Interdisciplinary Collaboration Grants are no more than  $5,000. Each faculty member on the team can receive up to $1000 in summer salary from this grant mechanism.

Eligible teams must have a core of three or more full-time CHS faculty from at least two different schools, departments, and/or programs in the College of Humanities and Sciences. Team members from the same department must bring varied expertise to the project.  Additional faculty can be from outside the College of Humanities and Sciences. 

The grant is open to faculty of all ranks and tenure statuses. Only VCU faculty and VCU students can receive funding support through this grant.

Applications must include a detailed budget or a description of the intended use of funds. Funds must be used in accordance with university guidelines for direct costs associated with the proposal, which can include the following: 1) student researchers, 2) publishing, 3) supplies/equipment, 4) travel, 5) summer salary,  and 6) participant payments. 

Funding is expected to be available as soon as the award is announced and must be spent by June 30, 2026. Therefore, these funds must be spent (not just encumbered) by June 7, 2026, for non-personnel costs. All personnel costs must occur before or during the pay period ending on June 9, 2026. This timeline ensures that all funds are properly used before the end of the fiscal year.

Cost extensions are not allowed and all funds must be expended by June 30, 2026. Awardees will need to complete the requested final report and be willing to share their experiences and results at a public CHS event among colleagues.

Three pages maximum, including title, abstract and project description 

The project description must address how the proposed activities are consistent with the goals of the program, involving tangible outcomes, career development, and meaningful contributions to the field and CHS/university priorities. The description should include sufficient detail that allows reviewers to evaluate the appropriateness, merits, requirements, and feasibility of the proposal. Applicants should likewise discuss their preparedness for the project alongside the composition of their research team, where applicable. 

The narrative should be concise, understandable by a broad audience, and  organized into the following sections:

• Abstract (concisely convey, in lay terms, the nature of the project and its significance. 250 word maximum)
• Introduction/background
• Specific aims for the project with contributions of team members clearly stated.  
• Plan to achieve aims
• Significance and impact of project

Use the citation format appropriate to your field. No page maximum, but limit to only highly relevant citations.

Please submit a detailed budget via the CHS Internal Budget Form.

• Personnel: For each funded person included in the proposal, describe the activities they will perform and the estimated time and cost with these activities. Funded personnel need to be VCU faculty or students. Unfunded collaborators should be mentioned in the write-up and their CVs can be included in the uploaded documents. 
• Travel: List estimated airfare, lodging, meals and incidental expenses as well as the approximate dates of travel and number of days of research. Travel funding requests must otherwise comply with VCU Office of Procurement Services guidelines. International travel must comply with current university policies. Per Diem and meal expenses are not allowable travel costs for this grant.
• Supplies/equipment: Please itemize supplies and/or equipment in separate subcategories, such as software, subscriptions, books, materials, recordings, tools, chemicals, reagents, etc.
• Other: Please describe and estimate the cost of any additional activities to be supported by the grant (e.g., conference fees, registration fees or tuition). Please indicate how you arrived at the estimate.

• Biosketches/CVs for all team members
• Recent (last 5 years), current or pending funding information; include a detailed description of any potential overlap with the proposed Interdisciplinary Collaboration Grant and these funding mechanisms.