Course Development Awards

Eligibility: Tenured faculty, tenure-track faculty, visiting faculty, and instructors

Application Period: Early March - Mid-April

Notification by: Early May

The Curatorial Studies Initiative Course Development Award supports course revision or study of objects or collections, exhibitions, and/or the critical-historical study of collecting, archiving, or curating creation that focuses on archival or curatorial practices broadly conceived. Courses may include the study of objects or collections, exhibitions, and/or the critical-historical study of collecting, archiving, or curating.

We welcome proposals in the humanities, social sciences, or sciences that:

• expand upon our understanding of human experiences through study of material evidence (e.g., visual, sonic, textual, ritual, etc.),
• contextualize particular objects, artifacts, documents, texts with other kinds of materials, and situates such materials in larger cultural, historical, aesthetic contexts,
• present the results of course research to a non-academic or public audience,
• address the educational goals of disciplinary practice, analytic/aesthetic discernment, and/or experiential learning.

Awards will be offered on a sliding scale up to $1,500 based on whether the course is a revision of an existing course or a new course, and the level of curatorial or archival work during the course. (Proposals should demonstrate that revisions of existing courses are substantial.)

Course development applications that propose the following additional work are especially encouraged:

• Travel
• Collaboration with other institutions
• Preparation of field trips
• Securing guest speakers
• Creating forums for the public dissemination or display of student work  

Proposals should indicate the number of weeks dedicated to curatorial or archival study, the types of assignments, the percentage of the final grade for curatorial or archival work, and/or the curatorial or archival knowledge or skills students will acquire. 

Funds will be available from July 1, 2025, to June 31, 2026. Proposals must include an “award justification” that provides a rationale for a proposed budget, including compensation for time and/or expenses required for additional work noted above. Awards may be requested for reimbursement (non-taxable) or as a stipend (taxable). 

Proposals that focus on materials or collections at our partner institutions are encouraged, but not required: Burke’s Special Collections and Archives, Everson Museum of Art, Fenimore Art Museum, Museum of Science and Technology (MOST), Munson Art Museum, Wellin Museum of Art.

Award recipients will participate in a Curatorial Studies roundtable at the end of AY 2025-26.

Please send a 1-2 page proposal to Thomas Wilson or Marissa Ambio (deadline TBD).