Faculty Research Awards

A maximum of $6,000 may be awarded per application and faculty may receive up to a total of $12,000 in a given academic year from both the FDC and the Committee on Teaching and Classroom Practice (course development awards), excluding leave support.

Faculty may apply for subsequent awards for a specific research project; however, additional awards will only be granted based on evidence of significant progress in the project since the original award. In addition, faculty may not receive more than $12,000 for a single project over the life of that project, excluding publisher subventions and/or award for a manuscript workshop.

Grant recipients must be benefits-eligible members of the Bowdoin faculty during the time in which the funds are used or expenses are incurred. Faculty members terminating their service at Bowdoin who have received awards from the Committee will not be eligible to draw from their grant accounts for expenditures incurred or for work intended to be done after the completion of the final semester of their service at Bowdoin. In addition, faculty in their final year of appointment may apply for funding for travel or other activities that will be completed by May 31 of that final year.

Faculty who are Ph.D. candidates are eligible for Committee awards; however, funds may not be used to cover expenses associated with completing a dissertation.

Because postdoctoral fellows receive research funding as part of their positions, fellows with one-year appointments are not eligible to apply for FDC research awards. Postdocs whose appointments are extended beyond the first year, however, may apply for funding beginning with the final application round in the spring of the first year of appointment.

A complete application consists of three files: a project description, a CV and a budget.

All applications must be submitted electronically on or before the deadline date to fdc@bowdoin.edu. Applications must be submitted in PDF format, except the budget which may be submitted as an Excel document. For assistance in creating PDF documents, please contact the IT Help Desk. An incomplete or late application will not be considered. Do not submit original receipts with proposals. Please hold them until an award is granted.

Project description

A completed Faculty Research Award application must include the following elements; please use headers to delineate each category.

For proposals requesting research support:

Please use the Research Application Template. A description of the template items follows here:

1. Title of project.
2. Abstract of the proposal (fewer than 100 words).
3. A project narrative (no more than two pages single-spaced, 12 point font, 1.25 inch margins, double-spaced between paragraphs) in which the applicant makes clear in language that is accessible to non-specialist colleagues the following. Please use the following subheads, verbatim, in bold, to organize your proposal:
      a. The ideas, problems, or questions the project will address.
      b. The specific steps to be taken to accomplish this project.
      c. The significance of the project to my scholarly or artistic field.
      d. The relationship of the project to my ongoing development as a scholar/artist.
      e. Anticipated outcome(s). A clear statement of anticipated outcome(s).
      f. Previous awards from the Faculty Development Committee. A statement indicating the date and amount of award(s) from the Faculty Development Committee received over the past six years. A brief summary of the results of work supported by such prior funding is a prerequisite for additional funding. Any relationship between previously funded projects and the current one must be described.
      g. Other sources of funding. A statement indicating what other sources of funding have been requested or received for the proposed project.
4. A current curriculum vitae.
5. A budget, as descriptive and detailed as possible given the format. Please see Types of Expenses Funded for help on how to prepare your budget.

For proposals requesting conference travel support (These proposals will only be considered during the April 2024 submittal process.):

1. Conference name, location, dates.
2. A brief abstract (fewer than 100 words) of the research presented or the nature of your participation in the conference.
3. A brief narrative description (no more than one page single-spaced, 12 point font, one inch margins) in which the applicant makes clear in language that is accessible to non-specialist colleagues the significance of the project to the applicant's field and research/artistic program.
4. A description of the proposed use of the Dean's professional conference travel funds must be included. Please see Type of Expenses Funded for details.
5. A statement indicating the date and amount of award(s) from the Faculty Development Committee received over the past six years. A brief summary of the results of work supported by such prior funding is a prerequisite for additional funding. Any relationships between previously funded projects and the current one must be described.
6. A current curriculum vitae.
7. A budget, as descriptive and detailed as possible given the format. Please see Types of Expenses Funded for help on how to prepare your budget.

For proposals requesting subvention support:

1. Title of project.
2. A brief abstract of the project (fewer than 100 words).
3. A letter from the press clarifying the publisher's policy on subventions and providing information as to how the funds will be used.
4. A statement indicating what other sources of funding have been requested or received for the proposed project.
5. A current curriculum vitae.

Do not include the following in your application:

1. A cover letter
2. Any personal information about the applicant (e.g. salary information, family situation, etc.)

The FDC strives to return decisions within a month of application submission deadlines.

Generation of Income

For all awards, if the project generates income, the relevant fund should be reimbursed.

Award Period

All awards will cover up to a two-year period from the date of the award. Any unused funds will then revert to the funding source(s), as will any funds remaining at the end of the academic year from awards to those ending their services to the College in that year.

Research materials

Research awards may cover the cost of research materials (i.e. laboratory supplies, books, videos, etc.), necessary for the project. The applicant should first check with their department about the availability of resources allotted directly to the department or through departmental, library, or I.T. funds for these materials, and should discuss such efforts in the proposal. If applicants have unused research funds (including start-up funds), they should indicate how these remaining funds will be used; FDC normally funds applications after such research funds have been exhausted. Materials purchased through the FDC research award become the property of the College unless other arrangements are made and authorized by the Committee, with the following exception. The purchase of books, videos, etc., that would become the property of the applicant should be justified in terms of the project and should normally not exceed ten percent of the total funds requested.

