Reading groups provide the opportunity to bring colleagues together to discuss ideas and create intellectual community. A reading group might also help lay the groundwork for a future collaborative project like developing an interdisciplinary team; drafting a grant proposal; drafting a paper or a book proposal; or planning an exhibition or a speaker series.

We encourage proposals that include creative, cross-disciplinary collaborations and/or offer means of engagement with critical issues. 

Inspiration and Ideas: 

• A monthly reading group with faculty across campus to discuss entomology, ethics and art. 
• A weekly reading group with faculty and graduate students to develop the framework for a proposal on oral histories of the Willamette River.  
• A quarterly book group to explore new research in material cultures.

Eligibility: 

• Oregon State University faculty working in the arts and humanities are invited to apply.
• Participation in the group is open to OSU faculty, staff and students as well as colleagues affiliated with other institutions.  

What we Offer: 

• $500 for the organizing faculty member to support their time and/or purchase supplies for your group + space in PRAx (if available) to host your meetings for a period of up to a year after award. 

Terms & Expectations: 

• The group convener will handle all logistics and will provide a report on the group’s activity and progress within one year of award. 

Program & Application Dates: 

• Applications are due the Monday of week four in Fall, Winter, and Spring terms. Applicants will be contacted by the end of week 8. 

The Arts and Humanities Opportunity Fund provides flexible support for faculty research and creative activities in the arts and humanities. Awards are designed to cover a wide range of projects at any point in the research process.

Small awards are those up to $1,500, while large awards fall between $1,501 and $10,000. Possible uses are outlined below, and we welcome proposals that speak to other faculty research and creative practice needs, as well. Please note that expenses related to course development and travel are typically funded at the school level or through campus-wide programs such as e-campus, DPO, WIC and the CTL.  

Eligibility:

• Awards are available to all faculty working on arts and humanities projects who are employed at .5FTE or higher.

Award Offerings: 

• Small awards, up to $1,500, may cover needs such as indexing, imaging permissions, or subventions for books under contract; book manuscript workshops; materials for a creative project; trainings to support research, scholarship, or teaching; archival research, or supplemental conference registration or travel.  
• Large awards, $1,501 - $10,000 are designed for projects with wider impacts, such as developing or hosting a conference or workshop on campus; developing and hosting an event connected to your scholarship; hiring a research assistant; or developing an exhibit connected to your artistic project.  

Terms & Expectations:

• PRAx will transfer funds to the recipient’s academic unit for disbursement. 
• Recipients of large grants will submit a 1-to 2-page report at the end of the activity describing how the funds supported their project.

Program & Application Dates:

• Applications are due by the Monday of Week 4 during Fall, Winter, and Spring terms. Applicants will be notified of status by the end of Week 8.  

Review & Selection: 

Applications will be evaluated by a diverse review committee composed of faculty with experience working across the arts and humanities. Reviewers will consider:  

• The feasibility of the project and alignment with the goals of the faculty member, school and university.  
• Prospective significance of the project’s impact. 
• Centrality of arts and/or humanities methods and practices to the project. 

The year-long PRAx Student Fellowship offers Oregon State University undergraduate and graduate students the opportunity to explore the intersection of two disciplines or ways of looking at the world. Fellows will develop a creative project informed by active engagement with research at OSU in one of four fellowship tracks: Art+Science, Art+Engineering, Humanities+Science, or Film+Science. Fellows will be awarded $1,000, ongoing networking opportunities and mentorship as well as an invitation to an optional interdisciplinary immersive group retreat at PLAYA in Summer Lake, Oregon, in June, 2026.
 

Application Deadline: 11:59pm on Saturday, January 31, 2026. 

Applicants will be notified of status by Friday, March 13.
 

General Eligibility Criteria 

• Both graduate students and upper-division undergraduate students with a minimum GPA of 3.0 are eligible to apply.
• This is a year-long program and students must be enrolled at OSU throughout the fellowship (spring 2026 through spring 2027). We recognize that some students may not be available during the summer term—this will not affect eligibility.
• Each fellowship track may include additional eligibility requirements, so please read the track descriptions here for details.
   

