Seed Funding
Colleges and investment institutes across the university offer seed grants to support a range of faculty activity including new collaborations, proposal development, team building, creative scholarship, and research projects in targeted areas, in addition to fellowships that support work by graduate and undergraduate students and postdoctoral researchers. The searchable tables below summarize many of these opportunities.
For the most up to date information on an individual opportunity, follow the link to the parent organization page.
Current Opportunities
| Title | Description | Deadline | Eligibility | Funding | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Destination Areas 2.0 | Supports transdisciplinary projects aligned with the unviersity's Beyond Boundaries vision and targeting complex problems that advance the human condition. Phase I planning and development grants will support team and project development over a five-month period; selected Phase I awardees will have the opportunity to apply for five-year Phase II awards. | Phase 1: May 15, 2024. Phase II: Nov. 18, 2024. | Faculty and postdoctoral researchers | Phase 1: $50,000. Phase II: $750,000. | |
| Fralin Life Sciences Institute Project Development Awards | Program-project/center planning grants provide three years of funding and administrative support to help facilitate proposal development for prestigious, federally funded multimillion-dollar grants. New proposals will be accepted in 2025. | Winter | Faculty | Variable | |
| Fralin Life Sciences Institute Unsolicited Requests | Funds can support conferences & events held on Virginia Tech campuses, matching funds for shared instrument purchases, recruitment & retention efforts in conjunction with academic units, and other goals. | Rolling | Faculty | Variable | |
| Global Change Center faculty seed grants | With funding from the Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment and the Fralin Life Sciences Institute, the Global Change Center supports collaborative research that will lead to proposals submitted to extramural funding sources. Projects should link multiple faculty programs and take advantage of unique combinations of expertise at Virginia Tech, have societal implications and/or a policy component, and deal with emerging global change issues that have regional and global significance. | Spring | Faculty | $30,000 | |
| Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology SEAD Major Grant | This program supports projects that are creative and innovative, high-risk but potentially transformative. Grants can be used for transdisciplinary activities, including creative projects, feasibility studies, and preliminary research. We hope that projects will grow into larger initiatives, performances, exhibitions, or events that are visible at a national or international level. | February | Faculty | Variable by award; up to $40,000 | |
| Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology SEAD Mini Grant | This program supports projects that leverage the combined strengths of science, engineering, art, and design to tackle real-world challenges. These funds can be used to pursue a range of transdisciplinary activities that are creativity-fueled and human-centric. | January | Faculty | Up to $6,000 | |
| Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology Research Fellowship | This program supports a one semester faculty research fellowship. These funds can be used to buy out an additional semester following university approved research leave. Faculty can pursue a range of research. The institute may also provide up to $5,000 in funding to support undergraduate student research and provide support in the following academic year in the form of course release time. | Fall | Faculty | Semester buyout + up to $5,000 | |
| Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology Jones/CENI Seed Grant | Supported by the Steve and Karen Jones SEAD Fund for Educator Professional Development, the Center for Educational Networks and Impacts (CENI) invites applications for science, engineering, arts, and design projects that support educator professional development. Funds can be used to pursue a range of transdisciplinary activities including pilot studies, feasibility studies, or preliminary research. It is expected that projects will help catalyze larger projects, long term initiatives, or events, performances, or exhibitions that engage teachers, students, and the community at the regional level. | Last day of each month | Faculty | $3,000 | |
| Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science Diversity and Inclusion Research Fellowships | This program supports research partnerships between faculty at Virginia Tech and faculty at HBCUs or MSIs. Recipients must commit to presenting their project at the following year’s HBCU-MSI Summit (typically held mid-October) and participating in related diversity work and activities through ICTAS. One award will be jointly sponsored by the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology; submissions for this award must include a significant arts and/or design component. | November | Faculty | 15 awards: $10,000 per year for two years One award: $20,000 per year for two years; co-funded with ICAT. | |
| Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science EFO-O grants | These seed investments support transdisciplinary projects led by Virginia Tech engineering faculty, with the goal of increasing the chances of success for subsequent proposals for external funding. Research teams must be headed by a faculty member in the College of Engineering and include faculty from multiple departments and/or colleges. | September | College of Engineering faculty | $10,000 | |
| Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science - NCFL mini-grants | This program provides pre-purchased time on instruments at the Nanoscale Characterization and Fabrication Laboratory (NCFL) to support (a) laboratory demonstrations in support of the University’s curriculum and outreach efforts, (b) a sponsored research program with insufficient funds, (c) preliminary data collection to make a proposal more compelling, or (d) faculty startup packages. | Rolling | Faculty | Variable | |
| Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Scholars Program | This program provides interdisciplinary faculty teams with support for developing grant proposals, in new or existing areas in the social sciences, that align with one of the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment’s four thematic areas. The expectation is that proposals will lead to submission of an external grant application. | Spring | Faculty whose research explicitly addresses contemporary social problems | $30,000 | |
| Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Unsolicited Requests | ISCE accepts unsolicited proposals from full-time faculty any time during the calendar year for projects that require a rapid response to an event, small feasibility studies and interdisciplinary team building that enables faculty to be more competitive for external funding. | Rolling | Faculty | Typically $3,500 - $7,500 | |
