Mellon Foundation: AI research and/or Curricular
Award: $250,000 - $500,000 over four years
Deadline: LIMITED SUBMISSION. Interest in applying document due 11-19-25. Three will be chosen through the VPRED office's limited submission process to move forward to the LOI stage.
Overview
The Mellon Foundation's Higher Learning Open Call is for US schools to submit humanities-based projects that focus on either of these two areas: "Unruly Intelligences", focusing on the cultural or ethical dimensions of AI, or "Normalization and Its Discontents," examining societal norms and consequences. Projects should involve teams of scholars or students, make use of innovative or interdisciplinary methods and inform broader policies and practices.
Important Information
Funding is between $250,000 to $500,000 over four years and funder is looking for collaborative, interdisciplinary work that engages students and creates lasting institutional change. An institution cannot submit more than three concepts for consideration.
Process
Interested faculty should submit a one-page outline by November 19 to AVP of Research and limited submission coordinator Satyen Kumar ([email protected]) that includes the following:
- How does your project idea (research question or curricular innovation) address the two Mellon themes?
- How is your idea significant to the humanities/social sciences and what unique perspective does it provide?
- What is the impact of the project?
- How do you plan to use the funding (up to $500,000/max 4 years) to support the project?
The selected applicant will be registered with Mellon and then work with the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations on the LOI, which is due February 17, 2026 (all information to OSP by February 9, 2026).