Fellowship Expectations

Before you apply for a fellowship, please make sure you will be able to meet these expectations for the year:  

• Attend an in-person fellowship orientation the afternoon of Friday April 24, 2026. 
• Meet each month (in-person or virtually) with two mentors in your fields of interest. At least one of your mentors must be from OSU. At least one should be confirmed before applying. Please read the fellowship track descriptions for additional information about mentors.
• Provide a work plan at the beginning of fall term and a progress report in winter term. 
• Attend program meetings and events September 2026 through June 2027. 
• Be actively engaged with science or engineering research on campus. For example, you might attend lab meetings, participate in field work, or take part in discipline-focused discussion groups.
• Collaborate with other fellows to 1) develop and participate in a public event/exhibition in spring 2027, 2) provide images and project statements to help create a public document cataloging fellowship outcomes, and 3) provide programmatic feedback and tips for future fellow success.

How to Apply:  

• Answer application questions in the form below. 
• Provide a 1 - 2 page max reference letter from a faculty member who can speak to your qualifications for this fellowship and your ability to work both independently and collaboratively. The letter may be uploaded by the applicant or emailed directly by the faculty member to Joy Jensen at joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu. Please inform your nominating faculty member of this choice.  
• Upload or link to any additional materials requested in questions specific to your chosen fellowship track (Part 2 in the form).
• Submit your application form and any additional materials.  
   

More information: 

This program was initiated by the Arts-Sci Faculty Group at OSU to provide students with the opportunity to explore and create at the intersection of two ways of looking at the world. Fellowships are coordinated by the Patricia Valian Reser Center for the Creative Arts and the OSU Arts-Sci Faculty Group, and they are sponsored by a number of colleges, units, and programs on campus as well as external support foundations. For more information about these fellowships and sponsors, please visit the program page or contact joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu. 

Oregon State University graduate students from any field who work at the intersection of the humanities, writing, and environmental sciences are invited to apply for a residency sponsored by the Spring Creek Project. To be eligible, students must be engaged in a writing and/or research project (e.g., a thesis, independent study, or internship) that aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and applications must include a recommendation letter from a nominating faculty member. 

Residents receive exclusive use of the Cabin at Shotpouch Creek for approximately one week as well as a stipend of $250. The cabin offers a profound experience of concentrated solitude and simple living that is conducive to curiosity, reflection, and sustained focus. Within 4 weeks of the session end, residents will provide a short letter describing their experience at the cabin and how it influenced their work.  

Graduate students may apply for a solo residency or a collaborative residency with one other student. If applying collaboratively, each student will need to submit an application and faculty recommendation letter. If awarded collaboratively, each student will receive $250.

Dates and Application Deadline

One spring break session is available:

• · March 22 – 28

One summer session is available:

• June 14 - 20
   

Application deadline: 11:59pm on Monday, January 5, 2026

Materials will be reviewed by a selection committee familiar with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and applicants will be notified of status by February 16. 

Two documents are required for applications to be considered complete:

• From a faculty member: a one-page recommendation letter that speaks to the content and direction of the proposed project and the student’s responsibility and ability to live respectfully in a nature preserve. This letter can be submitted directly by the faculty member via Submittable, so student applicants should share the link to this page with their referee when requesting a recommendation.
• From the student: a one-page narrative letter that describes the proposed project, communicates how the project aligns with the mission of the Spring Creek Project, and notes how time at Shotpouch Cabin would benefit project advancement.

For More Information

Please visit our website and/or contact Joy Jensen at joy.jensen@oregonstate.edu.

About Shotpouch Cabin

The Cabin at Shotpouch Creek is a comfortable retreat nestled in the Oregon Coast Range on a 70-acre nature preserve about 25 miles west of Corvallis. It overlooks Shotpouch Creek, a tributary of the Tum Tum River in the Marys River Watershed. From the cabin, miles of hiking trails climb into the forest- and fern-covered hills. The cabin is furnished with two bedrooms, a well-equipped, simple kitchen, electric heat, and a landline telephone. There is no internet or cell phone service. Students must be highly responsible and respectful of the values of the retreat and in a position to benefit from prolonged solitude and silence. The cabin and land are entirely smoke-free, and we cannot allow pets. Residents must provide their own transportation to the cabin. More information will be provided before the stay.
 

About the Spring Creek Project  

The mission of the Spring Creek Project is to bring together the practical wisdom of environmental science, the clarity of philosophy, and the transformational power of the written word and the arts to envision and inspire just and joyous relations with the planet and with one another. Dedicated to creating conversations among writers, philosophers, artists, and others in the humanities and environmental sciences, we work to nurture collaborations among people with various ways of seeing, understanding, and expressing the relation between humans and the rest of the natural world.