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Academic Excellence Funds

Questions? Contact Communications Director Elaine Cole at e.cole@tcu.edu.

Academic Excellence Funds are unique to each college and school. They provide support to faculty, staff and students to advance their research, professional development and educational requirements to further their careers and education.

Here is a comprehensive list of funds for each college, the amount, and how to apply.

AddRan Research Grants supports mid-career summer research programs and summer faculty research grants. All AddRan faculty members are eligible.
Amount: $2,000 to $4,000 each
To Apply: Contact the Dean’s Office.

College-wide Mentoring Program supports faculty mentors for first-year faculty with an emphasis on diversity, equity, and inclusion.
Amount: $500 mentor stipend each.
To Apply: Contact the Dean’s Office.

Diversity in Research Prizes are available for both faculty and graduate students.
Amount: $2,500 per faculty member. $1,500 per graduate student.
To Apply: Contact the Dean’s Office.

Dean’s Travel Fund supports travel above and beyond funding provided by the department. All AddRan faculty members are eligible.
Amount: Up to $1,000 each.
To Apply: Contact the Dean’s Office.

Dean’s Research Grants reimburse research expenses incurred when conducting, rather than presenting, research. Available to all full-time faculty. Preference is given to assistant and associate professors who are seeking tenure and/or promotion.
Amount: $1,500 each.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | Bob Schieffer College of Communication

Dean’s Teaching Enhancement Grants reimburse expenses for teaching innovation and improvement. Available for all full-time Schieffer faculty members.
Amount: $1,500 each.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | Bob Schieffer College of Communication

Dean’s Travel and Conference Support covers transportation costs to present scholarly or creative work at recognized events, e.g., conferences, colloquia, poster presentations and exhibitions, and conference registration fees.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: coe.tcu.edu/resources

Publication and Other Scholarly Activities Fund covers expenses related to activities to disseminate scholarly or creative work to academic and non-academic audiences, including materials related to dissemination activities, submissions fees to publish in academic (i.e., publications), and creative venues; and editing services for publications.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: coe.tcu.edu/resources

Research Expenses may be submitted for fieldwork including travel, accommodation, equipment, materials, supplies, and other essential services exclusively used for the proposed research project.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: coe.tcu.edu/resources

Graduate Professional Development supports workshops organized by graduate students and faculty, plus other initiatives that enhance graduate research.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: coe.tcu.edu/resources

DEI Research and Pedagogical Efforts are covered for projects that are aimed to increase student and faculty inclusion, success and retention. Proposals eligible for this funding include: empirical studies and demonstration projects of direct relevance to diversity, equity, or inclusion, where diversity refers to the traits and characteristics that make people unique; equity refers to ensuring fair treatment and equality of opportunity for all individuals; and inclusion refers to the behaviors and social norms that ensure people feel welcome. Proposals may target any aspect of DEI, but preference will be given to substantive projects that evaluate the impact of DEI efforts in the PK-16 community, college community or organizational settings.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: coe.tcu.edu/resources

Arts Programming and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiative supports the development and enhancement of arts programming that engages with issues of culture, identity, and diversity. Available to all Fine Arts faculty.
Amount: $1,000 each.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

Dean’s Exceptional Travel Grants support faculty to pursue exceptional opportunities to present/perform/disseminate research and creative activities that require travel costs that exceed the funding available through unit-level travel budgets. All full-time faculty in the College of Fine Arts are eligible. Preference is given to those seeking tenure and promotion in the near future and for whom this exceptional opportunity will greatly enhance their professional dossiers, as well as those who have not received previous CoFA grants.
Amount: $3,000 each, three per semester.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

Dean’s Teaching Enhancement Grants support continuous innovation and improvement in teaching, primarily by instructors and professors of professional practice whose principal duty is instruction. Preference is given to full-time instructors and PPPs whose primary responsibilities are teaching, especially those who have not previously been awarded this grant or university Instructional Development Grant and who do not have access to other sources of support for teaching improvement.
Amount: $1,500 each, four per year.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

CoFA Grant Submission Incentive Program provides summer financial support for CoFA faculty to prepare and submit proposals to external agencies. Proposals in support of research and creative activity and program development are eligible. Open to tenure-track and tenured faculty and professors of professional practice (all ranks) in the College of Fine Arts. Projects must not have previously received substantial external grant funding.
Amount: $5,000, at least two per annually.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

CoFA Microgrants for New Technologies Program covers expenses for training opportunities that engage with new media, digital technologies, computational approaches. Available to full-time CoFA faculty members who wish to acquire new skills (the first priority of this program) or advance their skills in digital technologies/new media to support research, creative practice or pedagogy.
Amount: $1,500 each, annually per semester.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

Creativity, Innovation, Interdisciplinarity in Learning Program supports CoFA faculty members who devise new ways of developing interdisciplinary connections between different units within the college. Available to all full-time faculty.
Amount: $2,500 each, three annually.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

Mid-Career Summer Research and Creative Activities Program supports selected faculty at the rank of Associate Professor (tenured or professor of professional practice) for the purpose of advancing their research, creative projects, and scholarship toward promotion to full professor.
Amount: $5,000 each, four each summer.
To Apply: Faculty Resources | College of Fine Arts

URCA Grants sponsor the creation and presentation of original works of student research and creative activity. Available to all TCU Fine Arts majors in good standing. Preference will be given to graduating seniors and students who have not previously been awarded a URCA grant.
Amount: $750 each.
To Apply: Undergraduate Resources | College of Fine Arts

GRCA Support Funds supports TCU Fine Arts graduate students (master and doctoral) with research and creative activity required for the completion of their degree.
Amount: $750 each.
To Apply: Graduate Resources | College of Fine Arts.

