The 2026 Blanche Mason Starkweather Award provides a stipend of $4,000 to a BA or MA student engaged in a significant humanistic research project of his/her own design conducted under the guidance of a faculty mentor.
Eligibility:
- Research projects should involve the study of: history; philosophy; languages; linguistics; literature; archeology; jurisprudence; the history, theory, and criticism of the arts; ethics; comparative religion; and those aspects of the social sciences that employ historical and philosophical approaches.
- After the end of the award period (summer 2026), candidates must have at least one more semester of full time study at CCNY remaining before completing their BA or MA degree.
- Excluded are students who hold fellowships that provide a guaranteed summer stipend (including the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship) as well as those who accept summer stipends from other sources (including the CCNY-Stanford Summer Exchange, Pipeline at the CUNY Graduate Center, and other such programs).
Application:
Candidates submit an online application available below, which will include:
- A proposal (of about 500 words) describing the research project to be undertaken, the candidate’s preparation to undertake the project proposed, and its contribution to scholarly knowledge or to the general public’s understanding of and/or appreciation for the humanities.
- A one-page projected budget of research expenses as well as the estimated cost of travel, room and board (if relevant).
- A list of scholarships/fellowships held as well as any summer programs or funding for which the candidate has applied.
- A letter of recommendation from a faculty mentor who should email that letter as a PDF to humanities@ccny.cuny.edu by the deadline. The recommender should indicate the applicant’s qualifications, endorse the project proposed, and commit, as appropriate, to supervise the project during the tenure of the award and, ideally, during the semester following the end of the award.