Emerging Scholar Manuscript Workshops
The Institute for Social Transformation is inviting proposals for small grants to support emerging scholars in the Social Sciences Division at UC Santa Cruz. These grants are designed to support ascending faculty in convening a one-day workshop of leading scholars on campus to guide their research and scholarship ambitions.
These grants will primarily focus on providing support for pre-tenure faculty in their efforts at completing significant research outputs on the path towards tenure, or for post-tenure faculty in establishing themselves as internationally recognized leaders in their fields. Successful applicants will use the grant to envision an intimate discussion that helps accelerate the publication of manuscripts (e.g., books or journal articles) and build a productive research program.
The institute will work closely with emerging scholars to administer their agenda, coordinate travel and accommodations with leading scholars, organize workshop logistics, and ensure a productive environment for our faculty to receive deep and productive insights from leading scholars.
Eligibility:
- Applicant must be an Assistant or Associate faculty member from a UCSC Social Sciences Division department or program.
- Priority will be given to Assistant Professors working on a body of work that, when completed, is intended to be part of their tenure package.
- Associate Professors working on manuscripts intended to be part of their promotion package to full professor are also encouraged to apply, if they can clearly demonstrate how the funds would be instrumental in catapulting their national or international reputation.
- Applicants may apply to one emerging scholar opportunity per year.
Submission Requirements:
- Relevance to the Institute: How does this work fit at the intersections of environmental sustainability, environmental justice, and democratic societies? How will the project work towards the Institute’s goals of supporting boundary-crossing research, community-centered research, and/or stakeholder outreach for public benefit? (1,500 character limit)
- Applicants must include an email (saved as a PDF) indicating support from a UC Santa Cruz senior scholar in their department/field who is willing to moderate the workshop
- Abbreviated CV of applicant (five pages maximum) (PDF)
- CV of 3-5 senior scholars (3 primary and up to 2 alternates) to be invited or link to the scholars’ websites
- How will invited scholars improve your published work? (3,000 characters)
- Describe the types of publicly beneficial outcomes that could follow publication (1,000 characters)
See drop downs below for additional requirements
Budget (up to $6,000):
Within the allocated budget, the institute award will cover travel, lodging, and meals/expenses for invited senior scholars. The award will also cover the cost for event meeting space and catering. The institute will provide administrative support in planning the accelerator event.
Selection Criteria:
- Relevance to the goals of the Institute for Social Transformation
- Quality and fit of proposed invited senior scholars
- Strength and clarity of the proposal
- Capacity for the proposed work to produce public benefits
Emerging Scholar Applications are due March 30, 2026.
We plan to fund 1-2 workshops from July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2027. Funding decisions will be made in mid-April 2026
See drop downs below for additional eligibility and application details.
Book Publishing Accelerator Program
The institute will support and host manuscript accelerator workshops for emerging scholars. These events provide an opportunity for an emerging scholar to get critical feedback on a monograph in progress and to build out their professional networks with senior scholars in their fields.
Book Accelerator Workshop Application
Awardees will access a budget of approximately $6,000 to host 3-4 senior scholars on campus (or remotely, if needed) for a full day discussion of their manuscript. The expectation will be that at least one senior UCSC scholar from the awardee’s department or field serve as moderator of the workshop. The remaining 2-3 slots can be filled with anyone the awardee deems best positioned to comment on the work, with a view towards inviting scholars who may be able to serve as external letter writers during the tenure or promotion review process. It is expected that the UCSC moderator support the awardee in selecting invited scholars. Approximately 1-2 graduate students in the author’s field of study could also be invited to attend the workshop. The workshop should also include the Faculty Director of the Institute for Social Transformation and/or one of the members of the Executive Board. All participants are expected to read the full monograph in advance and come prepared to engage in thoughtful and constructive critique of the manuscript.
It is expected that any senior scholar hosted through this program will also contribute to other aspects of the institute’s priority programming. For example, invited senior scholars could also be asked to give a talk on campus during their visit, including through any institute seminar series. Senior scholars could also be asked to host office hours with PhD students and/or discuss their work in relevant PhD seminars. Proposals should include a suggestion of how invited senior scholars will contribute to the intellectual life of the institute and UCSC campus in any of these ways.
Additional Eligibility (Book Publishing only):
- Applicant must have a complete draft monograph by the proposed time of the workshop.
Additional Submission Requirements (Book Publishing only):
- Manuscript information: include manuscript title, description, significance, status, and publication timeline. How will this workshop help the trajectory of your career? (2,500 character limit)
- Are you in contact with a publisher? If so, what publisher and who is your contact?
Article Publication and Research-Building Program
The research program building workshop is intended to accelerate and enhance the publication of journal articles and foster the building of a transformative research program. During the workshop, a selected advisory group will provide expert opinions of how the UCSC emerging scholar may develop a coherent and diverse research agenda, and how the scholar may position the work to be more successful.
Article Accelerator Workshop Application
Emerging scholars in some fields of social sciences typically disseminate their work in professional journals. Each article may focus on a specific aspect of a broader research question being addressed by the scholar. As a whole, the articles demonstrate the scholar’s research specialty and the arc of an emerging research program. It is crucial to the advancement of the emerging scholar’s career to (1) demonstrate a productive record of publications and (2) ensure the program to progress in a transformative arc.
The Emerging Scholars research-building award is intended to accelerate and enhance the publication of journal articles and foster the building of a transformative research program. Awardees will access a budget of approximately $6,000 to host 3-4 senior scholars on campus (or remotely, in needed) for a full day discussion of their research program. The expectation will be that at least one senior UCSC scholar from the awardee’s department or field serve as moderator of the workshop. The remaining 2-3 slots can be filled with anyone the awardee deems best positioned to comment on the work, with a view towards inviting scholars who may be able to serve as external letter writers during the tenure review process. It is expected that the UCSC moderator support the awardee in selecting invited scholars. This advisory group will read a set of articles by the scholar (including published work and work in progress) to gain an understanding of the scholar’s research and the arc it is forming. During the visit, the advisory group will provide expert opinions of how the scholar may develop a coherent and diverse research agenda, how the scholar may position the work to be more successful (e.g. published in higher impact journals, more frequently cited), and how the research arc may be steered in a direction for stronger intellectual merit and broader impact.
It is expected that any senior scholar hosted through this program will also contribute to other aspects of the institute’s priority programming. For example, invited senior scholars could also be asked to give a talk on campus during their visit, including through any Institute for Social Transformation seminar series. Senior scholars could also be asked to host office hours with PhD students and/or discuss their work in relevant PhD seminars. Proposals should include a clear explanation of how invited senior scholars will contribute to the intellectual life of the Institute for Social Transformation and UCSC campus in any of these ways.
Additional Eligibility (Article & Research-building only):
- Applicant must have near complete drafts of a number of articles in preparation for publication
Additional Submission Requirements (Article & Research-building only):
- Article information: include a workshop title, description of journal articles in preparation, status of articles, overall journal series significance, and your timelines for publication. How ill this workshop help the trajectory of your career? (2,500 character limit)
For more information, contact Ned LeBlond at nleblond@ucsc.edu with any questions.