Academic Excellence Funds support both program-wide and faculty initiatives that enhance the high academic standards of CSE in instances where their department’s operating budget is insufficient. Proposals in the areas of teaching or research are encouraged. All CSE full-time faculty, tenure, tenure-track, professor of professional practice and instructors are eligible Principal Investigators.
Amount: $1,000 each.
To Apply: Contact the Associate Dean of Research.

Faculty Success Program supports attending the National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity’s 12-week online program to help tenure-track and tenured faculty increase research and writing productivity while maintaining a healthy work-life balance. Available to tenured and tenure-track professors.
Amount: $4,450 annually.
To Apply: Contact the Associate Dean for Research.

Grant Development Support for tenured and tenure-track professors.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: Contact the Associate Dean for Research.

Grant Proposals – Expert External Reviews fund an honorarium for an external, expert reviewer to provide feedback on a grant application where the faculty member is a PI. The intent of this funding is to help faculty gain timely feedback from expert reviewers prior to manuscript/grant submission, making that research product more likely to be accepted. Full-time faculty, tenure, tenure-track, professor of professional practice and instructors are eligible Principal Investigators.
Amount: $500 each.
To Apply:  Research Resources | Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Interprofessional Education Collaborative Conference Fund covers the cost to attend IPEC faculty development events and webinars. Available to all full-time Harris faculty.
Amount: $2,500 annually.
To Apply: Contact the Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives.

Manuscript Submissions – Expert External Reviews funds an honorarium for an external, expert reviewer to provide feedback on a first- or senior-author manuscript where the faculty member is a PI. The intent of this funding is to help faculty gain timely feedback from expert reviewers prior to manuscript/grant submission, making that research product more likely to be accepted. Available to tenured and tenure-track professors.
Amount: $500 each.
To Apply:  Research Resources | Harris College of Nursing & Health Sciences

Professional Statistician Consultation supports all stages of a research project. Available to tenured and tenure-track professors.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: Online Survey Software | Qualtrics Survey Solutions

Teaching Study Abroad provides mentored shadow opportunities with existing Study Abroad courses. Available for all full-time faculty upon approval of department chair. Available to full-time faculty upon approval of their department chair.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: Contact the Assistant Dean for Strategic Initiatives upon approval from the department chair.

 

 

 

 

 

Innovation Fund extends and enhances the existing Honors College Innovation Fund to create signature Honors course experiences. Promotes connection between faculty & students to amplify engagement through experiential learning. Available to full-time, permanent, core Honors faculty.
Amount: Variable
To Apply: Contact the Dean’s Office.

Research and Teaching Innovation Fund supports academic research and teaching innovation initiatives. Available to all Neeley faculty.
Amount: At least $1,000 each.
To Apply: Contact the Associate Dean for Faculty and Research.

Big 12 Faculty Fellowship Program provides the opportunity to travel to member institutions to exchange ideas and research. Open to all TCU faculty.
Amount: $2,500 each, five fellowships per year.
To Apply: RESEARCH | BIG XII FACULTY FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

Junior Faculty Summer Research Program supports selected junior faculty for the purpose of advancing their research, creative projects, and scholarship. Open to junior faculty holding a full-time, tenure-track position with the rank of assistant professor.
Amount: Up to $6,000 each.
To Apply: RESEARCH | Junior Faculty Summer Research Program

Research and Creative Activity Fund provides seed money that enables the investigator to do the preliminary work that precedes proposal submission for extramural funding. Supports the gathering of preliminary results for resubmission of applications for which extramural funding was sought but not awarded. Supports the pursuit of scholarly research and creative activities for which external funding is limited or not available. Support conducting a systemic investigation into student learning with the purpose of developing novel teaching methodologies and practices that can measurably enhance student learning outcomes and advance the practice of teaching and public dissemination of inquiry findings. Available to full-time, tenure, tenure-track, professor of professional practice, or instructor appointment at TCU.
Amount: Up to $4,500, with an additional $1,500 to apply towards a student mentorship component.
To Apply: RESEARCH | Research and Creative Activities Fund

TCU Invests in Scholarship stimulates research or creative activities that represent identified opportunities for significant external funding and recognition. All full-time TCU faculty , tenure, tenure-track, professor of professional practice or instructor appointment are eligible Principal Investigators.
Amount: Up to $20,000.
To Apply: RESEARCH | TCU Invests in Scholarship (TCU IS)

TCU Inclusive Excellence Research Grant supports participatory action research in either existing programs to achieve equitable participation and success, or pilot projects or programs that use evidence-based strategies to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion among our campus community. Available to all permanent full-time faculty and staff with proposals to bring about a more inclusive environment.
Amount: $15,000 each.
To Apply: RESEARCH | TCU Inclusive Excellence Research Grant