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  4. Dean’s Research Studio Grants

Dean’s Research Studio Grants

Dean’s Research Studios (DRS) are designed to support the professional development of full-time tenured and tenure-track faculty who have not reached terminal rank. They provide opportunities for faculty members to receive additional mentoring on their research and creative expression at a critical time in their careers, when feedback on a book manuscript, creative project, and/or grant proposal provides maximum benefit. Awardees are eligible for up to $5,000 to cover the costs of each DRS; these funds may be used to fund travel, honoraria, and related expenses for external experts to come to Vanderbilt. A Dean’s Research Studio grant can expand a faculty member’s professional network as well as advance their research, scholarship, and creative expression. This funding is guaranteed to all TT faculty who submit an appropriate application; it is not a competition.

Eligibility and Process

  • Tenure-track faculty are eligible to apply for a DRS beginning in their second year on the tenure track and remain eligible to apply through the fifth year on the tenure track. A faculty member may be awarded only one DRS during the probationary period.

  • Tenured associate professors are eligible to apply at any point that they can make a case for the value of the DRS in their progress toward promotion to full professor. Funding is not guaranteed for tenured faculty, but we hope to be able to fund several DRSs for associates each year. A tenured associate professor may not be awarded more than one DRS. Full professors are not eligible to apply for a DRS.

  • Applications should include a current CV and a one-page proposal describing how the DRS would be used, including indicating scholars that might be invited to participate in the DRS. A DRS proposal should be built around a specific set of goals related to a specific project.

  • Applications will be submitted through REDCap. The deadline to apply for a Spring DRS will be the Friday of Fall Break each year, and the deadline to apply for a Fall DRS will be the Friday before Spring Break each year. Successful applicants will be notified within a month of applying. The funds awarded must be spent within the time frame of the awarded DRS. Approval from the chair/director is required; they will be prompted by REDCap to enter their approval.  

  • DRS guidelines, which describe best practices for the DRS experience, will be provided to awardees and their chairs and should guide the DRS process.

 

Applicants should expect a response to their proposal within two weeks to a month.

Please direct all questions to Assistant Dean Angela Sutton.