Who Should Apply: Full-Time Tenure System and CIRE Faculty from any/all CLAS units, CLAS departments and academic units, CLAS programs, or CLAS interdisciplinary groups at all campuses. Individual faculty members may be involved in no more than one proposal for this program.
Deadline: Dec. 2, 2025
Funding: There is no budget limit for any individual proposal but the total amount available to fund this initiative is $75,000. Funding decisions will consider the number of students that will be impacted, effective allocation of resources and the sustainability of the proposal after the award period. The overall impact of the program across the college will also be considered. At least some of the awarded funds must be spent before June 30, 2026, and all funds must be spent by June 30, 2027.
About the Call
A generous gift to CLAS will provide support for proposals that build upon our strength as a research institution to incorporate research and the discovery process into the experience of the undergraduate students. CLAS anticipates awarding a total of up to $75,000 through this call.
Proposals will be considered from individual faculty members or teams of faculty, departments or academic units, programs, or interdisciplinary groups from all UConn campuses. Examples of activities that may be supported include, but are not limited to:
- Integration of AI into undergraduate teaching that facilitates undergraduate research experiences.
- Increasing undergraduate student access to authentic research experiences.
- Acquisition of software or laboratory equipment that will enhance undergraduate laboratories.
- Supporting curriculum development that will translate into increased research opportunities for undergraduate students.
Priority will be given to proposals that substantially increase the capacity to engage undergraduate students in research experiences and leverage one-time costs to lay the foundation for sustainable on-going programming. The breadth of overall impact of the program across the college will also be considered.
How to Apply
Submissions must be made by Dec. 2, 2025, through the CLAS proposal submission portal.
Proposals should be no more than three pages and should detail:
- How the work will advance undergraduate learning and/or research opportunities.
- The anticipated numbers of students that will be impacted.
- A timeline with specific milestones for the activities proposed,
- Anticipated outcomes.
- A budget and rationale for the anticipated expenses.
- How the programming will be sustained beyond the funding period.
Proposals must also include confirmation(s) from the department head(s) or academic unit leader(s) of the PI(s) that the proposal is consistent with unit(s) mission(s). For proposals that would be carried out at a regional campus, confirmation is also required from the regional campus dean. Investigators must list any previous CLAS support received over the past five years and briefly describe the outcomes with an emphasis on any scholarly works or grants generated through that funding, or other tangible curricular outcomes. The confirmation statement(s) and prior support section do not count against the three-page limit.
The funds must be spent by June 30, 2027; 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.