Midcareer Scholars Grant Program

Posted by Spencer Foundation on June 8, 2015

Spencer Foundation Seeks Applications From Midcareer Scholars

The Spencer Foundation is seeking applications from academic midcareer scholars for the second round of its Midcareer Grant Program.

The program provides support for scholars interested in advancing their understanding of a compelling problem of education by acquiring new skills, substantive knowledge, theoretical perspectives, or methodological tools. It is not intended to encourage researchers to abandon their existing area of expertise, but rather to build on, enrich, and extend that training with the acquisition of new methodological tools and/or perspectives about a subject to which they have been deeply committed throughout their academic career. This program is intended to provide support for a year-long program of study during which time the recipient will be released from teaching and from committee service and governance responsibilities on his or her home campus, or from other responsibilities as appropriate in other settings.

Projects must be focused on the exploration of an important problem, or set of problems, of education that is well-aligned with the applicant’s core interests and past scholarship. Applicants will also be asked to map the “outer edges” of what they have come to know through their earlier research and then articulate how they will move into what they do not yet know but hope to learn through a targeted midcareer program of study. In addition, applicants will be asked to fully describe how the acquisition of new tools or perspectives enriches their understanding of that problem and to present a well-thought out plan for acquiring them.

Grant awards will not be confined to proposals to learn a new discipline, although in a number of cases that would fit. A psychologist studying techniques for promoting positive character development in children might spend a year studying philosophical work bearing on character development and the proper role of families and schools in shaping children’s character. A historian of American education might spend a year studying some aspect of the history of education in Brazil or France. A scholar who works on the teaching of writing in colleges might have reason to acquire a deeper understanding of early literacy.

Up to five midcareer awards of up to $150,000 will be awarded during the 2016-2017 academic years.

To be eligible, applicants must be faculty members or research scholars who were awarded doctorates within the last seven to twenty years.

An informational call will be held on June 3, 2015, at 3:30 P.M. (Central Time). Participation in this call is not required in order to submit a proposal; it is optional for those who have questions not addressed in the program description. However, registration is required.

For complete program guidelines, an FAQ, information about registering for the info call, and application procedures, see the Spencer Foundation website.

DEADLINE: SEPTEMBER 10, 2015

http://www.spencer.org/content.cfm/midcareer-grant-program