Call for Proposals: UC Berkeley Research Collections Enhancement Grants - Institute of East Asian Studies
Program Description
Funded by the Haas Chair endowment at the Institute of East Asian Studies (IEAS), the new UC Berkeley Research Collections Enhancement Grants support UC Berkeley librarians or curators specializing in East or Southeast Asian studies who wish to collaborate with a faculty member to build library or museum collections, or to develop exhibitions on campus. Grants are available to librarians/curators at all levels in relevant campus units such as BAMPFA, the Anthropology Museum, Ethnic Studies Library, the South and Southeast Asia Library, the C.V. Starr East Asian Library (including librarians for Mongolia and Tibet), or any other unit that supports collections in East or Southeast Asia studies.
Each grant will be for $1,500. Two awards will be made for 2025-26. In selecting awardees, priority will be given to those proposals that identify specific gaps in the UC Berkeley collections and document established relationships with academic and research institutions.
Funded curators/librarians will be expected to submit, at the end of the award period, a brief final report on grant-funded activities.
Application and Deadlines
Proposals for UC Berkeley Research Collections Enhancement Grants at IEAS may come from any career librarian or curator at UC Berkeley who specializes in an East or Southeast Asia-related field. Proposals should include:
1) Application cover sheet, with name of applicant and faculty
collaborator/advisor, plus contact information for both individuals and a
brief abstract of project.
2) A one-page narrative describing the importance of the project to building
collections in East Asian Studies at UC Berkeley, the feasibility of the
proposed project, including any relevant skills, experience or institutional
relationships, and expected outcomes.
3) A simple budget describing how the grant funds will be used.
4) A letter of support from the faculty collaborator or unit director attesting to
the relevance, feasibility, and potential contribution of the proposed project
in amplifying the collections in East Asian Studies, noting any specific skills
and achievements of the librarian/curator in enhancing collections in this
area.
5) CVs for the librarian/curator and the faculty collaborator/sponsor.
Successful applicants are asked to credit the support of IEAS in any publications or exhibits.
The application deadline for 2025-26 UC Berkeley Research Collections Enhancement Grants is Friday, October 10, 2025. The successful applications will be announced by Friday, October 17, 2025. Funded activities should take place during the 2025-26 academic year. Applications should be submitted as a single PDF file to IEAS Associate Director Dylan Davis at davisds@berkeley.edu. Questions may also be directed to him.