Faculty Awards & Grants

Grant Opportunities

BYU faculty members can apply for research support on specific projects via the university Emmeline B. Wells Grant or the Women’s Research Initiative Grants, which are administered through the Office of the Associate Academic Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies. Each year a small group of Global Women’s Studies faculty affiliates participates in the review committee for these grants. Recipients of these grants may be invited to present their findings at the Global Women’s Studies colloquium as they work on and complete their research.

The Emmeline B. Wells Grant offers support for research and creative work with a focus on contexts and issues related to women's lives.

This grant is intended to encourage and support scholarly and creative work by full-time BYU faculty in a CFS-track position. They are not intended as awards and will not be recognized at the Annual University Conference. These grants will be awarded based on review by a faculty panel for each area of interest. These funds may not be used for faculty salaries.

The Emmeline B. Wells Grant will be given to work in the following area of particular interest to the University and to the Church: research and creative work with a focus on contexts and issues related to women’s lives. The maximum amount of the Emmeline B. Wells Grant will be $25,000 and funds will carry over one additional year. Applicants may also be considered for a Women’s Research Initiative (WRI) grant, but must indicate their desire to do so on the application and submit an additional/different (i.e.- smaller) budget for up to $5,000. Only one of the two grants may be awarded.

If you received a previous Emmeline B. Wells grant, you are eligible to apply again if you submitted a final report to the AAVP-Research Office.

Applications must include:

Cover page
Description of the project (no more than 3 pages)
Detailed budget (less than 1 page) in the areas of supplies, travel, and/or student wages. (Must submit an additional (i.e.- smaller) budget if a Wells grant application is to also be considered for a WRI as only one award may be granted.)
References (no page limit)
Curriculum Vitae (no more than 5 pages)

Deadline for Application: October 31, 2023

Submit the completed application by email to Lynn Patten (lynn_patten@byu.edu) in the Office of Associate Academic Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

Notifications of awards will be made in December 2023. Funding will be available in February 2024.

A final report will be required at the end of the project period no later than April 30, 2026. Submit to lynn_patten@byu.edu. It should report on the accomplishments during the term of the grant, the current status of the project, and how the budget was expended. A final report is required before submitting another WRI or Scholarly grant proposal.

Evaluations of proposals will be based on the following areas:
1. Adherence to proposal guidelines.
2. Strength of focus on contexts and issues related to the specific grant applied for.
3. Strength of proposal’s research, creative plan, and/or reasonable methodologies.
4. Potential for quality publications or creative products in the investigator's field.
5. Consistency of proposed budget to meet overall objectives.

If you apply for the Emmeline B. Wells grant and would also like to be considered for the Women’s Research Initiative grant, there is a box you will need to check on the cover page you downloaded. We recommend doing this so if you are not awarded the Emmeline B Wells grant, you will still be in the applicant pool for the WRI grant (info below).

The WRI grants are intended to support research and creative work focusing on women by full-time BYU Faculty in a CFS-track position. The maximum amount of each award will be $5000 and the money must be spent during the calendar year in which the award is received. Funds may not be used for faculty salary. If you received a previous Women’s Research Initiative grant, you are eligible to apply again if you submitted a final report to the AAVP-Research Office.

Eligibility

The following are required to be eligible to apply for a grant:

Full-time BYU faculty in CFS-track position
All reports due from previous WRI or Scholarly grants must be on file in the AAVP office

Proposal

Grant proposals should include the following elements in the order listed below:

Cover page
Approval signatures from department chair and dean or associate dean (on coversheet)
Project description (up to 3 pages)
Budget and budget narrative (less than 1 page)
References (no page limit)
Curriculum Vitae (up to 5 pages)

Proposals should be submitted as a PDF to Lynn Patten (lynn_patten@byu.edu) in the Office of Associate Academic Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies.

Deadline

October 31, 2023

Budget

Project budgets should follow the guidelines below:

Up to $5,000
Eligible expenses include supplies, travel, and student wages (faculty salary is not an eligible expense)
Funds must be expended in the 2024 calendar year

Selection

Recipients are selected by reviewers selected by the University Research Council. Awards are based on:

Adherence to proposal guidelines
Strength of focus on contexts and issues related to women
Strength of proposal’s research, creative plan, and/or reasonable methodologies
Potential for quality publications or creative products in investigator’s field
Consistency of proposed budget to meet overall objectives

The number of applications exceeds the number of proposals, and the number of awards depends on the funds available and the strength of the proposals.

