MSU Internal Funding Opportunities
Internal Grants
The Grant Proposal System is used for submitting proposals for research funding programs administered by the Office of the Senior Vice President for Research and Innovation. These programs are funded through the generosity of the MSU Foundation.
Visit the FAQ page for commonly asked questions on the Grant Proposal System.
Discretionary Funding Initiative (DFI)
The DFI program provides bridge funds for tenure-stream faculty for additional studies needed for resubmission of a grant application to the same funding agency.
2020-2021 DFI Schedule
- DFI Session I RFA – August 14, 2020
- DFI Session I Application Deadline - September 10, 2020
- DFI Session I Funding Announcement - October 29, 2020
- DFI Session II RFA – February 5, 2021
- DFI Session II Applications Deadline - March 11, 2021
- DFI Session II Funding Announcements - April 29, 2021
Humanities and Arts Research Program (HARP)
HARP Development
Provides funds to support faculty who are conducting important research leading to creative and performance projects or activities in the arts and humanities. This limited funding is designed to support faculty in the development of projects that seem likely to enhance the reputation of the faculty member and the university.
HARP Production
Provides funds, when research is complete, to help subsidize the costs of book publication, permissions to use copyrighted materials, CD recording and production, the creation and mounting of exhibits, and other expenses associated with producing the results of a complete creative or research project.
2020-2021 HARP Schedule
- Production Session I RFA – August 14, 2020
- Development RFA – August 14, 2020
- Production Session I Deadline - September 17, 2020
- Development Deadline - October 1, 2020
- Production Session I Funding Announcement - November 25, 2020
- Production Session II RFA – December 11, 2020
- Production Session II Deadline - January 28, 2021
- Development Funding Announcement - February 3, 2021
- Production Session II Funding Announcement - March 31, 2021
Strategic Partnership Grants (SPG)
The SPG program provides funding for major projects in key areas of research, scholarship and creative activities.
Michigan State University recognizes the value of supporting and nurturing faculty engaging in leading-edge research and scholarship initiatives. These initiatives must be of a caliber that positions the faculty to compete for significant external funding, including the development of research ideas with significant commercial potential, and to raise the stature of the university. Some of these initiatives may have strong potential to develop into a center or institute-level research program.
2020-2021 SPG Schedule
- SPG Pre-Proposal RFA – August 14, 2020
- SPG Pre-Proposal Deadline - September 10, 2020
- Invitations to submit SPG full proposals - November 25, 2020
- SPG Full Proposal Deadline - January 21, 2021
- SPG Announcement of Proposals Presented to the MSU Foundation - April 21, 2021
Other MSU Funding Opportunities
Science and Society @ State
The S3 (Science and Society @ State) Interdisciplinary Seed Grant supports new or emerging interdisciplinary collaborations between MSU’s science studies scholars (sociologists/historians/anthropologists/artists/etc. who study science) and STEM/health scholars. These interdisciplinary seed grants help create opportunities for collaborative research projects between the scholars working within a scientific/medical field, and the humanists, artists or social scientists who study that field.
Next deadline for applications: TBD
Center for Business and Social Analytics
Michigan State University Center for Business and Social Analytics requests proposals for “Innovations in Business and Social Analytics,” to provide start-up and bridging funds for multi-college research teams that are using innovative methods to tackle grand challenges in the social world.
Pilot Funding for Clinical and/or Translational Research
The MSU Clinical and Translational Sciences Institute offers Pilot Funding for Clinical and/or Translational Research. Please review the criteria for funding and the process of submitting a proposal.
Visit the website for deadlines.
Open Access Monograph Publishing Award
The Open Access Monograph Publishing Award (OAMPA) celebrates the public impact that humanities and social science research can achieve when it is made openly available. Michigan State University (MSU) is committed to providing new opportunities for faculty to bring their work to the world. In support of this goal, MSU has established a new award for faculty authors in the humanities and social sciences seeking to publish an open-access scholarly monograph with a participating university press. The award provides $15,000 to be used as a subvention in support of the publication of an open-access digital monograph of up to 90,000 words. For eligibility and application details, visit the College of Arts & Letters page for the award.
Open opportunity/rolling dates
Trifecta Initiative Facilitating Funds (TIFF)
Trifecta offers up to $8,000 ($10,000 in some cases) for interdisciplinary teams of MSU faculty. The PI must be from one of the Trifecta colleges (MSU's College of Nursing, College of Engineering, and College of Communication Arts & Sciences) and the team must include a member from a different Trifecta Initiative college.
If your unit offers internal funding for MSU faculty research and creative activities, please contact research@msu.edu, so that grant opportunities and application deadlines can be posted.