| Institute for Society, Culture, and Environment restricted microdata research | Virginia Tech has an agreement with the Georgetown Federal Statistical Research Data Center through 2024 to allow four approved projects access to restricted federal microdata. To assist faculty who receive approval for a project, the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment will help cover the costs of implementing the project. | Rolling | Faculty | $5,000 | |
| Institute for Society, Culture and Environment PREP program | The aim of this two-semester cohort-based program is to support social science faculty who are new to preparing proposals for extramural funding, or who have not served as PI for a successful proposal. Participants receive intensive mentoring and up to $10,000 to support proposal development and preliminary research activities. | Late spring | Faculty | $10,000 | |
| Institute for Society, Culture and Environment support for speakers and events | Institute for Society, Culture and Environment funds are available to support faculty hosting speakers or sponsoring seminars or events at Virginia Tech locations related to institute's thematic areas and other social issues. | Rolling | Faculty | $350 for individual speakers; $1000 for multiple speakers or conferences | |
| Institute for Society, Culture and Environment support for external review | The Institute for Society, Culture and Environment provides funds for technical review and professional consultation of proposals by external experts. Interested researchers should email the Institute for Society, Culture and Environment Executive Director briefly detailing their project and justifying the request. | Rolling | Faculty | Variable | |
| Commonwealth Cyber Initiative - Southwest VA - Research Engagement Program | Supports research along two tracks: Track 1: Large-scale proposal development, seed funds for pilot studies, dedicated research time, collaboration, or other support to increase proposal competitiveness. Single-institution teams are welcome. Track 2: Funds to engage students or faculty with startups. Company must have operations in Virginia and must be specified in the proposal. Focus areas should be related to the intersection of data, autonomy, and security. | May | Faculty | Up to $20,000 | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Susan E. Duncan Innovation in Agriculture Seed Grant | Supports user‐centered, user‐driven research and development directed at building capacity, security, and resilience in the U.S agriculture and food sector. Designed to advance research, innovation, and education in agriculture by bringing together faculty and students across disciplines; providing funding, space, support, and expertise; and building mutually beneficial partnerships beyond campus. Grants can be used for agriculture‐focused transdisciplinary activities, creative projects, feasibility studies, and preliminary research. | Variable | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | Up to $25,000 | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Integrated Internal Competitive Grants Program | These grants support faculty assembling interdisciplinary teams that will enhance the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences scholarship and improve competitiveness for extramural grants. A major objective of this grants program is to encourage further integration of research, Extension and education programs within and among units in the college, including academic departments, ARECs, and county extension offices. | Rolling | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | Variable | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Travel Grants | Funds are available to encourage faculty to travel to visit with program managers at federal agencies (eg NSF, NIH, USDA) or trips to National Laboratories (e.g. NREL, ORNL), to explore and discuss funding opportunities and to enhance the visibility of individual faculty programs and capabilities. | Rolling | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | Typically $500 | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Capacity Building Grants | Capacity Building grants provide seed funding to help assemble interdisciplinary teams, to improve competitiveness for extramural grants and to provide opportunities to more fully utilize and support selected AREC facilities.These grants stimulate basic and translational research, foster agricultural outreach and enhance research and Extension activities at the Southwest Virginia, Shenandoah Valley, and Southern Piedmont ARECs. | Rolling | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | Variable | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Pre‐Doctoral Training Grant Development Incentive Award for Faculty | Incentive for faculty to lead the development of large pre‐doctoral training grant applications (eg NIH T32, NSF Research Traineeship, and the USDA National Needs Graduate and Postgraduate Fellowship Grants Program). Funds will be provided to the department of the principal investigator who successfully completes and submits a competitive, pre‐doctoral training grant proposal for the purpose of course release or graduate student support. | Rolling; depends on due date of target RFP. | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | $10,000 to the department | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences development and submission of large, interdisciplinary and/or integrated proposals | Funds are available to facilitate the development and submission of large, interdisciplinary and/or integrated team proposals -- either in response to a specific RFP or for teams anticipating a future RFP. Funds can be used for administrative costs associated with proposal development such as travel, graphic design, preliminary data, graduate student literature searches, workshops, consultant services, etc. Multi-institutional teams are encouraged. | Rolling; depends on due date of target RFP. | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | $10,000 | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences John Lee Pratt Animal Nutrition Program | To promote the study of animal nutrition, provide equipment and materials for feeding experiments and the preparation of livestock and poultry feeds, and to publish and disseminate the practical results from this research. Grants support personnel (graduate students, post-doctoral scholars, or visiting scientists), small equipment, and associated tuition and research supplies. Support helps establish new interdisciplinary and/or externally-funded research, augments established research programs, or bridges gaps between periods of extramural funding. | Variable | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Faculty | Variable | |
