Loyola University Chicago

Office of Research Services

Provost’s Summer Research Fellowship Program

In line with Loyola University Chicago’s strategic intention of fostering multidisciplinary research and building stronger partnerships with other organizations and institutions, the Provost invites teams of collaborative LUC researchers to submit proposals for Summer Research Fellowships to help support promising cross-disciplinary and campus initiatives.

Up to three multi-year awards of up to $10,000 per individual per summer, plus applicable fringe benefits and necessary ancillary costs will be allocated to research teams that are prepared to submit a multidisciplinary proposal to a nationally competitive funding agency (particularly NSF and/or NIH). This support is intended to provide a basis for project development and pilot research ultimately leading to independent funding. Multidisciplinary research teams will typically comprise several full-time tenured or tenure-track LUC faculty with complementary expertise in relevant disciplines. Progress reports from funded projects will be required every six months with an application for nationally reviewed extramural support expected within 18 months of funding.

Funds may support summer salary and fringe benefits of LUC faculty, cost of grant-writing consultants, travel to consult with funding agencies, professional travel to conferences, graduate and undergraduate assistants, equipment, and materials and supplies as necessary to organize, prepare and submit a proposal to an external agency. This program is not designed to supplement or supplant academic year salary (or calendar year salary for 12-month appointees).

Preference will be given to proposals that are aligned with major research themes/topics that are normally funded by the National Institutes of Health (http://www.nih.gov/science/highlights.htm), the National Science Foundation (www.nsf.gov), and other federal agencies.

Investigator(s) Eligibility
Because the money for this program is (indirectly) generated by research done by Lake Shore and Water Tower campus investigators, this competition is restricted to Principal Investigators from either or both of those locations (i.e., the College of Arts & Sciences, Arrupe College, IPS, IES, the Centers of Excellence, and the schools of Business, Communication, Continuing & Professional Studies, Education, Law, and Social Work). Co-investigators, however, can be located in the Health Sciences Campus (HSC). Generally, if a person is eligible to submit an external proposal through the lakeside PTAP system as a Principal Investigator, that person would be eligible to be a Principal Investigator on a Summer Research Fellowship grant. Faculty at other institutions are not eligible to receive compensation under this program. Each application for this program must have a Principal Investigator and at least one Co-Investigator from a different department.

Current recipients of Multidisciplinary Grants, either as Principal or Co-Principal Investigators, are not eligible for a Provost’s Summer Research Fellowship.

Proposal Submission Guidelines
The primary goal is to develop coherent multidisciplinary research proposals that are positioned competitively to secure external funding from Federal agencies (particularly NSF and NIH).  Proposals for this summer research fellowship must clearly demonstrate the multidisciplinary nature of the project and identify specific NSF, NIH, or other federal grant opportunities to which the team will respond.

Proposals must be double spaced, font size 12 points or higher, and submitted (all as PDF files except for the budget in Excel) through the IPRS system at https://iprs.luc.edu/Login.aspx

The application must include:

A cover page clearly identifying the Principal Investigator/Co-Investigators and their department and college/school of primary appointment; joint appointments should also be identified. Use the template that is provided here.

An abstract, written for a general audience that summarizes the project and its expected outcomes.  The abstract must not exceed 300 words.

A project narrative of the scope of activity, including the objective(s) of the project, the significance of the project, the methodology or approach to be used, the expected outcomes or products, and the contribution that a successful project will make to the strategic goals of the Loyola University Chicago.   The project description must not exceed eight (8) pages.  Recommended sections are

  • Objectives
  • Significance
  • Methods of Analyses
  • Broader Impact and Expected Outcomes
  • Prospect of Stimulating Further Research at Loyola University Chicago

one-page summary of plans to move the project toward sustained, external funding. This should list potential sources of support, such as programs within agencies. Targeted external agencies must include NSF, NIH, or other federal agency.

A two-page management plan explaining the roles of each investigator on the project.

A one-page budget that lists the major categories of expenses and the schedule of research, which may span two summers and include salary support for each summer. Requests for course release during the regular academic year will not be funded because the main activity to be supported by this program (developing an external grant proposal) is considered part of a faculty member’s regular duties. For the same reason, salary support for HSC faculty will not be funded nor can HSC faculty be awarded consulting agreements under this program. [NOTE: salary requests must carry appropriate fringe benefits at the "operating" rates - see http://www.luc.edu/finance/fbrates.shtml.]

A budget justification.

A two-page biosketch for each investigator must include the individual’s current professional position, degrees (with institutions and dates), professional positions held, recent relevant publications, artistic performances or other original products, and grants and contracts. 

Appendix materials will NOT be accepted.

Submission and Review Procedure
All proposals must be submitted through the IPRS system (https://iprs.luc.edu/Login.aspx) and will be reviewed and ranked by a peer-review panel convened by the Associate Provost for Research. [NOTE: If an investigator needs a compliance committee approval (e.g., for work involving human subjects or lab animals) he/she should apply to the relevant committee for their location (lakeside or HSD) and then inform the other investigator(s) of the outcome.]

Deadline: November 14, 2014

Award Processing
Awards will be announced in December, usually with a start date of January 1. Each award will be assigned its own “AU” number. Costs incurred at both lakeside and HSD locations can be charged to this AU.

Open Access
Scholarly papers, journal articles, posters, conference presentations, etc., that arise, directly or indirectly, out of the work supported by this grant program should be made available to the Loyola University community and beyond. Grant recipients should post relevant research products to Loyola’s eCommons to the extent allowed by copyright. Grant recipients should negotiate with publishers if applicable to ensure that research products are open access. Contact ecommons@luc.edu for assistance with this process.