New Directions Fellowships

The goal of New Directions is to support the evolution and expansion of humanities disciplines by investing in the intellectual range and productivity of exceptional faculty. Therefore, the program is intended for scholars in the humanities to work on problems that interest them most, at an appropriately advanced level of study. These awards further benefit scholarship in the humanities more generally by encouraging the highest standards in cross-disciplinary research.

Awarded fellows receive: 

To permit flexibility in meeting individual scholars' needs, these funds may be expended over a period not to exceed three full academic years following the date of the award. The award normally can be delayed for a maximum of one year, if circumstances require it. The Foundation also expects the fellow's home institution to use budgetary relief resulting from the award for academic purposes, preferably in the fellow's department.

This is a limited submission competition. Invited institutions will be asked to solicit proposals from eligible faculty members in the humanities and humanistic social sciences wishing to further their research through engaging in programs of study in fields other than their own. 

It is expected that institutions will communicate the particulars of both the program and the application process to faculty in all the relevant academic departments and programs. Following an internal competition to be overseen by a committee of senior faculty members, each institution will forward the proposal it has selected to Mellon. Mellon convenes a panel of distinguished scholars which chooses 10–12 finalists to present to Mellon's Trustees. Institutions and individual recipients will be notified and, if necessary, will work with Mellon staff to develop their final requests. Once Mellon's Trustees have given their final approval, grants will be awarded to, and administered by, the fellows' home institutions.

Eligible candidates will be faculty members who were awarded a doctorate in the humanities or humanistic social sciences within the last six to twelve years and whose research interests call for formal training in a discipline other than the one in which they are expert. Such training may consist of coursework or other programs of organized study. It may take place either at fellows' home institutions or elsewhere, as appropriate. Although it is anticipated that many fellows will seek to acquire deeper knowledge of other fields within the broadly defined sphere of the humanities and humanistic social sciences, proposals to study disciplines farther afield are eligible. The principal criteria for selection are:  (1) the originality of the idea, overall significance of the research, and appropriateness of the proposed training program, (2) the case for the importance of extra-disciplinary training, (3) potential for long-term impact on the candidates new or proposed field of study, beyond just the individual's research, and (4) a record of the nominee, including their history of effectively advancing public-facing and/or community-engaged work. 

Nominations should be submitted through the Mellon's online grant portal. Once a nomination has been invited, an institutional contact will then gain access to the application in the portal, as designated in the invitation letter. This person can grant access to additional contacts and remove themselves as necessary. Invited institutions should refer to the competition guidelines circulated with the invitation letter for a full description of how to apply and required application materials.

More general guidance may be found on our FAQ page.