University Research Awards

The University Research Awards (URA) provide seed money on a competitive basis for innovative research projects that, when sufficiently developed, are likely to attract external support. Applications for planning grants are also encouraged.

The URA program is meant to further stimulate the research of faculty who have moved beyond research support provided as part of their initial appointment, or for faculty who have other research funds committed by the University. Faculty with University research funds are still eligible to apply, but an explanation as to why their existing funds for their project are insufficient or unusable should be provided (e.g. funding may be largely for a collaborator).

Funding amount

A total of $75,000 of funds are available to researchers within Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the School of Nursing. An award of up to $37,500 from URA will be made as a match to funds committed by the applicant’s home school for a total of $75,000.

URA is a matching program, which means that URA matches funding of an applicant’s home school. Currently, only Arts, Sciences & Engineering, the School of Medicine and Dentistry, and the School of Nursing participate in this matching program.

Application timeline

Applications for 2023 are now closed. Applications for 2024 awards will open in Fall ’23.