Course Development Grants

Lehigh University’s Mellon Digital Humanities Initiative offers funding to faculty (including Professors of Practice), staff, visiting professors, predoctoral and postdoctoral fellows to develop new undergraduate courses or to modify existing courses that support the MDHI’s focus on engaging undergraduates with the local community through the digital humanities and documentary studies. Priority will be given to proposals for courses that involve both community engagement and the use of digital or documentary methods, but proposals for courses that focus either on community engagement or the use of digital or documentary methods may also be considered. Proposals that work towards the goal of developing an undergraduate minor in interdisciplinary documentary studies will be given preference. For examples of past courses that meet the goals of the MDHI see About.

Participating faculty will be expected to experiment with a variety of modes of digital technology and community engagement; to work closely with LTS Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning support staff to develop and deliver the courses; to participate in campus conversations on their experiences and lessons learned (through a presentation at the annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning at Lehigh, an on-campus workshop organized and promoted by the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and/or the Center for Community Engagement, a presentation to a department or interdisciplinary program, or some other means); and attendance where possible at MDHI campus events at which other grant recipients share their work.

Application Process

A set amount of funding is available each fiscal year (July 1-June 30) from 2015-2018. The October grant application deadline has passed. Proposals for spring and summer projects, and projects for the 2017-2018 academic year should be submitted online by February 27, 2017. Proposals will be reviewed by a subcommittee of the MDHI steering committee. It is expected that budget requests will range between $3,000 and $6,000. 

To apply, submit an online application with your narrative proposal of at least one page that contains:

  • A project proposal: a description of the course (750 words or less), along with an indication if this is a new course or a modification to an existing course;
  • A statement of project relevance to MDHI goals (500 words or less);
  • A one-sentence description of your project outcome (i.e. a website, a documentary film, oral history interviews, new class with exhibit for final project, etc.)
  • A listing of expected community collaborators (if applicable)
  • A specification of what, if any, technological and personnel support is requested.
    • Please be specific as to who will build or support all aspects of any project you are creating. If you plan to use Lehigh personnel to build your project or for techincal support, please contact Julia Maserjian of LTS (jcm5@lehigh.edu) prior to submitting your application to discuss the technical aspects of your project and to inquire as to whether you will need LTS or IMRC support, and indicate this in your application.
  • List equipment (software and hardware) needed for your project, and state whether this equipment is already available for use on campus.
  • A detailed budget outlining any funds requested.
    • Your budget should list any additional funding sources relevant to the project.
    • If significant LTS/DMS/CITL support is involved in the technical development of your project, we ask that you include in your budget an LTS equipment and support fee of $500-$1000, depending on the level of support required for the project. Consultation with Julia Maserjian (jcm5@lehigh.edu) will determine the level of support anticipated for your project.
    • Clearly note the hourly wage for anyone compensated through this grant.
    • A student assistant may be a part of the proposal budget. For undergraduate students, budget payment at $15/hour;
    • Funds directed toward faculty stipends are available only during the summer months and should not exceed summer salary limits. Faculty should include all other sources of summer salary in budget proposal if a stipend is requested. During the academic year, additional funds can be requested for the faculty member's discretionary account in lieu of a stipend.
      • Note that faculty stipends are only paid if the class runs and meets the minimum enrollment requirements for the college in which the course is offered.
    • Note that MDHI grant money cannot be used to pay for food, venue rental, or undergraduate travel.
  • A timetable for when you will start and complete your project
  • The name and contact information for your department chair (and, if applicable, interdisciplinary program director), whose endorsement should be indicated in the proposal.)
    • Your department chair or interdisciplinary program director will be emailed once you submit your application, and they will be asked to submit a brief email of support for your course. It is your responsibility to follow up with your department chair to ensure that they have submitted their endorsement.
  • A plan for how to share what you learn with some segment of the larger campus community (e.g. through a presentation at the annual Symposium on Teaching and Learning at Lehigh, an on-campus workshop organized and promoted by the Center for Innovation in Teaching and Learning and/or the Center for Community Engagement, a presentation to a department or interdisciplinary program, or some other means., through a presentation at the annual symposium on teaching and learning at Lehigh, an on-campus workshop, a presentation to a department or interdisciplinary program, or some other means).

Both online and conventional courses will be considered, along with hybrid online/in-class courses; courses taught during the Fall, Spring, Summer, and Winter intersession will all be considered.

Grant Finalists

Grant finalists will be required to attend a meeting to discuss final details of their project and to sort out any issues regarding payment and reimbursement processes, technology questions, IRB, Intellectual Property, legal issues, and any other outstanding issues that are not fully resolved in the application. After this meeting, you will need to resolve outstanding issues with your grant before being awarded a grant and receiving an award letter.

Grant Recipients

Grant recipients will be notified of their acceptance via email and will receive a formal award letter and intellectual property agreement. These two documents must be signed and returned before expenses can be incurred or reimbursed from the grant. 

Grant Requirements

  • If you anticipate any changes to your proposal or budget, you must submit your updated proposal and budget via email to Amanda Webb (inmdhig@lehigh.edu) as soon as possible for approval prior to spending the awarded funds.
  • All funds must be spent according to Lehigh’s expense policy.
  • Approved websites: Websites should be built on Lehigh servers where possible. We highly encourage applicants who plan to build websites as a part of their projects to utilize one of the MDHI approved website platforms through Lehigh University:
    • LTS or IMRC supported site, such as Drupal
    • Scalar through Lehigh
    • Lehigh's Wordpress instance
    • OMEKA through Lehigh
    • GoogleSites using your Lehigh credentials
  • If it is necessary for you to build a website on an external platform, you will need to discuss this with LTS and with MDHI Program Director Ed Whitley.
  • Technology (either software or hardware) purchased with grant funding will remain with the MDHI following the completion of the grant period.
  • Spending for the 2017-2018 cycle must conclude by April 2018. Applicants must submit a formal request to extend the spending period beyond April 2018, but under no circumstances can extend past June 2018. Unspent funds must be returned to the MDHI. Extensions in project time or awarded dollar amount will not be granted under this program.
  • At the end of your project, you are required to show a deliverablem, such as a website, film, exhibit, etc. and a written report about your project outcomes.
  • You are also expected to make a presentation on Lehigh's campus or in the community to disseminate what you learned through your new course.
  • You must submit the materials created through the grant (photos, videos, websites, etc.) to LTS by June 30, 2018.
  • These materials will be shared with Lehigh University and with the Mellon foundation.
Research Compliance

Projects involving human subjects research per Lehigh University’s policy are required to submit IRB approval/exemption in order to receive MDHI grant funds. The Lehigh University Human Subjects Research policy is available at the following website: https://research.cc.lehigh.edu/irb.

Questions?   For questions about the application or project expenses, please contact Amanda Webb (inmdhig@lehigh.edu). For questions about the MDHI grants, contact Ed Whitley, Associate Professor of English and Director of the Mellon Digital Humanities Initiative at (whitley@lehigh.edu), or Cory Fischer-Hoffman (cof316@lehigh.edu). To learn more about the Mellon Digital Humanities Initiative visit About.