1. Apply For Support
  2. Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters

For Faculty

funding spelled out in scrabble tiles

The Simpson Center provides financial and administrative support for crossdisciplinary research, teaching, and engagement projects. We support a wide range of activities, including fellowships, cross-departmental research groups, scholarly conferences and symposia, community-engaged collaborations, and other projects.

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SPRING FUNDING ROUND NOW OPEN:
APPLICATIONS DUE APRIL 7, 2023

Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters

Applications accepted for both fall and spring funding rounds.

Important Dates

Application Dates
Opens: Tuesday, March 7, 2023
Due: Friday, April 7, 2023

Funding Term
Starts: Saturday, July 1, 2023
Ends: Sunday, June 30, 2024

Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters are intended to seed new scholarly activity and develop further pathways for collaboration by bringing together UW faculty and graduate students from different departments and disciplines who share research interests. Projects in this category may vary widely in form and scale: innovative models beyond the speaker series are encouraged, as are clusters that develop emerging fields and communities of inquiry, crossdisciplinary or crossdepartmental curricula, and individual and/or collective documents.

Eligibility

Must be led by tenure-track faculty.

Criteria

Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters are intended to seed new scholarly activity and develop further pathways for collaboration by bringing together UW faculty and graduate students from different departments and disciplines who share research interests. Projects in this category may vary widely in form and scale: innovative models beyond the speaker series are encouraged, as are clusters that develop emerging fields and communities of inquiry, crossdisciplinary or crossdepartmental curricula, and individual and/or collective documents.

Interdepartmental composition and organization. Crossdisciplinary Research Clusters should seed new and vital research activity and are not meant to provide ongoing support of existing programs.

Terms of Award

Awards of financial and administrative support vary according to requests and needs.  Proposals for funding support of up to $20,000 will be considered. If project budgets exceed this figure, we ask that applicants consult with us for guidance prior to submitting the proposal. Funds can be used to support meeting costs, visiting speakers, etc. We typically support crossdisciplinary research clusters for a maximum of three years.

Application Instructions

Submit your proposal using the application form. When you submit your application form, attach the below materials as a single, bundled .pdf:

    • Proposal Narratives. Limit to eight pages. Proposal narratives should include:
      1. Detail the focus of the cluster and the activities to be funded
      2. Address near-term goals, and longer-term ambitions if cluster is intended to lead to other forms of collaboration and project development
      3. Include a list three or more participating faculty and graduate student
    • CV. Include one CV for primary project liaison (limited to five pages), and, key organizers (optional—may also be represented in the narrative or an appendix as short bios).
    • Budget. Detail anticipated expenses (e.g. honoraria, travel, accommodations, promotional materials, printing, postage, hospitality, and facilities rentals) as applicable.