Dean's Exceptional Travel Grant

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Purpose

This grant provides funding to support faculty who are invited to present, perform, or disseminate research or creative activity at regional, national, or international venues where travel costs exceed the unit-level travel budget. These awards are intended to support highly distinctive professional opportunities that strengthen faculty development, foster professional connection, and elevate the reputation of the College of Fine Arts. This program does not support travel for research or creative development activities. Faculty seeking project-based funding should refer to the TCU RCAF program or other CFA internal grants.

Eligibility

All full-time faculty in the College of Fine Arts are eligible to apply.

Priority will be given to:

• Tenure track faculty who can demonstrate significant professional impact from travel.
• Faculty who have not previously received a CFA Dean’s Exceptional Travel Grant within the previous 2 years.

Applicants may submit proposals to multiple CFA internal grant programs but may only receive one internal grant per fiscal year (June 1–May 31), excluding the Programming Grant Supporting Community Connections.

Award

Grants of up to $3,000 are available to reimburse travel-related expenses, including airfare, lodging, mileage, per diem, and conference registration. All travel request approvals, reimbursements, and expenses must comply with College of Fine Arts and TCU travel policies. Travel and reimbursements will be processed through Concur. Please verify with your chair or director for anticipated travel requests and approvals. 

Application Materials

A complete application includes:

• College of Fine Arts Grants Cover Sheet
• Project proposal (maximum 3 pages, double-spaced), including:
  • Description of the opportunity and why it represents a distinctive professional experience
  • Explanation of how this opportunity arose (invitation, peer-reviewed submission, juried selection, etc.)
  • How the experience will advance your professional goals and foster connections or community engagement
  • Expected benefits to the department/school, and/or the College
  • Statement confirming this project is not supported by any other internal or external funding source 
• Itemized budget
• Evidence of submission, invitation, or acceptance (can be submitted after the deadline)
• Letter of support from chair/director confirming the opportunity exceeds unit-level funding and will enhance the applicant’s professional trajectory
• Updated CV in TCU format

Application Procedure

Email completed applications as a single PDF to Tracy Rohrer in the Dean’s Office at t.rohrer@tcu.edu.

Deadlines:

• Last Monday in August (for projects within the current fiscal year)
• Second Monday in November (for projects within the current fiscal year)
• First Monday in April (for projects beginning in the next fiscal year)

Post-award Requirements

• Domestic travel must be requested and approved through departmental and Dean’s office approval workflows.
• International travel must be approved by TCU Global before submitting through Concur.
• All travel requests and approvals must go through Concur before the travel occurs. Failure to process through Concur may result in delays or non-approval of travel reimbursements.
• If travel occurs during the academic term, faculty must provide their Chair/Director with a plan to cover missed classes.
• A final project report must be submitted within 30 days of the travel conclusion to the Dean’s Office (t.rohrer@tcu.edu), department/school Chair/Director, and Dr. Charles Freeman, Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives (charles.freeman@tcu.edu).
• All expenses and reimbursement requests must be submitted within 30 days of project completion and no later than the 3rd Monday in May to ensure processing before fiscal yearend.
• Changes to the approved budget or scope must be reviewed and approved by the Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives.