About The Humanities Research Institute

The Humanities Research Institute fosters interdisciplinary study in the humanities, arts, and social sciences at the University of Illinois.

We incubate bold ideas.

As the lifeblood of humanities research on the Urbana campus, we provide funding — through fellowships, internships, and programmatic support — and a forum for tackling big questions and imagining bold, human-centered approaches to working for change.

We build bridges between communities.

Whether by convening interdisciplinary academic audiences or doing work that impacts local communities, HRI is committed to developing programs where people can see the humanities in action. Our work encourages ongoing dialogue with Illinois’ historic land grant mission by helping to orient humanities research, resources and influence toward new possibilities for the public university.

We shape conversations nationally and internationally.

HRI serves as the administrative locus for the Mellon-funded Humanities Without Walls (HWW) consortium, which links the humanities centers at 16 research universities throughout the Midwest and beyond. Through additional affiliations and advocacy work, HRI fosters opportunities for humanists to impact the dialogue both nationally and internationally.