Limited Submission 
Call for Proposals 

2024 Mellon New Directions Fellowship Competition

The Mellon Foundation has invited UC Riverside to nominate a candidate for the 2024 New Directions Fellowship competition. These fellowships provide support for exceptional faculty in the humanities and humanistic social sciences who received their doctorates between 2012 and 2018. 

Fellows undertake systematic training beyond their fields of specialization in order to acquire the new competencies needed for the pursuit of a cross-disciplinary research agenda. This fellowship does not aim to facilitate short-term outcomes, such as completion of a book. Rather, it is a longer-term investment in the scholar’s intellectual range and productivity. 

• Priority will be given to applications that manifest 1) a strong focus on questions of social justice as they pertain to minoritized populations, or 2) an investment in filling in the gaps left by more traditional narratives in the history of the Americas. 
• The second field of study must be a foray into a new area of intellectual inquiry/subject and not just an enhancement of skills to go further in the primary field. Language study, technical training, or skills acquisition such as GIS mapping do not, by themselves, constitute a new direction. 

Final budgets commonly range from $175,000 to $250,000; the maximum is $300,000. The term of the grant should cover a minimum of two years.

Applicants should familiarize themselves with the fellowship-specific application guidelines found at https://www.mellon.org/article/new-directions-fellowships. 

In order to meet the Foundation's nomination deadline, the campus internal deadline is October 9, 2024. 

Below is a more detailed schedule 

• September 23: Call posted on RED portal 
• October 9: Complete applications due to CHASS selection committee using this form. 
• October 12: Chair’s letter of recommendation due using this form 
• October 21: Committee recommendations to Dean 
• October 23: Dean’s selection on the campus nominee 
• October 24-Nov 4: RED review, budget adjustments, and dean’s letter of endorsement
• November 4: Designated campus liaison makes final submission to Mellon

The following CHASS faculty have kindly agreed to serve on the selection committee:

• El/yse Ambrose, Departments of Black Study and the Study of Religion
• Kristoffer Neville, Department of the History of Art 
• Michelle Raheja, Department of English

For questions or more information please contact Jasmine Hill, Director, Foundation Development at jasmine.hill@ucr.edu