Research Assistance

Funds may be requested for student research assistance so long as the assistance is directly related to the project.  Faculty should consult the Student Employment website to determine the appropriate wage rate.

FDC funds typically do not support student summer research fellowships; please refer to the Office of Student Fellowships and Research for information on funding sources for these.

Faculty who would like to engage an outside person to perform work on the project must follow Controller’s office guidelines for payments.  The key point to keep in mind is that in most instances a faculty member cannot be reimbursed for payments made to individuals for services.  Please take note that in most cases, the College must pay the person directly, either as an independent contractor or a casual employee.  Further information is available at  Independent Contractor Guidelines on the controller's website.

Travel

Travel to conduct off-site research, archival research, and collaborative research are all appropriate requests to this fund.

Transportation This fund customarily supports the most economical and reasonable means of transportation. Applicants should provide justification for any other form of travel.

Air travel should be budgeted at the lowest round-trip coach/economy fare available. If choosing to travel by automobile instead of by air, the budget should not exceed the lowest available airfare.

The Committee will not fund travel (mileage) expenses to local meetings or research sites within 50 miles of campus.

Hotel and Meals  Budgets Consult the GSA domestic and State Department foreign per diem rates: https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates to determine budget, Rates may not exceed $300 for meal and lodging costs.

Book manuscript workshop support

Book manuscript workshops provide specialized feedback to faculty members preparing book manuscripts prior to submission for publication. The workshops bring together scholars (two to four) in the relevant field(s) to Bowdoin, another location, or online, who will be invited to discuss together and provide feedback on a completed draft of a book manuscript. (A workshop is expected to take place; scholars are not contacted separately for individual feedback.) Workshop support is available to tenured and tenure-track faculty, and is separate from and will not count toward the $12,000 maximum per project available for Faculty Research Awards.  Expenses for the workshop are limited to $4,000; they may include travel, lodging, and/or honoraria (up to $750 each) for the scholars invited to review the manuscript and provide feedback. The FDC resources available in a given year may limit the number of workshops funded in that year, in which case preference will be given to applications from pre-tenure faculty members and faculty members who have not previously received a manuscript workshop award.

Faculty members applying for book manuscript workshop support should follow the research proposal guidelines and template provided on the FDC website.  In the proposal, the applicant should affirm that the manuscript is complete and include 1) the title of the manuscript, 2) the table of contents for the book, 3) the length of the manuscript, 4) the name of the publisher if a book proposal has been submitted and/or accepted, and 5) the names of the proposed scholars for the workshop and their institutional affiliation.

Subventions and other publication costs

Requests for subventions and other publication costs are now considered in two different categories by FDC. If you are applying for FDC support in either or both of these categories, please be as clear as possible about the nature of the support requested.

• A book or scholarly journal article subvention or pages charges constitutes funds requested by a publisher to subsidize in whole or in part the publication of a scholarly work (including online access). Applications for subvention funding should be accompanied by a letter from the publisher clearly indicating the press’s policy on subventions or page charges and providing information as to how the funds will be used. Faculty members are encouraged to negotiate with their publisher, taking into account publication advances, if any, the proposed cost of copies supplied to the author, and the likelihood of eventual royalty payments. Up to $6000 may be awarded in this category.
• Other publication costs include editorial or translation assistance; the preparation of indices; and permission charges for images. In all these instances, a copy of the invoice for these services or charges will need to be included. Funds awarded by FDC are not meant to cover the purchase of reprints. Up to $4000 may be awarded in this category.

Important: Applicants should be sure to check the College’s Independent Contractor Guidelines (available on the Controller’s website) if any of these expenses entails hiring assistance from outside the College. 

Conference Support

Funding for professional trips to conferences can be requested provided that the previous year’s balance and current year allocation of travel funds from the Dean for Academic Affairs are expected to be exhausted during the current academic year. If this condition is met, funds can be requested either to supplement a costly single trip or to support additional professional trips and proposals will be considered as funds are available up to a total of $2,000 per person per year. All requests for conference support will be considered at the April submission committee meeting.

Applicants for conference support will be required to submit a description of the intended use of the Dean's professional conference travel funds.

A request for support to attend a conference must explicitly state the value of the conference to the applicant’s research program. Moreover, it is preferable that the applicant be giving a paper and/or be an organizer. A request for additional funding for conference travel may also be made when the applicant expects to carry on other research in conjunction with the professional trip.

In rare circumstances, conferences require faculty “chaperones” for undergraduates attending the conference.  In these cases, FDC can support faculty conference requests only in cases where attending the conference will also support a faculty member’s scholarly and artistic work. 

Not Allowable Expenses

The Committee follows the guidelines set by the College on non-reimbursable expenses. Please visit the College's Expense Reimbursement Policy for a complete list of such expenses. Examples of non-reimbursable expenses include prescriptions, over-the-counter medication or other medical expenses, amenities such as movies, health clubs or in-room bars, or expenses related to non-Bowdoin activities or childcare, personal time taken before, during or after a business/research trip. If you have an expense and are not sure if it is an allowable expense please contact Lynne Toussaint in the Controller's Office (ltoussai@bowdoin.edu) for clarification.