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College of Fine Arts

Grant Submission Incentive Program

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Purpose

This program provides summer financial support for faculty preparing external grant proposals to support research, creative activity, or program development. External funding proposals must request a minimum of $25,000 in total project costs. Eligible submission targets include federal agencies (e.g., National Endowment for the Arts, National Endowment for the Humanities), foundations (e.g., MacArthur Foundation), and regional/state entities (e.g., Texas Commission on the Arts). Projects should contribute to the fine arts research portfolio, enhance professional growth, foster public engagement, increase collaborative connections, engage students in teaching or research, and/or advance cultural awareness. Direct any questions about the eligibility of a funding opportunity to the Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives in the College of Fine Arts.

Eligibility

Open to all full-time faculty in the College of Fine Arts pursuing projects that have not previously received substantial external grant funding. 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

Funding is available as either a $5,000 summer stipend or reimbursement of up to $5,000 in project-related expenses.

  • Stipends will be issued through summer payroll and are subject to taxes. Faculty receiving a stipend may teach no more than one regular summer session, contingent on departmental need and summer school funding availability. Stipends are paid out following submission of documentation confirming the external grant proposal was submitted. Faculty must follow all Office of Research procedures and submit proposals through TCU research workflows.
  • Reimbursement requests must follow TCU reimbursement procedures and can only include expenses incurred after June 1.
  • 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 (3–5 pages, double-spaced), including:
    • Project description and relevance to research/creative activity or program development
    • Brief literature review or environmental scan situating the project within the field
    • Scope of work and timeline for proposal preparation
    • Project goals and anticipated outcomes
    • Justification for the budgeted expenses (required only for reimbursement requests)
    • Application plan specifying the external agency and submission timeline – include grant opportunity link, Request for Proposals (RFP), or Request for Applications (RFA).
  • Itemized budget (required only for reimbursement requests)
  • Updated CV in TCU format

Application Procedure

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

Deadline: First Monday in April

Post-Award Requirements

  • For summer reimbursement awards, all receipts and forms must be submitted by the last Monday in August following project completion. Failure to submit by deadline may subject reimbursements to income tax penalties.
  • All expenses and reimbursement requests must be submitted within 30 days of grant submission and no later than October 31st to ensure timely processing.
  • Any changes to the approved budget or scope of work must be reviewed and approved by the Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives.
  • Faculty must submit documentation confirming the external grant proposal was submitted before the end of the academic year.
  • If a grant call is cancelled, the faculty must immediately notify the Dean and the Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives. If an alternate plan can be developed, the award will stand. However, if there is not an alternate plan developed, the award may be forfeited or rescinded.
  • Outcomes/funding decisions from submitted proposals must be reported to the Dean’s Office (t.rohrer@tcu.edu) and Dr. Charles Freeman, Director of Research and Creative Scholarship Initiatives (charles.freeman@tcu.edu) as soon as the submitter is notified.