Sabbatical Fellowship

  Application Form  RECIPIENTS

The CBA Office will begin accepting applications on SEPTEMBER 15.

Application Deadline: November 15

The CBA Sabbatical Fellowship is available for individual Full Member scholars pursuing projects relevant to the purposes of the Catholic Biblical Association of America  (https://www.catholicbiblical.org/about-us).

One award of $40,000 will be granted annually for the next academic year (the CBA fiscal year is July -June). 

This sabbatical fellowship is designed for individual researchers. Awards may not be divided, and group projects are not eligible for funding.

Application Requirements

Applicants must be Full Members of the CBA.

Eligible projects may include, but are not limited to, books, monographs, peer-reviewed articles, digital collections, and translations with annotations or a critical apparatus. Funding for revising a dissertation for publication requires that the project move substantially beyond the original dissertation. Applicants must state that they intend to revise their dissertation and explain how the proposed project is expanded.

Applicants may be employed full time at a post-secondary academic institution, teaching on the secondary level, working in a parish / congregational context, or independent scholars.

Full Members who do not qualify for the Sabbatical Fellowship may consider applying for the Research Grants from the CBA for the Promotion of Biblical Scholarship.

Applicants must provide:

1. Completed application form (updated 2026).
   • Project Title (no more than 125 characters, including spaces).
   • A 1000 character (including spaces) abstract of the project.
   • An explanation of how the proposal relates to the work of the CBA.
   • A description of how you have been involved in CBA.
   • Specification of applicant's institution's sabbatical process and any additional source(s) of funding.
2. The project proposal (no more than two single-spaced pages), including
   • The thesis and approach (ideas developed, problems addressed, questions examined).
   • The value of the project for biblical studies, and the specific contribution to the CBA.
   • Competencies and skills required to complete the project (e.g., languages, digital competence).
   • The place of the project within broader academic discussions (e.g., what views it advances or challenges).
   • If relevant, arrangements for access to archives or collections.
   • Goals for outcomes and dissemination, including publication.
3. A one-page bibliography of works pertinent to the project (primary and secondary sources).
4. A Curriculum Vitae (no more than two pages single-spaced) including current and past positions, education (list degrees, dates awarded, and titles of theses or dissertations) and post-secondary school awards and honors (including dates).
5. Two letters from academic references providing detailed support of the sabbatical proposal sent to cba-office@cua.edu with the subject: [APPLICANT'S last name] Sabbatical Fellowship Reference.

PLEASE NOTE:

• All pages of the application, other than the completed form, must be standard letter size (8.5x11 inches or A4), 12-pt. standard Roman font (e.g., New Times Roman).
• Citations (social science or humanities style) are included in page and word counts. 
• The committee will not consider incomplete or incorrectly formatted applications.

Application Process

• Please note the following document naming protocol.
  • If possible, all documents should be pdfs.
  • Documents for the Doctoral Dissertation Stipend should be named as follows (including the number):
    
    1. APPLICANT'S LAST NAME-Application
    2. APPLICANT'S LAST NAME-Proposal
    3. APPLICANT'S LAST NAME-Bibliography
    4. APPLICANT'S LAST NAME-CV
• The four (4) completed application documents and two (2) reference letters must be submitted on or before NOVEMBER 15 to cba-office@cua.edu with the subject: Sabbatical Fellowship Application, in order to be considered (Reference letters should be sent directly from the author attached to an e-mail to cba-office@cua.edu with the subject [Applicant's Name] Sabbatical Fellowship Reference.)
• N.B. if within a week of submitting your application, you have not received from the CBA Office an email response confirming receipt of the application, please check your SPAM folder. If a response is not there, call the office (202-319-5519) and leave a message stating your name and the date you submitted your Sabbatical Fellowship Application.
• All applicants will be notified via e-mail on or before JANUARY 15 regarding the status of their application.

Selection Process

The CBA Committee on Professional Development Support will assess applications based upon the following criteria

• Applications from members who have been in the CBA for at least three years will be prioritized or favored in the vetting process.
• Applications will be evaluated on the basis of merit. Preference is normally given to applicants who have not received a grant from the CBA in the recent past. 
• The committee will not consider incomplete or incorrectly formatted applications.

Recipients

• After the recipient has been notified on or before January 15th, funds will be disbursed in the next CBA fiscal year
  (July - June).
  Non-US citizens will receive a wire-transfer and will need to provide the following information:
     1. The name of the Bank, street, and city:
     2. IBAN:  
     3. BIC /SWIFT:
     4. Account number:
     5. Name of the account holder/beneficiary, street, and city:
• Sabbatical Fellowship recipients are required to submit a report to the CBA Executive Board via the CBA Office (cba-office@cua.edu) at the conclusion of the award period.
• Recipients are expected to present their supported research in a Research Report or panel at the Annual General Meeting within two years of receiving the grant.