Provostial Fund guidelines 2027

PROVOSTIAL FUND FOR THE ARTS AND HUMANITIES

SPRING and FALL 2027 APPLICATION GUIDELINES

Please read the following guidelines carefully as they have been updated

We are pleased to announce that the Provost’s Office has made $150,000 available in Provostial Funds for initiatives in the Arts and Humanities.

Applications for Spring 2027 are due Monday, November 9, 2026.

Application for Fall 2027 are due Monday, March 8, 2027.

This fund is intended to support creative, innovative initiatives in the arts and humanities, for projects led by ladder and non-ladder faculty within the Faculty of Arts and Sciences and/or other schools. Proposals might include performances, master classes, conferences, workshops, seminars, visits by outsiders, and they may involve collaborations across departments and divisions.

The committee for the Provostial Fund for the Arts and Humanities consists of faculty from various departments in the Arts and Humanities. The Committee will meet within one month of the deadline and awards will be announced as soon as possible thereafter.

To be considered proposals must meet the following requirements:

Proposals must be tied to the curriculum, whether that is to existing or to future courses. As with recent years, research proposals can no longer be considered.
Before submitting your proposal, please ensure that your Chair (and the Chairs of any participating departments) have reviewed and approved your proposal.
Your proposal also requires the review and approval by your Department Administrator, with a particular view to logistics and budget. These approvals can be conveyed by signatures within the proposal document itself, or via email to arts-hum@fas.harvard.edu.
Please note that proposals must be for activities that have not taken place yet and may not be for retroactive support.

The maximum award amount is capped at $5,000 per proposal.

For initiatives, events, and projects, the Committee will favor proposals that:

foster a sense of intellectual community among faculty colleagues and students;
have a strong curricular connection;
indicate undergraduate and/or graduate student participation in the intellectual content of an event;
lead to or support existing sustained activities rather than one-time events whose trace on campus life is soon erased;
promote innovation and interdisciplinarity;
propose the prudent use of funds. Honoraria should be kept as modest as possible.

Proposals are submitted by completing this form.

Please be sure to attach a 1-3 page account of the event with the following information:

Colleagues involved: if the proposal involves collaboration, please identify the lead faculty member responsible for all communication with the Committee
Goals of the project
Anticipated beginning and end date of the project
Courses with a direct or indirect connection to the project
A detailed budget for the entire project, indicating how the Provostial funds will be allocated. If travel is requested, please specify destinations and all related costs. N.B. The Committee's expectation is that, where other standard sources of funding are available, applicants should also apply to these sources; budgets should list such sources and the amounts requested. It is expected as well that departments will contribute, to the extent that their budget allows, to the activities proposed by their faculty members. Budgets should include specifics, and lack of budgetary detail will harm an application's chances.

If granted, recipients will be required to:

Submit a report on their activities, including the expenditure of all funds, within 3 months of the project’s termination. Applicants who have received prior Provostial Fund awards must have submitted a report on their previous award before a new proposal is forwarded to the Committee for review.
Return any unused funds to the Committee. If the funds awarded are for an event to be held in the upcoming academic year, unused funds need only be returned after the event is complete and all expenses covered by the award have been paid. If there is a question about timing for the detailed report or return of funds, please have your financial administrator contact us.

If you have questions, please write to arts-hum@fas.harvard.edu