CIS Faculty Research Funding

2023–24 CIS Faculty Research Funding: Call for Proposals

PRIORITY DEADLINE: Sept. 11, 2023; applications considered on a rolling basis thereafter through Feb. 1, 2024

The Center for International Studies is pleased to announce an increase in the research funding available to all faculty (T/TT and RTPC) from the Political Science and International Relations department specializing in international relations or comparative politics:

  • $5,000 in research funding available to T/TT faculty; up to $10,000 in exceptional circumstances
  • $3,000 in research funding available to RTPC faculty; up to $5,000 in exceptional circumstances

Participation in CIS programming is among the essential criteria of qualification for support. See below for further details.

Please complete the online Faculty Research Funding form and upload any corresponding documentation, including a budget.

Please note the following deadlines:

  • 4, 2023: Funding application period for 2023–24 opens.
  • 8, 2023: Priority deadline for those seeking support for projects beginning in fall 2023.
  • 1, 2024: Last day to apply for 2023–24 research funding.
  • May 15, 2024: All funds must be used, including survey purchases.
  • June 1, 2024: Last date to process receipts in Concur.*
  • 15, 2024: Impact report due.

*Receipts must be processed in Concur within 45 days of a transaction (CIS can provide guidance on using Concur to process your expense reports).

Please also note that any changes to an approved proposal must be resubmitted to CIS for review; there will be no rollovers of unused balances. Faculty seeking funding for purchases needed in summer 2024 must request an exception to the traditional funding deadlines at the time of their application.

 

Criteria for consideration of proposals

Note: Proposals emphasizing a research outcome such as a published article or book will receive priority consideration.

  • High priority for faculty research funding:
  • Travel related to research (airfare, ground transportation, lodging)
  • Research assistance and translation assistance (there is a separate call to fund graduate student RAs and undergraduate RAs)
  • Surveys, experiments, and other types of primary data gathering (for new guidelines regarding the purchase of surveys, please contact the CIS office)
  • Seed money for grant proposal writing or feasibility research
  • Presenting at a conference (applicants should demonstrate they have first sought funding for this purpose from Dornsife Faculty Development Funding or the department) and/or organizing a panel at a conference in collaboration with POIR PhD students.

Lower priority, but possible funding for:

  • Subvention for book publication
  • Editing fee for manuscript (with advance notification prior to the work; CIS cannot fund work already completed)
  • Translation fee for a published book
  • Purchase of published books
  • Attending a conference as a discussant or a moderator (applicants should demonstrate they have first sought funding for this purpose from Dornsife Faculty Development Funding or the department).

No funding will be allocated for:

  • Method and language training (Please contact the POIR office)
  • Hardware and computer equipment
  • Conference attendance without one’s name appearing on the program.

 

Faculty (T/TT)* seeking funding above $5,000 and up to $10,000 must meet additional criteria:

  • Demonstrate an exceptional record of publication from highly ranked journals (ranked in the top 25) and frequent publication in other reputable journals in the last 3 years.
  • Co-publications with POIR PhD students in any journal in the last 5 years.
  • Having published a book in the past 5 years with university press such as Cornell, Oxford, Cambridge, and Princeton would further distinguish the applicant.
  • Active participation in CIS is required, must meet one of the following criteria over the past year:
  • At least 80% attendance in either the IR or CP workshops
  • Presented a paper at a workshop
  • Service as CIS advisory committee member or moderator of the workshops within the past two years

*Junior faculty (T/TT) seeking exceptional funding are not expected to meet the above criteria prior to applying for funding; instead, they are encouraged to outline possible publishing outlets for their CIS-funded research.

 

RTPC faculty seeking exceptional funding:

Similarly, RTPC faculty seeking research funding above $3,000 and up to $5,000 must demonstrate a strong publication track record over the past 3 years and active participation in CIS.

Note: There are separate application procedures for hosting conferences, manuscript review workshops, and undergraduate research assistant funding.

Email: cis@dornsife.usc.edu with any questions.

The Center for International Studies is committed to ensuring equity in its mission to support scholarship in international studies.