Instructional Leadership, emphasis: K-12 School Leadership (MEd)
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Dean’s Research Grant awards


Each year, the College of Education provides a limited amount of support for faculty research activities through the Dean’s Research Grant Awards (DRGA) program. In particular, the DRGA supports activities that are tied to the department or college mission and priorities, research related to issues in diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice, or based on a faculty member’s own professional goals. Ultimately, the purpose of this award is tied to the ability to obtain future intramural and extramural support.

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Important information

Eligibility and deadlines

Full-time employees with a regular faculty appointment (including tenure-track, non-tenure-track, or currently tenured) in the College of Education are eligible to apply for these funds. The letter of intent is due on the last Monday in September with feedback provided within 10 business days.

  • The full proposal is due electronically on the last Wednesday in October. A decision will be rendered within 10 business days.
  • Please submit electronically (no paper copies) to COE-Dean@nau.edu.

Objectives

The DRGA funds serve as a catalyst for enhancing and expanding research capacity in the College of Education. The DRGA seeks to support:

  • Scientific-based research: Design or propose and carry out a project or study intended to prove a hypothesis, elucidate observations, test a new method, answer a specific question, etc. The definition provided by AERA provides an expanded definition of the types of projects eligible for support.
  • Research topics related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice.
  • Collaborative Interdisciplinary Team Research Projects should include collaboration with other faculty in the College of Education and/or the university or other educational institutions.
  • Preliminary data that can be used to develop competitive research proposals.
  • Involvement of one or more undergraduate students with an outcome of presenting at the Undergraduate Symposium. Faculty are encouraged to seek undergraduate students as research participants through the Interns-to-Scholars (I2S) program whose purpose “is to encourage undergraduate students early in their academic careers to participate in faculty research, scholarly, or creative projects by working as paid interns.”
  • Involvement of one or more graduate students with an outcome of presenting at the 3 Minute Research Presentation (3MRP) or through their disciplinary meetings.
  • Enhance the ability of COE researchers and scholars to compete successfully for external research grants.

Award

The maximum award is for $6,000. The final amount awarded will be based on the program’s proposal budget and the funds available. To allow funding for the greatest number of worthwhile projects, grants will not exceed more than $6,000 per application. The grant can be used to reimburse expenses related to conducting research incurred during the current fiscal year ending June 30.

Grant usage:

  • software or hardware acquisition
  • postage
  • instrumentation
  • research participant compensation
  • student wage

Award restrictions:

Expenses that are not allowed to be included:

  • dissemination activities (e.g., costs associated with presenting results such as travel to conferences)
  • dissertation research
  • personnel (not student support)

Restrictions:

  • Once a project has received DRGA funding, the same project is not eligible for a subsequent grant. In the case of proposals that are closely related in some way to an earlier funded project, the applicant(s) must explain how the new proposal is a fundamentally different project than the one that was funded previously.
  • Projects of work leading to a dissertation or thesis will not be funded.

The grant review procedure

The DRGA review committee is made up of faculty members appointed by the dean. Recommendations from the review committee are forwarded to the dean who will announce grants awarded within 10 business days after the due date for full proposals. Prior to the submission of a full proposal, candidates will be asked to submit a letter of intent outlining the details of the proposal and the outcomes of the project. Those proposals with strong scientific merit and that fall within the scope of the DRGA will be invited to submit a full proposal.