Summer Faculty Research Fellowships

Awarded annually by the Office of the Vice President for Research, summer research fellowships are available for tenure-track assistant professors without summer support to launch programs or finish a project involving their research or creative activities.  These are competitive awards and historically about 50% are funded.

Regular Summer Faculty Research Fellowships: All tenure-track assistant professors on an academic year, nine or ten-month appointment, who have no other summer support from a research grant or teaching assignment during the eight-week summer session, and have not received summer salary as part of their start up package, are eligible. These fellowships provide a stipend of $7,000 (salary only). The intent of this program is to enable new assistant professors to launch programs involving their research or creative activities. Priority will be given to applications from assistant professors whose academic appointments began within the last three years. Applications will be evaluated on the substance and character of the research project and the research potential of the applicant.  Faculty are eligible to receive this fellowship one time.

Special Summer Faculty Research Fellowships: All assistant professors on nine or ten-month appointment preparing their tenure/promotion dossiers within the next two years are eligible. These fellowships provide a stipend of $7,000 (salary only) and are to support research during otherwise unsupported and uncommitted time in the summer to complete a research project already in progress. Summer support from a research grant or teaching assignment will not be permitted during the eight-week summer session. Faculty are eligible to receive this award only once.  Faculty notified during Spring 2012 that they are on a terminal appointment in 2012-13 will not be eligible for the fellowship.

For summer faculty research fellowship candidates:
You should submit an application to your department chair by mid-November to provide sufficient time for evaluation within the department and college. The chair will include a letter and statement addressing the quality of the proposed research project and how funding will enhance the applicant's future research program and career advancement. Chairs will forward the applications to the dean who will also provide an assessment of the proposal, and in cases where there is more than one proposal, provide a rank ordering of the proposals. 

Applications for both the Summer Faculty Research Fellowships and the Special Summer Faculty Research Fellowships for Summer 2013 are due December 14, 2012.

Click here for the application cover sheet (pdf).

Application Procedures:

• Applications should include the following components:
  • Application cover sheet (does not count toward page limit).
  • Proposal (see below for content and format guidelines).
  • Brief formatted NIH biographical sketch. See http://grants1.nih.gov/grants/funding/phs398/biosketchsample.doc for details and note that completing the box for an eRA Commons name is optional.
  • Letter from chair/director
  • Dean's comments/rankings
    
• Proposals should be 3-5 pages of text, double spaced with 1-inch margins all around and Times New Roman 12-point font.  References should begin on a separate page and do not count toward the page limit. Appendix material is not permitted.
• The proposal should outline the nature and significance of the research project, describe the project’s current status, and explicitly state what will be accomplished during the period of the fellowship; also specify how the proposed activity fits into the applicant’s future research plans, including potential external funding sources, if applicable. For special faculty research fellowships, the proposal should also explain how receiving this funding will enhance the applicant’s tenure dossier.
• If the applicant has received support (other than start-up funds) through the Office of the Vice President for Research in the past, include a statement describing the outcomes of that support.
• If IRB approval will be required for the proposed research, include a statement of whether approval has been obtained or is pending.
• Because a multidisciplinary faculty review committee will rank order the proposals, proposals should be written in such a way that someone not in your specific discipline can understand its significance. Proposals must be concise, well developed and fully explain the research to be accomplished within the time frame of the fellowship.
  
• The completed application should be submitted through the appropriate department chair/unit director to the dean of the college. It is suggested that applicants prepare their proposal in advance so as to obtain feedback from their chairs or departmental mentors before final submission as poorly written proposals are not competitive for funding.
• The chair/director will include a statement addressing the quality of each proposed research project and how each will enhance the candidate's future research program and career advancement. These letters are an important part of the review process as they supply context for the proposed research.
• The dean will review and provide guidance in the rank ordering of the proposals and submit the completed applications for both programs by December 14, 2012.
  
• Recipients of these fellowships must submit a final report by October 1, 2013. Final reports are limited to two pages. Failure to submit a final report will preclude future funding in other programs supported by the Office of the Vice President for Research.