Internal Grant Programs
Managed through the Office of Research Development Services (ORDS), the Office of Research offers a suite of programs to support research and creative activities and the dissemination of results.
The internal grant programs aim to strengthen and reinforce best practices in grant writing and submission, thus applications are expected to follow the published program guidelines and proposal requirements. Proposals that do not meet these expectations will not be reviewed. Deadlines are enforced. ORDS staff, who are not part of the review process, are available for consultation about your application.
- Inquiries: or-osp-propdev@uwm.edu
Current Internal Grant Programs
Discovery and Innovation Grant (DIG)
Supports initial stages of research with the intent of making projects more competitive for completion or expansion through external funding. Applicants must demonstrate that the work is not just an incremental extension of their current or past projects or the field in general. Recipients are expected to submit external grant proposals within three years of the start of funding for at least three times the DIG budget. Proposals are reviewed externally. $70,000 base award maximum.
Advancing Research and Creativity (ARC)
Supports meritorious research and creative projects across all disciplines at UWM. Projects may be at various stages of development. Awards are expected to result in scholarly, scientific, and artistic products that will increase the national and international recognition of the awardees, their programs, and the institution. Proposals are reviewed externally. Typical award range is $8,000 to $15,000.
Finish Line
Supports meritorious research and creative projects across all disciplines at UWM. Projects may be at various stages of development. Awards are expected to result in scholarly, scientific, and artistic products that will increase the national and international recognition of the awardees, their programs, and the institution. Proposals are reviewed internally. Typical award range is $18,000 to $30,000.
Research Assistance Fund (RAF)
Supports a wide variety of activities, including conference travel for presenting your research. Awards are intended for faculty and career academic staff with immediate research needs that cannot be supported through other campus funding. Proposals are reviewed internally. $2,500 maximum.
Comparison of Internal Grant Programs
See full program descriptions for details and eligibility requirements.
| Program Name | Discovery and Innovation Grant | Advancing Research and Creativity | Finish Line | Research Assistance Fund |
| Intent | Project seed funding to strengthen external grant submission; priority given to early-career researchers and those pursuing new lines of research | Project funding – various stages of completion | Strengthen unfunded proposals for resubmission by responding to issues raised in reviews | Specific, short-term research needs such as travel for conference presentations, participant incentives |
| Deliverables | External grants within three years of DIG award start date Scholarly and artistic products. | Scholarly and artistic products External grants (optional) | Proposal resubmission within one year of Finish Line award start date | Activities as described in the application Expenses must be posted within one year of the award start date |
| Application Deadline | Mid-October Award decisions typically made by mid-April | Mid-October Award decisions typically made by mid-April | Applications accepted August 1 through May 15 (or until program funds are exhausted) and reviewed within eight to ten weeks of submission | Applications accepted August 1 through May 15 (or until program funds are exhausted) and reviewed within six to eight weeks of submission |
| Award Budget Maximum | $70,000 | None, but typical award range is $8,000 to $15,000 | None, but historical award range is $12,000 to $30,000 and no more than 10% of external budget request | $2,500 |
| Award Frequency Maximum | One award as PI every four fiscal years | One award as PI every four fiscal years | One award per PI per fiscal year | One award every other fiscal year |
Advancing Research and Creativity Grant Recipients
2024
| Rachel Buff Professor, Department of History Lost in the Red Scare |
| Carolyn Eichner Professor, Department of History, Department of Women’s and Gender Studies Louise Michel: A Revolutionary Life |
| Kennan Ferguson Professor, Department of Political Science Inhuman Politics |
| Megan Gilbertson Assistant Professor, Department of Educational Psychology The WISE Project: Well-Being, Identity, Social Support, and Education in Middle School |
| Maria Gillespie Associate Professor, Department of Dance External Co-Investigator(s): Nguyễn Nguyễn, Renaissance Arts Academy; Kevin Williamson, Scripps College Wild Tongue: Translating Embodied Memory in the Language of Dance |
| Andy Miller Teaching Faculty III, Department of Dance Mallet Music for Ballet Class: Composing New Works for Marimba and Vibraphone to Accompany Ballet Techniques Classes |
| Erin Ruppel Associate Professor, Department of Communication Pathways to Well-Being: Theorizing Social Compensation and Social Enhancement |
Discovery and Innovation Grant Recipients
2024
| Qingsu Cheng Assistant Professor, Biomedical Engineering Elucidating the Effect of Microgravity on Breast Cancer |
| Claire De La Cova Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Conserved Kinase and Phosphatase Regulators of RAF Signaling in Noonan Syndrome |
| Dawn Erb Professor, Physics GLIFS: The Gravitationally Lensed Integral Field Survey of Star-forming Galaxies at Cosmic Noon |
| David Kaplan Professor, Physics The ASKAP VASTER Survey of the Galactic Center |
| Min Gyu Kim Assistant Professor, Physics Understanding Antiferromagnetic Domains/Domain Walls in Quantum Antiferromagnets by Coherent X-ray Imaging |
| Ashley Lemke Associate Professor, Anthropology Lake Michigan’s Submerged Indigenous Past: Capacity Building and New Underwater Archaeological Research |
| Jeffrey Lopez-Rojas Assistant Professor, Psychology Disrupted Social Information Content in Layer IIa of the Entorhinal Cortex in a Mouse Model of a Human Genetic Disorder Strongly Linked to Schizophrenia |
| Shama Mirza Associate Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry External Co-Investigator: Mona Al-Gizawiy, Medical College of Wisconsin Predicting Response to Anti-VEGF Therapy in Recurrent Glioblastoma A Priori |
| Arjun Saha Assistant Professor, Chemistry & Biochemistry UWM Co-Investigator: Alexander Arnold, Chemistry & Biochemistry Combining Computational Biophysics and Experimental Biochemistry to Understand and Inhibit Cytokine-Cytokine Receptor Interactions to Develop New Therapeutic Approaches for Atopic Dermatitis |
| Daniel Schlitz Scientist II, Civil & Environmental Engineering UWM Co-Investigators: Rani El-Hajjar, Civil & Environmental Engineering; Chiu-Tai Law, Electrical Engineering Multiscale Experimental and Analytical Approach for Amplification of Smart Metamaterial Behavior |
| Yongjin Sung Associate Professor, Mechanical Engineering Hyperspectral Spatial-frequency Domain Imaging of Pharmaceutical Tablets |
| An-Phu Tran Assistant Professor, Biological Sciences Unraveling the Role of Rab-GTPases in LRRK2-induced Neurodegeneration in Parkinson’s Disease |