The UGP Career Enhancement Grant program will fund approximately $50,000 across 8-10 awards. With that in mind, budgets are not limited but need to reflect the actual needs of the project.  Applicants are expected to request funding at a level that is appropriate to the scope of their project.

The primary purpose of this program is to provide support for a career development experience in any area of research and creative scholarship. We aim to develop faculty professional capacity with the goal of increasing faculty success in applying for and receiving extramural funding. Therefore, all Career Enhancement Grants must ultimately benefit research and creative scholarship at UM.

Examples of eligible projects include, but are not limited to:

• Mentored experiences that will contribute to the development of your research and creative scholarship capabilities
• Professional artistic development (residencies, mentorship, career development)
• Travel to a site to learn a new technique and/or use a unique instrument
• Attendance at an event centered on intellectual exchange among humanities scholars
• Purchase of small equipment or software
• Career exposure that demonstrates the potential for career advancement (e.g., residencies, significant conference presentations)
• Proposal development support (e.g, external consultants, peer review). Note that UM’s Research Development Office provides substantial proposal development support at no cost to you or your department. Prior to submitting a Career Enhancement Grant for proposal development support, please contact Naomi DeMarinis to discuss your specific request to confirm that it is outside the scope of their office.

Eligibility & Awardee Requirements

In addition to the information contained in the Eligibility section of the How to Apply page, the following applies:

• This UGP is intended to support faculty who are new to the grants process and who have demonstrated commitment and motivation to conduct externally-sponsored research or creative scholarship in their discipline. Eligibility is limited to:
  • Tenure-track Assistant Professors
  • Non-tenure-track faculty within 10 years of receipt of their terminal degree
  • In rare cases, senior faculty (Associate/Full Professors) who are deviating significantly from their prior work. Requires submission of a one-page justification (see Proposal Components).
• Priority will be given to faculty who have not received funding from external sponsors.
• Priority will be given to faculty who have already conducted preliminary work (such as pilot and/or preliminary studies) to submit a proposal.
• The intent of this mechanism is to promote external funding where possible. Accordingly, successful grantees will submit a proposal to an external sponsor within 18 months of receipt of a UGP Career Enhancement Grant.
• UGP awardees must agree to the Awardee Requirements.

How to Apply

To apply, follow the instructions on the How to Apply page. 

Additionally, the recording of a UGP information session is available in Box.