Apply for URC

Ready to pursue new research opportunities? Explore the URC 2027 Award Year Request for Proposals (RFP) to learn about available funding, eligibility requirements, and how to apply.

Purpose

The URC promotes rigorous and innovative scholarship in all academic disciplines to benefit the Emory community and beyond.

The URC supports: 

  • Early career faculty on their path toward research independence 
  • More advanced faculty who wish to engage novel questions that enhance their expertise 
  • Teams of faculty who seek to transcend the boundaries of their respective disciplines and undertake transformative research 

Categories of Support

Proposals for the following seven (7) URC categories are sought: 

  1. Arts
  2. Biological and Biomedical Sciences 
  3. Humanities 
  4. Interdisciplinary 
  5. Public Health and Clinical Research
  6. Mathematics and Natural Sciences 
  7. Social Sciences 

Eligibility

Regular, continuing full-time faculty of Emory University are eligible to apply for URC funding.

URC eligibility follows criteria for “full-time faculty” as defined within each school.

  • Postdocs, fellows, adjuncts, and part-time faculty are not eligible to apply for URC funding.
  • Full-time faculty in Emory College of Arts and Sciences (ECAS) should refer to eligibility requirements within the "Leave Policies and Course Release" documentation on the ECAS Office of Faculty website.

Past URC awardees must wait three (3) full URC cycles after their previous award's completion date before submitting a new funding proposal to the URC and have completed all required URC project progress reports. It is important to note that an award's completion date includes all approved no-cost extensions (NCEs). 

Submission Limits

Each applicant may submit one proposal as senior/key personnel.  

Timeline–Annual

Mid-October:            RFP released 

Early November:      Information Session via Zoom

Mid-January:             Proposals due in Emory’s InfoReady system

Late April:                  Awardee notification 

June 1:                        Project period start date

March 31:                  No Cost Extension (NCE) Request Deadline

May 31:                      Project period end date 

Award Details

Period of Performance

The project period is one year and runs from June 1st through May 31st the following year. 

Number of Awards Anticipated

We anticipate approximately 55-65 awards will be made across all seven (7) URC categories.

Budget Limits

  • Award maximums are $30,000 and most URC awards are single PI projects.
  • Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary teams may request up to $40,000.
    • Details on how the URC defines Interdisciplinary work, PI limits, etc. can be found within the URC FAQs, listed below.
  • No exceptions to award maximums will be made.

Budget is not a criterion for assessing the scholarly merits of a proposal; however, reviewers may comment on the appropriateness of specific funding requests. Applicants should ensure that all requested funding is appropriate for and aligned with the proposed scope of work. 

Applicants should review the RFP annually for detailed budgetary guidelines, including allowability of expenses.

Please email questions or requests for additional information to the University Research Committee Administrative Support, urcappl@emory.edu. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about the submission process or the URC program, please contact URC Administrative Support at urcappl@emory.edu. 

URC FAQs

Where do I submit the University Research Committee grant application?

All University Research Committee grant applications are submitted through EMORY's INFOREADY URC ONLINE APPLICATION PORTAL

All documents pertaining to the URC grant application will be uploaded to the online application template.  (See RFP for detailed application instructions.)

Are multiple submissions permitted?

No. One application per applicant per cycle year, regardless of role (PI, co-PI, or Investigator).

Can URC awarded funds be budgeted to support the salary of the PI and co-PI (if applicable)?

No, URC funds cannot be used to pay the salary of the PI or the co-PI; however, funds may be used to buy course release time.

No. Letters of Support are not required by any of the URC committees.

  • Individuals requesting course releases should include a maximum of $12,500 per course within the proposed URC budget. Up to two course releases may be requested, with a maximum of $25,000 in course release funding requested.
    o The proposal must include official approval from your school’s Dean for the requested course release(s). The format for documenting Dean’s approval is left to each of the participating schools. In addition to obtaining Dean’s approval, faculty who request course release(s) are also responsible for coordinating with their department head/chair, as appropriate.
            o Proposals that include a request for course release funds but that lack official Dean's approval will not be considered.
  • If the budgeted amount in the proposal is not sufficient to support the school’s expectation for funding the requested course release(s), the applicant and the applicant’s Chair, in consultation with their Dean, are responsible for finding other (non-URC) funds to fill the gap.
  • Course Release funds are designated to cover expenses associated with teaching needs related to a faculty member’s course release time;
  • Course Release funds may NOT be used to pay the salary of a full-time faculty member to whom URC funds with a course release designation are awarded;
  • A transfer of awarded course release funds will be made directly from the URC to the relevant school and will be designated for the compensation of substitute/temporary personnel to teach while the awarded faculty member is on course release leave.

The University Research Committee defines interdisciplinary research using the National Academies’ report, Facilitating Interdisciplinary Research, as research “that integrates information, data, techniques, tools, perspectives, concepts, and/or theories from two or more disciplines or bodies of specialized knowledge to advance fundamental understanding or to solve problems whose solutions are beyond the scope of a single discipline or area of research practice.”

To be considered by the Interdisciplinary Subcommittee:

  • A single PI or team of MPIs must demonstrate meaningful integration of at least two distinct disciplines or fields of study. The project should combine theories, methods, data, or perspectives in a way that neither discipline or field could achieve independently. Projects must move beyond a multidisciplinary approach that only applies an established method from one discipline to another topic.
  • Applicants must expressly address the interdisciplinary nature of the partnership in the work plan and explain why the proposed outcomes could not be achieved within a single discipline.

Reviewers will evaluate both the project’s scholarly merit and whether the interdisciplinary integration is substantive and essential to the proposed work.

No. As part of the University Research Committee grant program, Interdisciplinary proposals follow the same guidelines as other URC committees. Each applicant may submit only one proposal, to one URC committee, per 12-month award cycle. If awarded, the grant recipient is not eligible to apply for another URC grant until three award cycles have passed following the completion of the URC award project.

Simply involving investigators from different departments or schools does not by itself constitute interdisciplinary research. Investigators from the same department or school may qualify if they bring distinct disciplinary expertise and approaches to the proposed project.