| College of Architecture, Arts, and Design Faculty Initiated Research Grant Program | Provides general support for College of Architecture, Arts, and Design faculty to pursue exceptional research and creative scholarship | October | College of Architecture, Arts, and Design tenure-track or Collegiate faculty; Professor of Practice; Instructor on a continuing basis. | FIRG SEED grant - $5000 FIRG Mini grant - $1500 | |
| College of Natural Resources and Environment Instructional Support Fund | Funding is available to support faculty participating in the delivery of undergraduate and graduate courses offered in traditional settings (classroom and laboratory) and online during the fall and spring semesters. The strategic purposes of this fund are to (1) acquire materials, supplies, software, and other resources that directly facilitate student learning and accessibility and (2) to support faculty training in pedagogy and the development of innovative teaching techniques through participation in workshops and related activities. | Fall: Last Monday in October Spring: Last Monday in March | College of Natural Resources and Environment Faculty | $5,000 | |
| College of Natural Resources and Environment Satellite Beacon Program | This program allows individuals to borrow a Garmin InReach satellite messenger and personal locator beacon to enhance the safety of students, staff, and faculty during field research activities. The units are available for loan during an entire semester or monthly. | Fall: Last Monday in October Spring: Last Monday in March | College of Natural Resources and Environment Students, Staff, and Faculty | N/A | |
| College of Science Research Instrumentation Program | Program is designed to acquire and support critical major research instrumentation for the advancement of fundamental science, to train the next generation of scientists on state-of-the-art tools, and to provide scientific infrastructure critical to the success of research proposals. | Fall | College of Science faculty | Track 1: $20,000 - $150,000 Track 2: $150,000 - $1.5 million | |
| College of Science Lay Nam Chang Dean's Discovery Fund | The College of Science established the Dean's Discovery Fund (DDF) to catalyze important research advances and to better equip researchers to respond to external funding opportunities. | Spring | College of Science faculty | Single investigator: $10,000 Multi-investigator: $20,000 | |
| College of Science Academy of Data Science Discovery Fund | Established to enable successful proposals for external interdisciplinary research funding that include significant applications of data science methods and advanced computing to large, complex datasets that arise in scientific research, and to promote the development of data science methods in support of science research. | Variable | College of Science faculty | Single investigator: $10,000 Multi-investigator: $20,000 |
| Title | Description | Deadline | Eligibility | Funding | Contact |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fralin Undergraduate Research Fellowships | The Fralin Life Sciences Institute provides support to the Office of Undergraduate Research for the Fralin Undergraduate, First-Year Fralin Undergraduate, and the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship programs. | March | Undergraduate Students | $1,350 | |
| Presidential Postdoctoral Fellowship Program | This program seeks to strengthen recruitment of outstanding, diverse postdoctoral associates and prepare these exceptional researchers for the next phase of their careers. Candidates may be from any discipline or field; fellowships will be awarded in Research Frontiers and Cybersecurity tracks. | Rolling | Postdocs | Variable | |
| College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Student Fellowship Applications Incentive Travel Award | This award provides incentives and support for graduate students applying for fellowships. Each qualified student who completes and sbmits a fellowship application will receive up to $500 to support participation in a national conference related to the student's discipline. Fellowship applications must be submitted to College of Agriculture and Life Sciences grant coordinator Kira Gantt for review a week prior to the due date. | Rolling | College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Graduate Students | $500 | |
| College of Architecture, Arts, and Design Student Initiated Research Grant | The College of Architecture, Arts, and Design recognizes the importance of student-initiated research projects, and understands there are limited funding opportunities. Therefore, we established the Student Initiated Research Grant program to support the college's students’ research and creative scholarship. Provides general support for exceptional student research and creative scholarship. | October | College of Architecture, Arts, and Design Undergraduate Students | $750 | |
| Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science Doctoral Scholars Program | The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology Doctoral Scholars Program honors exceptional Ph.D. candidates interested in interdisciplinary research with a competitive graduate fellowship. The program is led by the institute, with significant contributions from the Graduate School and the scholars' colleges and departments. The program supports up to 40 students. | Typically four nomination deadlines across December, January, and February. | Doctoral Candidates | Variable | |
| Roop and Kavita Mahajan Research Fund | This program funds student-led interdisciplinary projects in health, education, and infrastructure. Projects should be in the field of community development, related to the overall goal of addressing problems of poverty and negligence in under-resourced communities around the world. | Variable | Undergraduate Students | $2,500 | |
| College of Natural Resources and Environment Undergraduate Research Fellowship | Undergraduate research fellowships allow students to develop and carry out a unique research project or expand upon an existing project while collaborating with a faculty mentor. | May | College of Natural Resources and Environment Undergraduate Students | $2,500 | |
| College of Natural Resources and Environment Graduate Travel Grant | The College of Natural Resources and Environment offers a grant program to assist with the costs associated with traveling to meetings and conferences to present findings and to help ensure these opportunities are accessible to all students. | Rolling | College of Natural Resources and Environment Graduate Students | Variable | |
| Roger and Debbie West Student Grant | The Institute for Creativity, Arts, and Technology invites applicants for a range of transdisciplinary activities that leverage the combined strengths of science, engineering, art, and design to tackle real-world challenges. Teams must comprise students from at least two different schools/department, and one team member must represent arts and/or design. | Fall | Graduate and Undergraduate Students | $1,000 |