***reposted from CARAT***

Dear CAHSS faculty member,

We invite you to submit a proposal to be nominated for the 2026 Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program competition, sponsored by Carnegie Corporation of New York. Details are below.

• The purpose of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program is to support high-caliber scholarship in the social sciences and humanities. The 2026 program expects to provide fellowships of $200,000 to 30 exceptional scholars, journalists, and public intellectuals. The funding is for a period of either one or two years, with the anticipated result being a book or major study.

• The 2026 call for applications is on the theme of political polarization in the United States. The Corporation anticipates that the work of the Andrew Carnegie Fellows Program will explore the many ways political polarization in the United States manifests itself in society and suggest ways that it may be mitigated. Studies of polarization in other countries will be welcomed providing they offer lessons that can be applied to the United States. Projects based in disciplines across the humanities and social sciences are welcomed.

• UMBC may nominate two scholars for the competition: one tenured and one senior untenured (i.e. teaching professors and professors of the practice). Candidates must have a Ph.D. or hold a terminal degree in their field. Untenured candidates will need to become PI Eligible through the exception process, which requires a letter from the Dean or ADR explaining that the faculty has undertaken significant research during their appointment at UMBC.

• Andrew Carnegie Fellowships are open only to citizens or permanent residents of the United States.

• Previous UMBC nominees who applied for the theme of political polarization are not eligible to apply again.

Please keep in mind that Carnegie seeks projects that will be written to communicate with a broad audience. You may find it useful to browse the projects that were awarded last year and read through a study of their focus and potential impact since the theme (political polarization in the U.S.) is unchanged.

The Carnegie jury will evaluate nominations by the following criteria:

• Originality and promise of the idea
• Quality of the proposal
• Promise to offer means to reduce harmful polarization or to enhance social cohesion
• Record of the nominee
• Plans to communicate findings to a broad audience

If you are interested in being considered for the internal competition, please EMAIL the following application materials to:

Carnegi.bs0ulrhjc4r5p385@u.box.com by 5 pm EDT on Wednesday, October 15, 2025.

We urge you to contact CARAT Associate Director Rachel Brubaker (rbruba1@umbc.edu) or CARAT Director Marc Ruppel (mruppel@umbc.edu) as soon as possible to discuss your proposal.

Your application materials must include:

1)  A 3-5 page, double-spaced prospectus describing the project, including a projected work plan and approximate time frame. Fellowships will be for either 12 or 24 months and must begin on the first of the month between July and September of 2026, and no later than September 1, 2026.

Note: The Carnegie program allows flexibility in how you manage your time commitment. You may opt for a regular fellowship leave or decide to teach part-time during the semester while working full-time on your project during the summer. 

2) Curriculum vitae

3) Estimate of budgetary requirement for a one- or two-year project. Funds may support:

• Salary and fringe benefits
• Project-related travel (research, conferences)
• Research assistants (hourly or stipend)
• Other project needs (i.e., data collection, surveys, transcription, project supplies and a consultant or contractual service)

The Dean's Office will convene a panel to review the applications and select one or two scholars to recommend to the President as UMBC's nominee(s) by October 22nd. The nominee(s) will work with CARAT to complete the application process and to forward all materials to the President's Office by October 30th. A letter of nomination from President Sheares Ashby is required for the application. Applications must be submitted to the Carnegie Corporation of New York by November 07, 2025 (5:00 P.M. EST).

For additional questions, please contact Associate Dean Alan Yeakley (ayeakley@umbc.edu), Marc Ruppel, Director of CARAT (mruppel@umbc.edu), or Rachel Brubaker, Associate Director of CARAT (rbruba1@umbc.edu).

The Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) at UMBC is seeking a Graduate Research Assistant to support the development of training modules that integrate Large Language Models (LLMs) into R-based workflows. This position will directly contribute to a set of upcoming faculty and nonprofit trainings at UMBC.

Position Details:

• Pay Rate: $25/hour

• Hours: Up to 80 hours for the academic year (flexible scheduling)

• Start Date: Immediate / Fall 2025

• Application Date: For best consideration, apply by September 15, 2025

Responsibilities:

• Assist in the design and preparation of interactive training modules showcasing applications of LLMs in R.

• Support the integration of R, Quarto, and Ellmer-based workflows for reproducible research and training materials.

• Document and streamline workflows for both academic and applied audiences.

• Collaborate with the CS3 Team to ensure modules align with training goals.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with R programming and package development/workflows.

• Familiarity with Large Language Models (LLMs) and their application to data science, research, or training.

• Experience with Quarto for reproducible research and teaching.

• Knowledge of Ellmer or related tooling for LLM integration.

• Strong communication and documentation skills

This position is an excellent opportunity to gain hands-on experience at the intersection of computational social science, reproducible research, and LLM applications while contributing to faculty and nonprofit training capacity at UMBC.

To Apply: Please send a brief statement of interest, resume/CV, the names and contact information for at least one reference (faculty or professional only), and (if available) examples of relevant projects or code to socialscience@umbc.edu. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

The Center for Social Science Scholarship (CS3) is proud to share that Dr. Eric Stokan, Director of CS3 and Associate Professor of Political Science, has been awarded the prestigious Elkins Professorship.

This honor recognizes Dr. Stokan’s innovative work at the intersection of public administration, computational methods, and applied social science. Support from the Elkins Professorship will advance the development of an open-source forthcoming book that aims to bridge cutting-edge computational tools with core questions in public management, public policy, and local governance.

Furthermore, the award will enable the creation of new training modules in computational social science and Large Language Models (LLMs), to be offered through CS3 to the UMBC community and beyond. These modules will expand opportunities for faculty, students, and community partners to gain hands-on experience with methods that are rapidly transforming research, teaching, and practice in the social sciences. Look for forthcoming details about these sessions at socialscience.umbc.edu.

We look forward to supporting this important work and to sharing these resources with the broader UMBC community and beyond. Congratulations to Dr. Stokan on this achievement!

September 3 | 12-1pm | University Center, 310

Dr. Jennifer Mata-McMahon, Professor, UMBC Dept. of Education

All members of the department, partners/collaborators, and students/faculty from other departments and institutions are invited to attend.  Lunch will be provided by the department.  Register here.  

See the attached flyer for a list of future sessions this semester.