Humanities Innovation Grants: Workforce Equity

About this program

The Modern Language Association’s Paving the Way fund offers approximately five $3,000 Humanities Innovation Grants to support projects that advance workforce equity and improve working conditions in language, literature, writing, and culture departments or programs. Eligible projects may address mentoring, professional development, career pathways, data collection, workload policies, precarity, or equitable hiring, particularly for graduate students and non-tenure-track faculty. Applicants must be domestic or international MLA members or affiliated with a MAPS-member department, and may apply individually or as a small team. Proposals are due September 30, 2026, and must include a project description, participant biographies, institutional context, and budget; awardees must produce a public-facing project brief.