Funding Opportunity: Higher Learning Program - Mellon Foundation
Mellon Foundation - Higher Learning Program
Registration Deadline: Monday, December 1, 2025 by 12pm
Concept Deadline: Tuesday, February 17, 2026 by 12pm. Please note - Institutions are limited to submitting no more than three concepts by the application deadline. Finalists will be selected by Mellon Foundation, and invitations for full proposals will be issued during the summer of 2026. There is no limit to how many individuals per institution can register.
Amount: $250,000 to $500,000
About: The Mellon Foundation’s Higher Learning Program supports inquiry into issues of vital social, cultural, and historical import. Projects should engage teams of scholars and/or students, and have visible, enduring impact at the institution. They must also be demonstrably grounded in the humanities and led by humanities scholars.
Applications will be accepted for research and/or curricular projects focused on either of the following two areas:
Unruly Intelligences - This area explores the urgent role the humanities have in shaping contemporary understanding of artificial and other intelligences – and in making practical, informed recommendations about how to regulate and/or adopt AI in our learning, work, and most intimate lives.
Normalization and Its Discontents - How does the concept of normalcy govern notions of human life, and when doesn’t it? What are the structures and systems that keep it in place, in realms as disparate as the aesthetic, socioeconomic, psychological, physiological, political, spiritual, and ethical? What, if anything, does the historical knowledge of its recent invention – and vigorous social rejections – enable?
Experimental methodologies, interdisciplinary and community collaboration, and pathways to informing campus and/or wider policies and practices are welcome.
APPLY: For more details and to apply, please visit the Higher Learning program page.
NOTE: If you are interested in applying or have any questions, please contact our Pre-Award Specialists Pia Gabriel at pg12@humboldt.edu, Kaz Wegmuller at kaz.wegmuller@humboldt.edu, or Jocelyne Takatsuno at jt366@humboldt.edu ASAP. Please note - this is a limited submission opportunity and no more than three applications may be submitted.
Latest PMC Research
- Due Saturday! NAIRR AI Education Fellowship - Computing Research AssociationName of Funder: Computing Research Association (CRA) Deadline: November 1, 2025 (form closes at 12 midnight local time) Fellowship term: December 1, 2025 – November 30, 2026 Fellowship Benefits: $5,000 stipend Travel, lodging, and meals covered for NAIRR workshop and conference participation National visibility as a leader in AI education
- 2026 CSU Student Research CompetitionThe Office of Research & Sponsored Programs is pleased to announce the 2026 CSU Student Research Competition which highlights exceptional undergraduate and graduate work in research, scholarship, and creative activities. This is an opportunity for students to showcase projects they are already working on and to shine at the state level!
- Join us for the McCrone Promising Faculty Scholars & Graduate Fellowship Award ReceptionWednesday, November 12th, 2025 from 4:00 to 6:00pm Great Hall – (CCCTR) 260
- CSU Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Grants for 26/27We are pleased to announce that the CSU Agricultural Research Institute (ARI) Grants 2026/2027 competition will be launching soon! However the application portal is not yet open as we wait for the funder to finalize the application on their end. We’ve been assured that the materials will remain the same as last year, which we are happy to share in the meantime upon request. We’re sharing this notice early to ensure everyone has sufficient time to plan and prepare. We appreciate your patience and will notify you as soon as the application officially opens.
- Starting Monday; Fall 2025 Grant Workshop SeriesSponsored Programs Foundation is pleased to announce our Fall 2025 Grant Workshop Series! Anyone at any stage is welcome, however, participants with a project to develop through the workshop will benefit most. This program is best suited for Cal Poly Humboldt staff and faculty that are new to grants.
- REMINDER: Join us for our 14th Annual PI Research Celebration!Wednesday, October 22, 4:30-7:00PM Morris Grave Museum of Art 636 F St., Eureka The Office of Research & Sponsored Programs Foundation is pleased to invite you to our annual party to celebrate Principal Investigators (PIs), their staff, student researchers, and friends of research! Join us for an evening of food, drinks, and lightning talks.


