Humanities EXPLORE Program: Current Faculty Mentor Application

Application Deadline: Monday April 14, 2025 at 11:59pm

Note: This application is on InfoReady

The 2025-2026 academic year marks the third and final year of Employing Humanities (EH) under the Mellon Foundation grant, which runs through August 2026. To fully utilize funds, the Dean and Student Achievement team will allocate new awards for Humanities EXPLORE Fellows that begin in September 2025.

If you want to continue with the Humanities EXPLORE Program in 2025-2026, please indicate your interest early. Awards will be announced in April, with the flexibility to adjust job descriptions as project needs evolve. A formal progress report is not required now—more will be shared through your fellows’ spring showcase and a June 2025 survey.

Mentorship Requirements

Awardees must meet with EXPLORE Fellows at least twice monthly to provide guidance and feedback. They should ensure sufficient research work is available and be prepared to support fellows throughout the project. A progress report is due in June 2026, including relevant project outcomes. Faculty mentors will also assess researchers, meet with staff, and contribute testimony for Mellon grant reporting, potentially through a survey.

Recruiting EXPLORE Fellows

Employing Humanities aims to make paid experiential learning positions accessible to as many students as possible, so please open a proportional number of positions for new students to returning students if interested. Faculty must conduct open-call recruitment for at least two weeks to ensure accessibility. The Humanities Student Achievement team will oversee recruitment and applications. Selection for Fall 2025 positions occurs in Spring 2025 and for Winter 2026 positions in Fall 2025. Eligible students must be declared or proposed Humanities majors/minors with work authorization.

Questions

1. Planning: Would you like to continue with the EXPLORE Program, if funding allows?
   1. Is this a new project or a continuation of your current project?
2. If the current project will continue:
   1. Progress: How have the undergraduate researchers advanced the goals of your project so far? What key milestones, if any, have been reached, and what are your upcoming priorities for the project?
   2. Impact: What broader impact have the researchers had thus far on this project? How do you think their involvement—and your mentorship—has influenced their academic or professional growth?
   3. Updates: Do you anticipate any significant updates to the scope of the project or the RA duties? You will be able to revise the job description.

   If this project is new to Humanities EXPLORE:

   1. Overview: Briefly describe your research project. Is it a team-based public humanities project? Archival research? Oral history collection? Text-based research?
   2. Researcher Responsibilities: Please describe what students will work on and/or the learning activities students might engage in. Please include a breakdown of anticipated job duties in weighted percentages that total 100%. Please include specific tasks and responsibilities under each category whenever possible.
   3. Qualifications for Success: What skills, knowledge, or abilities are you seeking in a researcher? How much experience is required, and what will you train students on?
   4. Transferable Skills: Please describe what transferrable skills your project and mentorship will provide throughout this scaffolded experience. What skills will researchers gain, and how?
3. Number of Researchers: How many positions will be available for newcomers? You must utilize an open call on Handshake for at least two weeks.
4. Time commitment: What weekly time commitment (in hours) is needed per research fellow for the project? Minimum: 10 hours/week. Maximum: 20 hours/week.
5. Retaining Experienced Researchers: Would you like to retain any specific fellow(s) you currently work with for 2025-2026? If so, please share their names. The participation limit is 2 years or a funding limit of $16,000 – whichever comes first.
6. Starting Term: Please indicate the quarter the opportunity can begin in the 2025-2026 academic year. Researchers will apply and be hired during spring 2025 for a Week 1 fall start and in fall 2025 for a Week 1 winter start. The position is expected to last through the academic year.
   1. Fall 2025
   2. Winter 2026
7. Summer Employment: If students are available, would you like research duties to continue throughout summer 2026? (remote work may be required)
8. Additional Resources Needed: If your project needs extra resources, such as equipment or travel, please explain that here. If you have questions about developing a resource proposal, please contact Amy Bruinooge.
9. Comments: Anything else you’d like to share?

How To Submit

Please submit this form by Monday, April 14, 2025 on InfoReady

• Please login using your UCSC Credentials via Single-Sign-On
• Technical Support: InfoReady Applicant Guide
• Note: Notification emails will come from support@inforeadyreview.com but may be flagged as phishing in your inbox.

The Dean will determine awards in consultation with the Student Achievement team. Awards will be announced by Friday, April 18, 2025.

Applications will open for new students starting April 28, 2025, through May 11, 2025.

Questions? Contact Asst. Director of Experiential Learning Kylie Rachwalski at hum-experiential-learning@ucsc.edu or book a 30-minute consultative appointment here .

The Mellon Foundation, The Helen and Will Webster Foundation, The Humanities Institute, and the UCSC Humanities Division generously support the Humanities EXPLORE Program.