The School of Music, Theatre & Dance (SMTD) is committed to supporting and advising faculty in the pursuit of funding for scholarly and artistic research.
Types of funding available
SMTD administers its own Faculty Research Grant Program. The SMTD Faculty Research Committee (FRC) also conducts an internal review of all applications to the University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR). Several other funding opportunities at U-M are available. Finally, projects that are funded by external sponsors are managed by the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP).
Note: Full-time, tenure-track and clinical-track faculty are eligible for one award (SMTD Faculty Research Grant, UMOR grant, or Mcubed token) per fiscal year (July 1-June 30).
The University of Michigan Office of Research (UMOR) offers several funding opportunities. Proposals must be reviewed by the SMTD Faculty Research Committee prior to submission to UMOR. The FRC usually meets four times a semester, at two-month intervals.
Deadline: Proposals can be submitted by the first Monday of October, December, February, and April, to Karen Fournier, Director of Research.
Application preparation tips
- The elements of a complete UMOR project/grant proposal include: narrative, budget, budget justification, and a brief biography of the applicants and all participants. It is advisable that proposals also include documentation of estimated expenses where possible.
- Keep in mind that complex project/grant proposals and sponsored projects require more time to prepare. Our internal deadlines are firm and the Faculty Research Committee will require a week to read proposals and provide feedback where needed. Late proposals will be held until the next application cycle.
- Proposals that involve scheduling and reserving campus facilities, equipment purchase or rental, or departmental staffing may require additional approval and coordination. These must be negotiated and secured before the proposal is presented to the Faculty Research Committee, so applicants are encouraged to submit their proposals well before the deadline.
- The number of proposals received by the OVPR Research Office and the proposals’ complexity greatly affect the time necessary to prepare them for internal review. Proposals presented later in the April review cycle may pose a special challenge because of reduced reviewer availability as the summer approaches.
Center for Research on Learning and Teaching
Center for World Performance Studies
Community-Engaged Academic Learning
Graham Sustainability Institute
Institute for Research on Women and Gender
Projects that are funded by external sponsors are classified as sponsored projects and are managed by the Office of Research and Sponsored Projects (ORSP) using the eResearch Proposal Management interface (note that ORSP has its own published deadlines for ePAF submissions).
- Creative Capital
- Foundation Funding for Faculty – U-M Foundation Relations
- Fulbright Scholar Program
- Kresge Foundation
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) – SoundHealth initiative
- National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)
- National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH)
- National Science Foundation (NSF)
- New Music USA