Research in Academic Themes 2024-2025

Who Should Apply: Full-time tenure-system faculty and non-tenure-track faculty on multiyear contracts from any/all CLAS units, across all divisions; other non-tenure-track faculty may serve as Co-Is. Faculty with research appointments should email the Dean’s Office to determine their eligibility to serve as PI.

Deadline: Nov. 6, 2024

Funding: Up to $30,000 may be requested; resources must be spent before August 29, 2025.


The  CLAS Strategic Plan outlines six academic themes that build on existing strengths. These are:

  • The Earth and Its Future
  • Sustainable Systems, Global Resources, and World Cultures
  • Big Data: Science, Policy, and Ethics
  • Inequalities, Social Justice, Truth, and Belief
  • Health, Disease, and Well-Being
  • Brain, Mind, Language, and Logic

Funding for this opportunity is available to individuals or groups to achieve tangible outcomes that advance research or scholarship in support of any of these academic themes. It is desirable for the research supported by this internal funding mechanism to lead to the submission of successful proposals for external funding, to the extent that such opportunities are available for the type of work.

Individual or teams of faculty members should submit a research proposal of no more than three pages that includes:

  • Description of how the work will advance the goals of the CLAS Strategic Plan with reference to the theme(s) the project addresses.
  • What will be accomplished and the timeframe for the work. This should include explicit goals and/or milestones anticipated, including any specific plans for submission of proposals for external funding and/or plans for publications or other forms of disseminating to the broader community.
  • Budget and justification for the anticipated expenses.  If you would like assistance in developing the budget based on your specific needs, please email CLAS Grant Management Services. Projects may include faculty and/or student collaborators, but salary support will only be provided for individuals in CLAS units..

All proposals must also append a supplement that includes the following. The supplement does not count towards the proposal’s three-page limit.

  • Acknowledgement from the unit head(s) of PI and any Co-Is. This need not be a letter of support but should acknowledge that the unit head(s) is/are aware of the proposal submission.
  • PI and/or co-PIs must report balances for all current funding (e.g., grants, fellowships, startup, indirect costs, etc.). Proposals from PIs with unspent funds in startup, indirect costs, or other internal award accounts must justify the need for additional funds requested in this proposal. This supplemental information is not counted toward the three-page limit.
  • If the PI and/or co-PIs have received funding from any CLAS program within the past five years, describe the outcome(s) and the impact achieved from the funding. This supplemental information is not counted toward the three-page limit. Note: Proposals from PIs who have not achieved targeted objectives from prior CLAS awards will be reviewed at a lower priority.

Submissions must be made by Nov. 6, 2024 through the CLAS proposal submission portal.

Each faculty member may be involved in the submission of no more than one proposal as PI or Co-I.  While individuals in other appointment categories may be involved in the work, the PI must be a CLAS faculty member in the tenure system and non-tenure-track faculty with a multiyear contract; other non-tenure-track faculty may serve as Co-Is. Faculty with research appointments should email the Dean’s Office to determine their eligibility to serve as PI.

The funds must be spent by Aug. 29, 2025; any unspent funds will be returned to CLAS. Short-term project outcomes must be reported to the Dean’s Office at that time; provisions will be made to enable PIs to report longer-term outcomes.