University of St. Thomas

Sudden Opportunity Grant

These awards are intended to help faculty take advantage of impending, concrete opportunities which fall outside of the normal grant application cycle (i.e., were in no way able to be anticipated) and have the potential to advance work already in progress. This work can involve scholarly work or pedagogy development, in the spirit of a Research Grant (RG) or a Teaching Enhancement Grant (TEG).

A Sudden Opportunity Grant is awarded for expenses including travel if such travel is essential to the project.   They may also be used to defray costs for travel related to a special invitation to speak at a one-time seminar or symposium in the area of the faculty's expertise or scholarship.

Awards will NOT be made for tuition expenses toward a degree, nor as stipends for released time from teaching.  SOGs are NOT intended for expenses to attend or present at regularly scheduled disciplinary conferences.  

All full-time, returning faculty at the university are eligible to apply.  Applicants are expected to demonstrate that they have also applied to other sources for funding.  These grants are intended primarily as supplements to funding from other sources for unexpected opportunities.

Awards:  The maximum award is $1200. 

Application process:  Potential applicants are encouraged to contact Faculty Development staff to discusss their projects prior to submitting an application.  Applicants should use a RG or TEG application, depending on the nature of the project.  There is no deadline for the Sudden Opportunity Grants.  Applications submitted during the academic year will be reviewed immediately; those during the summer will be reviewed quickly if the opportunity is impending.

Selection Criteria:  Applications should be written in jargon-free language appropriate for a non-technical reviewer.  They will be judged according to the same criteria as applications for RG or TEG.  In addition, it is expected that an applicant for a Sudden Opportunity Grant will demonstrate that significant progress has already been made on the project.  Most importantly, the applicant should explain in the proposal why the opportunity is sudden and could not have been anticipated within the normal schedule of grant applications.