Office of the Provost

Multidisciplinary Research

In the fall of 2007, the faculty of an ad-hoc Multidisciplinary Advisory Council issued their report entitled, New Interdisciplinary Work at the University of Rochester. Its core recommendation was that the University provide $250,000 per year to fund multidisciplinary scholarship. Funding would be provided centrally and not come from the resources of any school. The Provost convened a large, inclusive, and respected group of faculty to design the program. That advisory group helped determine that: (1) the central fund should support only research (defined broadly to include all scholarship and creative work); (2) research must cross two or more disciplines, whether in one school or from two or more schools; (3) funding should favor new research projects of recently formed teams, research that is likely to be leveraged by future external funding, and work that will be disseminated. Applications were designed to fit broad types of scholarship, and the Provost reaches out to all divisions of the University to encourage applications from every discipline in every school. Thus were born the Provost’s Multidisciplinary Awards (PMA).

A Multidisciplinary Fund Review Committee of faculty from across UR provides peer review of grant applications. The RFP below describes the application process.

Please click here to view the list of current and previous Award Recipients.

In addition to the Provost’s Multidisciplinary Awards, Provost Ralph Kuncl oversees:

• Public celebration and reporting of new multidisciplinary work (Provost’s Multidisciplinary Awards Symposium)
• The Phelps Colloquium Series
• Bridging Fellowships for faculty scholarship on leave in another UR department
• Funding of the University Committee on Interdisciplinary Studies
• A year-long Interdisciplinary Orientation Program for New and Early Career Faculty
• The New Leaders Program, a year-long peer-led exploration for new chairs and deans

The University has a large number of established Multidisciplinary Centers. Click here for a downloadable list, including web address and faculty contact person.  PDF | Excel

Supporting Documents:

• Request for Proposals (PDF*)


• Applications:      Due: February 6, 2012.

Applications are now being accepted for the Provost’s Multidisciplinary Awards. In order to cast a wider net and capture a broader spectrum of proposals, in addition to our standard application (blue), a one-page application planning guide (yellow) is also available.  Faculty from any discipline should feel free to use the form that best suits them.

• Blue Application - Standard Application
• Yellow Guide - Alternate Application Planning Guide

• Multidisciplinary Advisory Council Report (PDF*)

*PDF files require Acrobat Reader, available free at the Adobe download site.   

Contact Vini Falciano in the Provost's Office with any questions about the Provost’s Multidisciplinary Awards.