Scholar Grants

Only CRE² Faculty Affiliates are eligible to apply for grants under this program. Eligibility is limited to one CRE² grant program per year as principal investigator, with the exception of the Small Grants program.

The submission cycle for Scholar Grants is currently closed. The next submission cycle will open in January of 2024, with CRE² Faculty Affiliates being notified of the RFP via email.

Project award periods are for 12 months beginning July 1, 2024, with an extension of up to 6 months available upon grantee request and approval from CRE² leadership.

Proposals must include an Abstract and the following sections: Overview/Aims (200 words); Significance and Innovation (200 words); a Project Description (800 words); Timeline; Budget and Budget Rationale; current CVs for all investigators; and (if applicable) references, description of any human subjects, and appendices.

The Project Description section should (1) discuss how the Scholar Grant will enhance the feasibility of completing a project within 12 months; and (2) include subsections on Foundational Perspectives, Research Questions/Inspiration, Methods, and Data/Materials.

All Scholar Grant proposals that are approved for funding and involve the use of human subjects must obtain appropriate human subjects approval through the University’s Institutional Review Board before CRE² funds are disbursed.

Project budgets may request up to $15,000 in direct costs to support any activity that directly relates to the successful conduct of the project. There are no indirect costs paid on CRE² Grants. Budget items may include support for data entry, interviews, data acquisition, access to restricted-use data, travel costs related to data collection or meetings with collaborators, space rental, salary compensation or contribution to research accounts (salary and compensation should be kept to less than 20% of the award amount), artist stipends, creative materials, curatorial support, editing, and graduate and undergraduate research assistance. The Center will not pay for computer equipment when that computing can reasonably be accomplished with the existing equipment on campus. Unspent funding at the end of the project period will revert to the CRE² Grant pool unless a request for a time extension is submitted and the CRE² Co-Directors approve the request. Budget Rationales should include outside resources (if any) that will be used to achieve the aims of the project.

The CRE² Leadership Team will screen all submitted proposals to determine whether the proposals meet the program’s goals. Proposals will be reviewed by a Grant Selection Committee composed of the CRE² Leadership Team and at least two Faculty Affiliates. In addition to the preferences mentioned above, the following prioritized criteria will be used in evaluating the proposals:

1. The availability of funds from a second source of support (i.e., research center, institute, academic unit)
2. The overall quality and significance of the proposed scholarly work
3. The likelihood that the proposed project will be completed with allotted funds
4. Whether a project has received funding for a scope of work from other sources that CRE2 could augment (that is, the scope of work, not just the funding)
5. Supports the continued work of a CRE² Research Working Group

The Center’s Associate Director will monitor progress on Scholar Grant projects. Grantees will provide an expense report upon request. Grantees will submit a final progress report and any products of the grant within one (1) month after the end date of their Scholar Grant period and will notify CRE² of any proposals and scholarly works subsequently submitted or awarded/accepted. Potential grant products and scholarly works include publications; grant proposals; recordings; installations or exhibits; documentation of conferences, symposia, or residencies; and scholarly awards or honors. All products generated with the support of a CRE² Scholar Grant will acknowledge the program using the statement, “This work has been funded by the Center for the Study of Race, Ethnicity & Equity at Washington University in St. Louis Scholar Grant program, but the views remain those of the authors.”