The Office of the Vice President for Research (OVPR) supports faculty research, scholarship, and creative endeavors through a wide range of internal funding programs. OVPR internal grants serve as high-leverage, strategic investments in outstanding faculty research projects that are at critical stages of development. Our internal funding mechanisms are designed to competitively identify projects that fit our key funding criteria–projects that meet the highest disciplinary standards for excellence and are at a “tipping point” where specific work can lead to breakthroughs, external funding, and/or significant recognition. Recognizing that those crucial moments occur at various stages of the research process (and require different levels of funding to address, depending on your discipline), OVPR internal funding programs include large and small dollar mechanisms that focus on seed funding, completion/publication funding, and commercialization funding.
If you are a UConn/UConn Health faculty member who has a project that is ready to move to the next level, we invite you to browse our program guidelines to learn more. You are also welcome to contact us (research@uconn.edu) to ask questions and to discuss which mechanisms are best suited to meet your needs.
The OVPR-Research Development Services (OVPR-RDS) team is excited to host (virtual) Teams Internal Funding Office Hours where faculty can share their novel seed grant project ideas and ask questions about the internal funding competitions.
Click to sign up for a time slot
Office hours for all awards are:
- Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to noon
- Wednesdays, 2 to 4 p.m.
Overview of FY 25 – FY 26 Internal Funding Opportunity Timelines (Last updated 8/8/24)
Program |
Applications open |
Applications due (12 noon) |
Target for Notifications |
| Scholarship Facilitation Fund – SFF Spring (Storrs/Regional Campuses only) FY25 | 7/1/2024 | 12/1/2024 | 12/31/2024 |
| SPARK Commercialization Technology fund – SPARK FY25 | 9/16/2024 | 10/28/2024 (LOI) – 2/10/2025 (Full proposal due by invitation only) | 4/2025 |
| Research Excellence Program –REP FY25 | 9/16/2024 | 12/16/2024 | 5/2025 |
| Scholarship and Collaboration in Humanities and Arts Research – SCHARP FY25 | 9/16/2024 | 12/16/2024 | 5/2025 |
| Scholarship Facilitation Fund – SFF Fall (Storrs/Regional Campuses only) FY26 | 1/6/2025 |
6/1/2025 | 6/30/2025 |
| UConn Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI FY25) Research Initiative | 1/6/2025 | 3/3/2025 | 6/2025 |
| Convergence Awards for Research in Interdisciplinary Centers – CARIC FY26 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
| Clinical Research and Innovation Seed Program – CRISP FY26 | TBD | TBD | TBD |
Table Key:
| Complete / not yet open |
Open for Applications | In Review |