• The Catalyst Award is open to any full-time faculty member at Chapman University, including tenure-track, tenured, and non-tenure-track faculty. 

• Faculty may receive only one Catalyst Award every two academic years. 

• Faculty become eligible to apply for a Catalyst Award after mentoring a total of 30 student research credits through the 291/491 course, counted either from the launch of the program in Fall 2026 or from the semester following their most recent successful Catalyst Award application. 

• • Credits cannot be carried forward to future Catalyst Award eligibility periods. Once a Catalyst Award is granted, the faculty member must mentor undergraduates in another 30 units of 291/491 before becoming eligible for another Catalyst Award. 

• • Credit accumulation toward a future Catalyst Award begins in the semester immediately following the successful approval of an award, and only credits earned after that point will count toward the next eligibility threshold of 30 credits. 

• Faculty must submit Catalyst Award application before Week 5 of semester before intended course release and should check with their department chair or program director in the semester prior to this deadline since units may require additional advance notice to approve course releases, depending on teaching needs. 

• Awards are offered in accordance with each school or college’s policy and availability of funds. 

• Faculty are required to submit a brief report to their chair or program director as well as dean by the end of the semester in which the course release is taken to describe how the course release supported their research and/or creative activities. 

Once eligible, faculty should submit the following to CUE: 

• Faculty Undergraduate Research Catalyst Award Application (link to apply), which includes: 

• • Mentoring Philosophy and Impact Statement  

• • • Reflect on your mentoring practices by describing your mentoring philosophy and the ways in which you have supported your students. (no more than 300 words) 

• • Future Impact of Award Statement 

• • • Describe how receiving a course release will support your work mentoring undergraduate students in research or creative activities. (no more than 300 words)  

• • Outcomes List 

• • • List any notable student outcomes resulting from these research or creative activities (e.g., presentations, publications, conference participation, awards, orperformances).