon the completion of the fellowship. These materials may be posted on the NEH Web site.
Points of Contact
If you have questions about the program, contact
Division of Research
Room 318
National Endowment for the Humanities
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20506
202-606-8200
Hearing-impaired applicants can contact NEH via TDD at 1-866-372-2930.
TDFellowships@neh.gov
If you need help using Grants.gov, contact:
Grants.gov: http://www.Grants.gov
Grants.gov help desk: support@Grants.gov
Grants.gov customer support tutorials and manuals: http://grants.gov/applicants/app_help_reso.jsp
Grants.gov support line: 1-800-518-GRANTS (4726)
Grants.gov troubleshooting tips
Other Information
Privacy Policy
Information in these guidelines is solicited under the authority of the National Foundation on the Arts and Humanities Act of 1965, as amended, 20 U.S.C. 956. The principal purpose for which the information will be used is to process the grant application. The information may also be used for statistical research, analysis of trends, and Congressional oversight. Failure to provide the information may result in the delay or rejection of the application.
Application Completion Time
The Office of Management and Budget requires federal agencies to supply information on the time needed to complete forms and also to invite comments on the paperwork burden. NEH estimates that the average time to complete this application is fifteen hours per response. This estimate includes time for reviewing instructions, researching, gathering, and maintaining the information needed, and completing and reviewing the application.
Please send any comments regarding the estimated completion time or any other aspect of this application, including suggestions for reducing the completion time, to the Office of Publications, National Endowment for the Humanities, Washington, D.C. 20506; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (3136-0134), Washington, D.C. 20503. According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB number.