Faculty Funding

Wesleyan has a number of internal funding resources to support faculty scholarship, teaching, and professional development.

Funding for Research

The primary source of in-house research funding for Wesleyan faculty are Grants In Support of Scholarship.  Faculty apply through their WesPortal.  All continuing faculty (tenured, tenure track, professors of the practice, artists in residents) are eligible.  Visiting faculty are not eligible. Deadline is mid-March for the following academic year.

  • General Support – up to $750, 1-year only,
  • Project Grants – up to $5,000, up to 2-years
  • Student-Faculty Internships—summer or year (1 year only)

Additionally, there are a few other sources for research-related faculty funding

  • Quantitative Analysis Center (QAC) Summer Apprenticeship Program trains and funds students who are working on data analysis related projects for faculty; deadline is early March for the following academic year.
  • Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life offers funding for faculty to support: (a) university lectures, (b) collaborative projects, (c) research networks. Anyone teaching at Wesleyan is eligible; deadlines in November and May for the following semester/year.
  • The Center for the Humanities offers semester-long faculty fellowships to support research on particular themes, which change every semester. The faculty fellowships enable Wesleyan faculty to spend a semester in residence at the Center, receive a course release to concentrate on their research, and teach a new seminar connected to their research theme.
  • The College of the Environment (COE) offers year-long fellowships to Wesleyan faculty to take part in the COE Think Tank. Over the course of the year the COE faculty fellows are in residence at the COE, participate in the Think Tank research on a designated theme, and receive a course release each semester to support their research.

Funding for Teaching

We have a range of different funding opportunities to support faculty in their pedagogy.  Unless otherwise noted, these opportunities are available to anyone teaching at Wesleyan.

  • Teaching and pedagogy grant through GISOS—up to $3,000, 1 year only, available to continuing faculty only; deadline in mid-March for following academic year.
  • Faculty can apply for funding to support class field trips by emailing Lisa Sacks (lsacks@wesleyan.edu).  The full description of what you need to submit and relevant deadlines can be found here.
  • Center for Pedagogical Innovation grants—supports the development of innovative pedagogical practices and courses; deadline is November for following semester.
  • Creative Campus Initiative—$500 stipend for non-arts faculty to develop modules and courses to be co-taught with arts faculty; deadline is May for following academic year.
  • Sustainability & Environmental Justice Pedagogical Initiative-- $500-$1,000 faculty stipends to support the development new modules and courses focused on environmental justice and sustainability; deadline in early April for the following academic year.
  • Fries Center for Global Studies Internationalizing the Curriculum Seminar--$500 stipend for faculty to participate in a seminar and develop a new course or course module to incorporate global perspectives and intercultural learning into their teaching; deadline is mid-May for following academic year.
  • Digital Scholarship Innovation Fund—up to $2,000 for faculty to support the development of digital scholarship projects; deadline is mid-April for the following year.
  • Service-Learning Initiative Grants—Up to $4,000 for faculty to support the development of service-learning courses; deadline is mid-October and mid-May for the following semester/year.

Funding for Faculty Development

We have a range of different funding opportunities to support faculty in their professional development.  Unless otherwise noted, these opportunities are only available to continuing faculty.

  • GISOS grant for professional meeting participation—up to $2,600 to support faculty presenting their work at professional meetings; rolling deadline.
  • GISOS grant for up to four faculty to attend the NCFDD’s Faculty Success Program; deadline in mid-March.
  • Allbritton Center for the Study of Public Life offers funding for faculty to support: (a) university lectures, (b) collaborative projects, (c) research networks. Anyone teaching at Wesleyan is eligible; deadlines in November and May for the following semester/year.

In addition to these mission-specific forms of funding, each academic unit and each division also has a small amount of discretionary funding.  If you require a small amount of funding for a professional purpose that cannot be met by one of the funding sources above, you should reach out first to your department Chair and then, if recommended, to your divisional Dean. 

If you are seeking outside funding, we encourage you to contact the Grants Office, which offers faculty support with external grants and fellowships.