The Humanities Research Institute (HRI) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign was established in 1997 to promote interdisciplinary study in the humanities, arts, and social sciences.

The HRI grants fellowships to Illinois faculty and graduate students, and in fall 2010 welcomed the first Mellon Post-Doctoral Fellows in the Humanities, supported by a six-year grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The HRI coordinates and hosts numerous lectures, symposia, and panel discussions on a wide variety of topics, and provides awards that recognize excellence in humanities research to faculty and students. The HRI supports faculty-driven initiatives for interdisciplinary public programming in the humanities through its Events Grants Program, and provides support to faculty and graduate student reading groups.