Graduate Research Clusters

Graduate Research Clusters (formerly Graduate Interest Groups) foster crossdisciplinary collaboration and inquiry among graduate students in the form of cross-departmental reading, screening, and/or discussion groups, dissertation working groups, public humanities programming, and other activities.

Terms of Award

Funding is limited to $1,000, primarily intended to support meeting or workshop costs (e.g. refreshments). Research clusters must be led by at least two graduate students from different departments, and groups must consist of at least 5 confirmed participants (leaders can be included in this total) at the time of application. In general, the inclusion of participants from multiple departments or academic units is the preferred model for GRCs, as it reflects the Simpson Center's commitment to crossdisciplinary research in the humanities.

Research clusters may organize activities that draw on local intellectual and cultural resources, including faculty and community leaders, and may invite speakers from beyond our campus and immediate geographical area to give talks remotely via Zoom. Research clusters may use a portion of their funds to organize a specific activity in coordination with Simpson Center or other campus programming, such as a major faculty-led conference at the University of Washington, but clusters are not intended to support visiting speakers on their own resources alone.

The Simpson Center will provide a web presence for each research cluster, an archive for significant activities and documents generated by the group, publicity for events, and scheduling privileges for Simpson Center space.