Teaching Grants

Pre-Field Preparation Course Grants

Undergraduates conducting scholarly projects off campus are faced with numerous challenges related to the methods, ethics, safety, and logistics of research. Funded courses will help students prepare for and navigate these challenges, increasing the number of students who are able to return to campus with 1) rigorous project results and 2) refined perspectives on the conduct and culture of observation, analysis, and/or creativity in their chosen discipline.

• Deadline: Rolling
• 2011-12 RFP coming soon

Service-Learning Course Development Grant

Faculty are invited to apply for $1000 to $5000 awards to support the design and development of undergraduate courses that combine public community service with academic study. This includes proposals that add a significant service component to an existing course or those that create a new course with a notable service component.  A service-learning project may be either the entire focus of a course or one discrete (but significant) part of a course. Courses may be small, intensive seminars or larger, lecture courses with service-learning related discussion sections and experiences. The service included as a "text" to be reflected upon and analyzed by participating studentsmay include traditional, hands-on volunteer activity, internships at local organizations, class projects or policy-related work. To be most effective, the service must be integrated into the course, stated clearly in the syllabus and, ideally, incorporated into course outcomes.

• Deadline:  Rolling
• More information and RFP
   

Curriculum Development Grant

The goal of the VPUE Curriculum Grant program is to support the development of new courses and the modification of existing courses that expand undergraduates’ opportunities for intellectual excitement and academic rigor. New courses that grow directly from faculty research and regular course updates are considered part of the regular work of the University faculty and are normally not eligible for support.

Successful projects completed recently include extensive reformulation of core courses for a major and development of innovative field studies research courses in earth sciences and engineering. The level of grant support typically ranges from $1,000 to $5,000 for modest curricular innovation, and up to $10,000 for a more substantial faculty project. Funds are provided on a one-time basis.

• Deadline: October 31, 2011 and February 15, 2012
• 2011-12 RFP
• Additional materials:

    See FAQ
    List of past grants
    Sample grant 1: Chemical Engineering
    Sample grant 2: History

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Curricular Innovation Engaging the Arts

The Curricular Innovation in the Arts grant supports projects within and beyond the arts disciplines.  

We encourage proposals for projects that incorporate arts engagement into courses that otherwise would not intersect with the arts.  We encourage ideas that explore and creatively imagine the role art can play in enhancing learning in any subject.  

For new or existing arts courses, we hope to support innovation in the classroom and studio.  If there is a new practice or method you wish to explore, the Curricular Innovation award can support efforts to push new boundaries and experiment in ways that take instruction in the arts to a new level.

• Deadline: October 31, 2011 and thereafter rolling
• 2011-12 RFP
• Additional materials:

   See FAQ

Revs at Stanford Curriculum Development Grant

The Revs Program at Stanford is focused on the human experiences of designing, making, restoring, driving, being driven by, living with, admiring, and dreaming of the automobile; the causes and effects of the automobile on every aspect of social and cultural life; the automobile itself as machine, work of art, and cultural symbol.  The Revs Program at Stanford Curriculum Development Grants will be awards designed to encourage and provide support for faculty developing teaching and learning opportunities related to the automobile across the curriculum, including new courses, significant revisions of course, introduction of vehicle-related content in existing course, or support of student research. Initiatives may be in the arts, humanities, or social sciences, as well as in any other field, discipline, or school.

• Deadline: October 31, 2011 & February 15, 2012 (proposals at other times will be considered on a rolling
• 2011-12 RFP: Coming soon

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Faculty College

Faculty College will bring small faculty teams together over the course of the academic year to plan, study, and develop innovative curricular and pedagogical ideas. It will provide these faculty teams with the space, time, and resources to work collaboratively on projects such as new team-taught courses, a major change to a department’s curriculum, or new cross-disciplinary teaching endeavors. The hope is that the focused time spent in Faculty College will lead to critical improvements in undergraduate education at Stanford and that Faculty College can be an exciting space that continually helps to rejuvenate and foreground the importance of undergraduate education at Stanford.  Courses, methods, or programs developed here may be the seeds for larger grants from foundations or government funding agencies to further develop ideas explored in Faculty College.

• Deadline: February 15, 2012
• 2012-13 RFP
• Additional materials:

 See FAQ

Hoagland Award for Innovation in Teaching

The Hoagland Award Fund addresses an urgent and felt need of the faculty for a source of funds specifically earmarked for pedagogical innovation. Innovative teaching approaches may be embodied in an entirely new course or set of courses, the major redesign of an existing course or courses, or a project to reexamine or rethink aspects of a curriculum with an emphasis on reconsidered pedagogy and new learning materials. The proposed project may involve one faculty member or a team, though preference will be given to projects likely to have greater impact either because of the number of faculty/departments/programs involved, the depth or breadth of student engagement, or the likelihood that the project will be a model for other Stanford courses.

• Deadline:  April 30, 2012
• 2012 RFP
• Additional materials:

    See FAQ
    List of past grants
 

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Undergraduate Program Enhancement Grant

UPEGs are designed to provide academic departments and programs with funding that will facilitate students’ exposure to the intellectual resources of departments and programs, to build community within a major or program, and to support honors programs. The grants support all students, whether freshmen and sophomores contemplating the major or juniors and seniors already in the major (both honors and non-honors students). Supported areas include:

Major recruiting

Includes events specifically targeted for students contemplating the major.  Generally not supported are promotional materials (e.g. t-shirts, mugs).  H&S departments and programs should apply to Susan Weersing for H&S major recruiting funding.