Reporting

Final reports

Due by April 30, 2025
Submit reports as a PDF to Lynn Patten (lynn_patten@byu.edu) in the Office of Associate Academic Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies
Reports should describe accomplishments during the term of the grant, the current status of the project, how the budget was expended, and list publications or creative works submitted for review or planned for future submission
A final report is required before submitting another WRI proposal

GWS faculty affiliates are eligible to apply for the Kennedy Center Faculty Research Grants.

The Kennedy Center encourages high-quality research with an explicit global focus and recognizes that seed monies are often important in incubating such research. Consequently, a limited number of research grants are made available each year to full-time BYU faculty to help them jump-start international-focused research. The committee may support such activities as archival research, surveys, field study, archaeological digs, or small meetings to help faculty collaborate with experts in other countries.

Priority will be given to faculty who participate in Kennedy Center programs. Faculty who have received Kennedy Center research grants in the past will not be considered for additional funding for the same research project unless they demonstrate they have made significant progress on their research. This will be measured by, but not limited to, the following criteria:

Evidence of seeking other funding for continuation and/or expansion of the research.
Evidence of outcomes, including articles submitted for publications, research presentations at professional meetings, student mentoring, etc.

Grants are capped at $5,000 per proposal but may vary in actual amount. Faculty may not be awarded more than two grants on the same or related topic over a period of three years.

Funding is not available for part-time, retired, or adjunct professors. Applications must be for future research; requests for reimbursement for research already completed will not be considered. Requests for travel to countries on the State Department’s Travel Warning List must have prior approval from the international vice president.

Faculty who receive research grants are expected to contribute to the intellectual life of the Kennedy Center. Future publications should acknowledge support of the center, and faculty should be willing to report their research as part of the Kennedy Center lecture series. All grant recipients are required to submit a one-page memo at the end of the year reporting on the use of Kennedy Center funds. Funds are available for use in the year awarded.

Proposals will be evaluated on the following criteria:

The significance/innovation of the research; its potential to significantly add to the intellectual dialogue, including but not limited to, how it might refine, improve, or apply new applications, theoretical concepts, methods, or interventions to that dialogue.
The approach. The merits of the design for accomplishing the specific aims of the project. The appropriateness and feasibility of the method, including, where applicable, measurement and data analysis plans.
The ability of the investigator to carry out the project in the specified time period.
The research environment. Are all the tools necessary to fulfill the research available to the applicant?

Applications for Faculty Research Grants will be considered twice a year: after the 1 April deadline and then again after the 1 November deadline. Out-of-cycle applications will not be considered.

To apply:
https://byu.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8BAtrbsItpAvSi9

Previous Grant Winners

2020

2019

2018

2017

2016

2015

2014

2013

2012

2011

2010

Emmeline B. Wells Grant:	No Award Granted in 2019
Women's Research Initiative Grants:	Samuel Payne (Bioinformatics), “The Impact of Genetic Mutations on Protein Structure and Function in Endometrial Cancer”
	Claudine Bigelow (Music), “Skandinavisk Porträtt: Women of Wonder”
	Mary Eyring (English), “Saltwater: Globalizing Early American Grief”
	Melissa Jones (Psychology), “Changes in Attitudes Towards Sexual Assault at BYU”
	Hayley Pierce (School of Family Life), “Drug and Pregnancy Related Deaths: Levels, Trends, and Geographic Differentials during the Recent Drug Epidemic”
	Keely Song Glenn (Dance), “Claim”
	Jeffrey Tessem (Microbiology), “How do Beta Cells Change during Gestational Diabetes Mellitus?”
	Eric Wilson (Microbiology, Molecular Biology), “Novel Approaches to Identifying Bacterial Factors Causing Mastitis in Nursing Mothers”

Faculty Awards & Grants

Grant Opportunities

1) Scholarly and Creative Work Grants: Emmeline B. Wells Grant

2) Scholarly and Creative Work Grants: Women's Research Initiative Grants (WRI Grants)