AI & Technology in Humanities/Social Sciences Seed Grant

• Seed funding award that positions Radow College faculty to compete for the growing share of federal funding — NSF, NEH, and NIH — directed toward AI and computational methods.
• Awards range from $5,000 to $10,000 per application.
• Tracks: 
  –      Track A supports faculty applying AI/computational methods as a research tool (e.g., text analysis, qualitative coding, archival digitization).
  –      Track B supports faculty critically studying AI’s societal, ethical, or cultural impacts.
• Reflects the breadth of humanities and social science disciplines engaging with AI, whether as a method or as a subject of study.
• Designed as a seed grant to foster future federal AI-related grant submissions.

The AI & Technology in Humanities/Social Sciences Seed Grant seeks to build Radow College’s competitiveness for a rapidly growing category of federal funding. Major sponsors (including NSF, NEH, and NIH) are directing an increasing share of their portfolios toward AI-related research, whether that means applying computational methods to humanities or social science questions or critically examining AI’s societal, ethical, and cultural implications. This seed grant provides early-stage funding for faculty in either category — those using AI for computational methods (text analysis, qualitative coding, archival digitization, and similar approaches) as a research tool, and those studying AI’s impact on society, culture, ethics, law, or human behavior as a primary research question. Through this award, the college aims to build a durable base of AI-engaged scholarship that can mature into competitive external proposals.

Applicants must meet all of the following criteria:

• Full-time tenured or tenure-track faculty member in Radow College of Humanities and Social Sciences, in good standing, from any department.
• Proposed research must fall into at least one of two tracks (some projects may blend both):
  –    Track A — AI/Computational Methods as Research Tool: projects applying AI, machine learning, natural language processing, or other computational methods to humanities or social science research questions (e.g., text analysis, AI-assisted qualitative coding, archival digitization and computational analysis, computational modeling of social or cultural phenomena).
  –    Track B — Critical Study of AI’s Societal Impact: projects examining AI’s societal, ethical, cultural, legal, psychological, or policy implications (e.g., AI and labor, AI bias and fairness, AI in education or clinical practice, AI governance and policy).
• Applicants should identify which track best describes their project. Prior experience with AI/computational methods is not required for Track A; applicants may propose to learn and apply new methods as part of the funded project.
• Priority will be given to projects that articulate a plausible path to a future external submission to NSF, NEH, NIH, or a comparable AI-relevant funding mechanism.

1. Application Submission: Completed application submitted via the college’s designated system (e.g., InfoReady or email to the Radow College Associate Dean of Research) by the posted deadline.
2. Required Components:
   –    Project narrative (3–4 pages) describing the research question, track (A and/or B), methodology, and significance.
   –    Itemized budget and justification ($5,000–$10,000).
   –    Statement connecting the project to a future external funding opportunity, including a target sponsor/mechanism if known.
   –    CV or biosketch (sciENcv).
3. Internal Review: Applications will be reviewed by the ADR office using the Evaluation Rubric below.
4. Notification & Award Setup: Successful applicants will be notified in writing via email; funding will be made available through the college’s research administration process.
5. Final Report: Awardees must submit a brief summary of project outcomes and, where applicable, plans for external submission.

Applications are evaluated on the significance and rigor of the proposed AI-related research question, whether a methodological application or a critical study; the feasibility of the work plan within the award period; and the credibility of the project’s connection to future external funding opportunities in this space. Because the award spans two distinct tracks, ADR office will assess each proposal on criteria appropriate to its track while applying a consistent rubric across both. Awards are competitive and not guaranteed based on eligibility alone.

Total: 100%. Minimum threshold score for funding recommendation to be determined by the reviewer

Examples of Allowable Expenses :

• Software, cloud computing, or API costs for AI/computational tools (e.g., large language model API access, specialized NLP or ML software licenses, cloud computing credits), pending approval by UITS.
• Data acquisition, licensing, or digitization costs (e.g., archival digitization, dataset licensing, transcription for computational analysis).
• Consultant or technical collaborator fees (e.g., a data scientist, ML engineer, or computational specialist supporting the project).
• Graduate or undergraduate research assistant support, including for computational or technical tasks.
• Training directly tied to acquiring the AI/computational skills needed for the project (e.g., a short course or workshop).
• Travel to consult with technical collaborators or present preliminary findings.

Not Allowable : 

• Conference Travel (please request this support from your Department)
• General computing equipment (e.g., personal laptops) not specifically required for the project’s computational needs.
• Course buyouts or salary/stipend replacement, unless explicitly approved in exceptional cases by the Radow College Associate Dean of Research.
• Retroactive reimbursement for costs incurred prior to award notification.
• Indirect/overhead costs (award is direct-cost only unless otherwise specified by the college).
• Costs unrelated to the described AI/computational methods or critical study of AI’s societal impacts.
• Requests exceeding $10,000 or below $5,000 per award.

All funding must be expended or encumbered by the date noted in your written award notification and is subject to standard institutional budget and procurement policies.

• Primary Deliverable: Completion of the described seed research, including any preliminary data, computational analysis, or critical scholarship produced during the award period.
• Final Report: Brief written summary (1–2 pages) submitted to the Radow College Associate Dean of Research describing project outcomes and, where applicable, next steps toward external submission.
• External Funding Trajectory: Awardees are strongly encouraged to pursue a subsequent external grant submission (NSF, NEH, NIH, or comparable), potentially supported by the college’s External Grant Development Award.
• Acknowledgment: Any resulting publication, presentation, or grant proposal should acknowledge Radow College AI & Technology in Humanities/Social Sciences Seed Grant support.
• Non-Completion: Awardees who do not complete the described activity or submit a final report must provide a written explanation to the Radow College Associate Dean of Research; this may affect eligibility for future awards.
• Strategic Reporting: Aggregate outcomes (number of awards by track, resulting external submissions, computational methods adopted) will be reported by the Radow College Associate Dean of Research to demonstrate the college’s growing capacity in AI-related scholarship.