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Wilkinson College Funding Opportunities

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Wilkinson College understands the importance of outside funding to support research and creative endeavors. The college provides the infrastructure necessary to support and encourage high-level research and creative activity in the arts, humanities, and social sciences.Research Chart

Wilkinson encourages interdisciplinary collaborations among its faculty and bridging initiatives involving faculty in other schools and colleges. Our students help faculty conduct high-quality research and creative activity and also engage in their own scholarly and creative endeavors.

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Generate Your Idea: Getting Started

A poorly packaged good idea will not get funded, nor will a well-packaged mediocre idea. You need both a good idea and a good package to win a grant.

Consider the problem or question you have in mind; perhaps this is an initial idea you’ve talked over with your colleagues and peers. Investigate your idea to ensure that your proposed project is new and innovative. This process will also provide you with an enriched background on the subject matter. Once you have your idea, use the below worksheets to help you refine your project. What are the goals and objectives of your project, and what activities, personnel, and budget are necessary for you to achieve those goals?

Schedule a planning meeting with Wilkinson's Manager of Grant Development and Administration to get started! 

Resources:

Find Your Funding: External Funding Resources

Wilkinson College encourages faculty to seek external funding to support their scholarship. There are many sources and types of funding available to advance faculty research as well as programmatic and creative activities. Below are links to some helpful resources to begin your search.

Three Ways to Identify Federal Funding

  • Grants.gov - An online clearinghouse to search for grant and cooperative agreement opportunities from the 26 federal grant-making agencies. It is free to use, and individuals do not need to register to search.
  • Federal (direct agency links)
State FundingPrivate Funding

Develop Your Proposal

Draft Proposal
  • Draft narrative based on guidelines and gather documentation (e.g., biosketch, letters of support)
  • Solicit feedback from department and colleagues and identify any specific project resources needed
Develop Budget
  • Identify financial resources needed (e.g., personnel, travel, materials, and supplies)
  • Coordinate with Manager of Grant Development and Administration to finalize proposal budget

Schedule a meeting with Wilkinson's Manager of Grant Development and Administration for assistance with crafting and editing proposals that meet funding guidelines.

Manage Your Award: Post-Award Administration

Federal law and agency regulations dictate how grant funds are disbursed and can be used. Understanding this part of the process is essential. The Manager of Grant Development and Administration will schedule meetings with the grant recipient(s) and their department administrative assistant to ensure timely and correct use of funds.

Awards are made to Chapman University, with the technical work being managed by the Principal Investigator (PI) of that award. Sponsored Projects Services (SPS) Administrators are the institutional officials tasked with the financial monitoring and oversight of sponsored activity funds and work in conjunction with PIs and departmental grant support staff to provide post-award administration for all externally funded projects and programs.

Student Research Opportunities

Wilkinson College’s new Student Research Opportunity Fund provides opportunities for individual student research and student collaborative research with faculty. Specifically, this fund supports three initiatives for student participation in research:

  1. Undergraduate Research Fellows - Wilkinson College provides faculty with the opportunity to hire and mentor a limited number of undergraduate research fellows to collaborate on research and creative activity projects.
  2. Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship - SURF is an exciting opportunity for Chapman University undergraduate students to pursue research and creative activity under the guidance of full-time faculty mentors during the summer. SURF is a paid, on-campus summer fellowship with a faculty member that includes monetary support and on-campus housing. The deadline for students to apply is in late February.
  3. Undergraduate Student Research Grants - Wilkinson College is pleased to offer a limited number of research grants up to $500 for undergraduate students majoring in the college’s programs. These grants are available to students to help defray expenses related to completing a capstone or thesis project.
  4. (WIRE) Wilkinson Interterm Research Experience Application - WIRE is a paid, four-week, on-campus program running during January Interterm. It provides Wilkinson College undergraduate students (major or minor) an opportunity to engage in hands-on research or creative activity under the guidance of a Wilkinson faculty mentor. 

Faculty/Staff Achievement Submission Form

We want to celebrate and share the amazing achievements of the Wilkinson faculty and staff!

We have created a new submission system to compile the achievements of faculty and staff who distinguish themselves including:

  • Scholarly or creative works
  • Presentations at state, national, and international conferences
  • External or internal grant awards received
  • Honors or awards received from professional associations or organizations external to Chapman
  • Recognition and awards received at external festivals, juries, and competitions
  • Other types of honors or achievements

These submissions will be shared in our weekly, monthly newsletter, social media and for our end of year Faculty Recognition Celebration.

Faculty/Staff Achievement Submission Form

If you have more than one achievement to enter, please do so by submitting the form again - DO NOT combine multiple achievements in one entry.

Chris Bader
Recent Grant Successes
Dr. Chris Bader (Sociology)
Dr. Bader received two grants totaling $945,515 from the John Templeton Foundation and Templeton Religion Trust for “Using the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) to Strengthen the Religion Research Community.” These awards are part of larger $1,601,031 John Templeton Foundation and $782,086 Templeton Religion Trust awards to Dr. Andrew Whitehead at Indiana University.
Dr. Angelica Allen (Africana Studies)
Recent Grant Successes
Dr. Angelica Allen (Africana Studies)
Dr. Allen was selected to be a Society for the Humanities Residential Fellow at Cornell University for the 2024-25 academic year.
Dr. Justin de Leon (Ethnic Studies)
Recent Grant Successes
Dr. Justin de Leon (Ethnic Studies)
Dr. de Leon was awarded a $25,000 National Endowment for the Arts Grants for Arts Projects Media Arts grant for the Creative Sovereignty Lab (CSL) project, which aims to address the issue of Native American communities being defined by cinema without active participation in their own representations.

Need support?


Allison DeVries is Wilkinson College’s Manager of Grant Development and Administration. Allison is available to help every step of the way, from initial brainstorming to identifying funding opportunities, providing guidance related to proposal preparation and submission, and award management.