Tenure-Track Faculty Synergy Semesters and Faculty Research-Semester Leaves in International Affairs Grant

Tenure-Track Faculty Synergy Semesters and Faculty Research-Semester Leaves in International Affairs Grant

Status: ACTIVE
Funder: Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University
Amount: Up to US $2,000
Last Updated: December 22, 2025

Summary

The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs at Harvard University offers competitive grants for Tenure-Track Faculty Synergy Semesters and Faculty Research-Semester Leaves. These grants support Faculty Associates in their research endeavors, encouraging the integration of scholarly work into undergraduate courses. Eligible faculty can apply for funding that facilitates a semester-long leave dedicated to advancing their research in international affairs, thus enhancing their teaching and mentoring capabilities for undergraduate students.

Overview

Tenure-Track Faculty Synergy Semesters and Faculty Research-Semester Leaves in International Affairs Highlights All Faculty Associates of the Weatherhead Center may apply for semester-leave grants. Assistant- and associate-level Faculty Associates of the Weatherhead Center may apply for synergy semester leave grants requiring course development. Tenure-track and senior Faculty Associates may apply for research-semester leaves with no course-development requirement. Within a seven-year time frame, Faculty Associates are eligible for one research-semester leave. The Center believes that one of the most important forms of support for faculty members is the opportunity for a sustained period of research. Each year the Center considers proposals from Weatherhead Center Faculty Associates for awards that provide salary support for one-semester faculty leaves to conduct research relating to the core interests of the Center. This research focuses on international, transnational, global, and comparative national topics and may address contemporary or historical topics, including rigorous policy analysis as well as the study of specific countries and regions outside the United States. Tenure-Track Faculty Synergy Semester in International Affairs To encourage the professional development of assistant and associate faculty towards excellence in teaching and creative and cutting-edge research, this competitive program awards up to three grants for a full semester's leave. The Center's support enables faculty to pursue research projects that, in turn, become the area of focus for an undergraduate research seminar or tutorial. In this way these grants are designed to support research for the benefit of teaching and to provide follow-up funds for the mentoring of well qualified undergraduate researchers. The Center encourages new courses that integrate faculty research into seminar discussions and exercises. New courses proposed for the synergy semester should require students to write major independent research papers related in some way to the course and the faculty member's own research. The synergy semester seeks to encourage faculty to train Harvard College undergraduates to engage in high-quality social-science research in international affairs and to prepare these undergraduates to partner actively with faculty on joint research. To this end, the grant also provides up to $2,000 to support undergraduate research assistance from a student who has excelled in the recipient professor's newly designed seminar. From such opportunities, superb senior theses and important faculty-research assistant relationships are expected to develop. Faculty Research Semester Leaves Faculty research leaves will be awarded mostly to complement “entitled” one-term sabbatical leaves for a second semester of research. These awards will be made on the merits of the proposed research and its connection to the Weatherhead Center’s research focus as well as to the faculty member’s prior service to the Center.

Eligibility

You can learn more about this opportunity by visiting the funder's website. All Faculty Associates of the Weatherhead Center are eligible for research-semester leave funding. Decisions to award tenure-track faculty requests for leave are based primarily on the faculty member’s research. The evaluation of senior faculty leaves will be related both to the quality of the proposed research and to past community service to the Center.