This grant program offers funding for interdisciplinary programs and departments to research, develop, and strengthen interdisciplinary curricula within their unit and/or across the College.
We offer up to $5,000 that could be used to fund an external expert to work with program/departmental faculty, to purchase materials necessary for research work, to facilitate cross-program/department collaboration, or to provide stipends to faculty for researching and designing interdisciplinary initiatives. The funds encourage a program or department to incorporate the work of pressing new subfields within their curriculum or to create an opportunity for speculative conversations about the intellectual/pedagogical direction of a program or department. For example, this may take concrete forms like organizing a set of courses on a specific subfield/emerging discipline or it may allow for imaginative brainstorming that supports a program or department’s future goals.
The Interdisciplinary Initiatives Development Grant is available for programs and departments interested in doing this work internally, as well as to programs and departments looking to collaborate on new initiatives. We look to fund projects operating at the level of a program or department: faculty interested in designing a single course and groups of faculty and staff looking for collective research support may pursue the Tri-Co Mellon Brainstorming or Seed Grants, among other funding sources.
Program Coordinator or Department Chairs interested in applying should fill out this form by November 1 for full consideration. We will have one deadline each semester (November 1 and March 1).
