Project Grants

Three times each academic year, the Prindle Institute’s Advisory Committee reviews funding proposals for ethics-related projects, events, and scholarship at DePauw. The kinds of projects we fund are widely varied, but must have an affiliated faculty member, staff member, or student as the project lead. Student leads must secure a faculty or staff mentor to serve as a project advisor. Because funding is competitive, priority will be on funding those projects that stand to have the biggest impact on the DePauw community. Examples of funded projects include (but are not limited to):

We offer funds on a cycle model to ensure equitable access to funding opportunities. Projects and events should require funds no earlier than four weeks after the application deadline. If your project does not fit the regular funding cycle, the committee may still consider your proposal, but please explain in your application why your request cannot be made within the regular funding cycle.

Funding Cycles:

Winter Cycle (provides funds for projects in early Spring semester or summer)

• Deadline for proposals: January 15
• Decisions announced: February 7

Spring Cycle (provides funding for projects in summer or early Fall semester)

• Deadline for proposals: April 15
• Decisions announced: May 7

Fall Cycle (provides funds for projects in Fall or early Spring semesters)

• Deadline for proposals: September 27
• Decisions announced: October 7

• Connection to Ethics. Many projects have ethical components or implications. To be competitive for Prindle Institute Project Grants, proposals must articulate how a project or event develops and encourages lively, in-depth engagement with relevant ethical issues. This crucially involves acknowledging and considering alternative perspectives and navigating discussions and disagreements respectfully. For more guidance on the task of ensuring that your project engages with its relevant ethical dimensions in a way that makes it competitive for grants, we’ve assembled a document for prospective grantees’ review: Engaging Ethics: Guidelines for Grantees →
• Consultation with Academic Affairs. In an effort to ensure that curricular development projects and research projects align with broader guidelines for curricular development and research, the Advisory Committee will review requests for funding such projects in consultation with Academic Affairs.
  Previous Grant Awardees. In order to promote ethical reflection across the entire campus, preference will be given to those project proposers who have not yet received Prindle Institute funding in an academic year. This does not mean, however, that it is impossible for a single person to receive two Prindle grants in a single academic year.
• Speaker Events. There are often many visiting speakers throughout the academic year at DePauw, so the Advisory Committee will ask that you receive approval from Dean Marcus Hayes before applying for funding for a speaking event.
• Food Expenses. The Advisory Committee recognizes that food can be an important part of successful projects, but also wants to ensure that awarded funds contribute to the mission of the Institute. The committee is thus especially interested that any food costs are reasonable and critical to achieving the goal of the project.
• Student-Led Projects. If a DePauw student is the project lead for a proposal, they must identify a faculty or staff mentor who will advise in the project implementation and ensure that the student meets the goals of the project and delivers a final project report.
• Student/Faculty Research. Prindle Institute grants can be used to support student/faculty research, including summer projects.
  • All student/faculty research applications will be joint student/faculty proposals.
  • Previous funding for students will be taken into consideration. Priority will be given to students who have had no prior funding for research projects.
  • If the proposal is for summer research, university budget policy states that students may not be employed by DePauw in another position while working under the summer research program in a full-time capacity except in very special circumstances that require prior approval from the Vice President of Academic Affairs. Also, students may not attend classes or be employed on- or off-campus by another employer if either of the activities interferes with time required for research.
  • If the proposal is for summer research, the standard student fellowship award is $4,400 and a faculty stipend of $3,000. These amounts are based on the assumption that the project will last ten weeks and that the student will work full-time and the faculty member will work half-time. For projects of lesser duration, please prorate the grant funds requested.
  • It is assumed that the student and the faculty member will work together at the same location for the duration of the project. If this is a summer project, the dates for the project must fall within student summer housing availability and must occur outside the regular academic year.
• Reporting. Those receiving Prindle Institute grants are required to submit a report on the project no less than one month after the end of the project. Those who do not submit a report are not eligible for Prindle funding until the report is submitted.