Student mentoring and development

Includes support for faculty mentoring of students who have declared the major; peer advising; and events or materials to explore graduate study and career development.

Community building

Includes faculty/student gatherings; events to develop intellectual atmosphere and social cohesion, including meals and end-of-year celebrations; and trips to educational events.

Honors support

Includes events for honors students and their faculty; appointment and training of one or more advanced graduate students to advise honors students on writing, thesis design, disciplinary content, or data analysis; honors workshops and symposia for juniors preparing proposals and for seniors writing theses, including graduate student assistants, course development, supplies, and refreshments; and workshops on oral presentation skills and support for honors thesis presentations.

• Deadline:  October 31, 2011
• 2011-12 RFP

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TA Training Grants

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) supports departments that wish to establish a new teaching assistant training program or to enhance an existing program. Awards of up to $2,500 are available as one-time seed grants. For more information, please contact Marcelo Clerici-Arias.

• Deadline:  June 22, 2012
• 2012 RFP

Teaching Conference and Speaker Grants

The Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) has modest funds available on a rolling basis to assist faculty to attend conferences on teaching and learning. Applicants may attend as either presenters or participants. We also assist departments with funding to bring speakers to campus to present on teaching-related topics in their discipline.  The RFP outlines more information about these grants or direct questions to Robyn Dunbar.

• Deadline:  Rolling
• 2012 RFP

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Undergraduate Research Overview

Because independent research and creative work represent new kinds of challenges for many students, UAR advising staff pay special attention to helping interested students identify and approach the right faculty mentors. We help students understand the process of refining their interests into more focused project topics, and we emphasize the role that immersion in an academic department can play in developing their scholarly pursuits.

We fund student research projects through three different grant programs: Departmental Grants offer funding to Departments, Programs, and Research Centers that wish to support multiple students working with an array of affiliated Academic Council mentors. Faculty Grants can be used by mentors to support one or more students engaged in a specific facet of the mentor's work. Student Grants are offered directly to students who author independent project proposals under the supervision and advice of their faculty mentors. Further information on Student Grants is available on VPUE's Undergraduate Academic Life website.

Department Grants

The Departmental Grants programs expand opportunities for undergraduates to work with faculty on research and scholarship. The programs match students with faculty mentors and provide them with stipends for full-time summer work and / or wages for part-time research during the academic year. Chairs or undergraduate studies directors, interdisciplinary programs and research centers may sponsor programs. Research institutes and centers are also eligible to participate.

As part of our effort to improve student research experiences, we ask that supported students complete an evaluation. In collaboration with staff from the Provost's Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support, VPUE alerts students to their evaluation responsibilities and directly provides these students with a survey URL. Research mentors and coordinators do not need to refer students to a specific survey at this time. Reviewers examine the results of these evaluations closely when making funding decisions.

• Deadline:  October 31, 2011.
• Request for Proposals
• Submit an application online
• View sample departmental grant proposals

Faculty Grants

Individual faculty members may receive funds to involve undergraduates in their research or current scholarly projects. The program aims to provide a bridge for students between introductory coursework and advanced independent study. Faculty grants provide student stipends; travel expenses are eligible for limited support.

As part of our effort to improve student research experiences, we ask that supported students complete an evaluation. In collaboration with staff from the Provost's Office of Institutional Research and Decision Support, VPUE alerts students to their evaluation responsibilities and directly provides these students with a survey URL. Research mentors and coordinators do not need to refer students to a specific survey at this time.  Reviewers examine the results of these evaluations closely when making funding decisions.

• Deadlines:  October 31, 2011 and January 31, 2012.
• Request for Proposals
• Submit an application online
• View sample faculty grant proposals

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Bing Honors College

Bing Honors College (BHC) brings Honors students to campus in early September to work with faculty leaders, graduate mentors, and peers on research and writing related to their Honors theses. BHC participants work individually and in departmental or program cohorts during the College. As a result of their BHC participation, students begin senior year with a strong sense of intellectual purpose and a serious commitment to independent scholarship.

Honors College was inaugurated in 1993 as part of the Bing Teaching Initiative, a series of curricular innovations designed to improve the quality of undergraduate education at Stanford. Begun as a pilot program with 28 students from three departments, BHC has grown steadily over the years. It currently accommodates roughly 100 students from a wide range of undergraduate departments and programs.

BHC Activities and Course of Study

The BHC program balances cohort-sponsored activities with ample time for writing, library research, individual conferences with advisors, and informal interactions among students.

Each Bing Honors College cohort organizes collective activities to develop skills needed for successful scholarship and to help students join an intellectual community. Cohort-sponsored activities organized by faculty leaders may include the following:

-Oral presentations by students for one another and peer reviews of writing and research plans
-Seminars with reading assignments and discussion of research approaches in the field
-Review of previous Honors theses and development of a model thesis
-Library orientations, including meetings with curators and demonstrations of research tools
-Special skills workshops, such as statistical analysis and software applications
-Thesis writing or prewriting workshops
-Oral communication workshops
-Faculty presentations on their own research and writing processes
-Field trips to local archives and bookstores
-Culminating assignments for the end of Bing Honors College including poster sessions, oral presentations, or written work

• Deadline:  February 15, 2012
• 2012 RFP for new departments
• 2012 RFP for returning departments

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