ODU Seed Funding & Limited Submissions

The ARTnership Seed Funding Program is an interdisciplinary seed funding initiative designed to foster collaboration between faculty in the arts, humanities, and social sciences and faculty in STEM2 fields, including science, engineering, technology, mathematics, health sciences, and medicine. The program pairs creative and humanistic perspectives with scientific innovation to enhance public understanding and appreciation of complex research, generate new interdisciplinary insights, and support innovative scholarly and creative outputs. Collaborative teams must include at least one tenured or tenure-track faculty member from the arts, humanities, or non-STEM2 social sciences and at least one tenured, tenure-track, or research faculty member from a STEM2 discipline. Awards are typically $10,000-$15,000 per project for up to 12 months. Projects should result in an external proposal submission and at least one scholarly or creative output. Applications are generally due in mid-April, with decisions anticipated in late May.

The Early Career Research Advancement Academy is a cohort-based program designed to mentor and build a supportive community for new faculty across all disciplines as they launch their academic research careers. The program focuses on increasing understanding of external funding, refining grant-writing skills, and improving participants' potential to secure external support for research and creative activities. It also prepares early career faculty to engage in and potentially lead future large-scale transdisciplinary, team-based, and/or translational research proposals. The program is open to full-time tenure-track or research assistant professors with two years or less of experience at rank. Seed grant funding generally ranges from $1,000-$3,000, subject to available funding, and includes a $600 travel allowance to visit a program officer and/or sponsor representative. Applications are generally due in mid-May, with decisions anticipated in mid-June.

The Forward-Focused Centennial Research Initiative is a strategic investment in faculty-led, transdisciplinary research teams to advance high-impact, use-inspired research aligned with institutional priorities, regional and Commonwealth needs, and federal funding directions. The program provides seed funding to support development of competitive proposals with a clear pathway to substantial external funding of $1 million or more, with a long-term goal of positioning teams for large-scale projects exceeding $5 million. The program is open to teams of full-time ODU tenured, tenure-track, and research faculty, with collaborative proposals across two or more distinct disciplines strongly encouraged. Awards may be up to $100,000 for one year. Funded teams are expected to submit an external proposal within 24 months of the seed-funding start date and to complete quarterly progress reports and a final external funding outcome report. Applications are generally due in the early spring semester, with decisions anticipated in late spring or summer.

The Graduate School Summer Award Program is a partnership between the Graduate School and the Division of Research and Economic Development supporting graduate student-led, faculty-mentored scholarly projects that contribute directly to progress toward a terminal degree, such as thesis or dissertation research. Projects must also contribute to the faculty mentor's long-term research agenda and help position the mentor and student for future external funding and scholarly outputs. The program is open to ODU graduate students who are admitted and enrolled in a graduate degree program and are in good academic standing. Applicants must commit to working a minimum of 20 hours per week for six weeks, and international students must be eligible for on-campus employment. Each award is $4,000. Applications are generally due in early April, with decisions anticipated in late April.

The Stimulating Transdisciplinary Research Collaborations Program supports research teams seeking to achieve national prominence by providing seed funding and DivRED resources, including project strategy, team development, and proposal development services. The program is designed to accelerate the formation of competitive teams pursuing large-scale external proposals valued at $3 million or more over the course of the award. Teams may include up to four senior investigators with additional early career investigators encouraged. Each team must target a specific anticipated funding opportunity, span multiple disciplines, and include researchers from multiple colleges and/or divisions. Awards may provide up to $50,000 from DivRED per six-month period, renewable with appropriate progress, and require a 50% match from a department, center, college, and/or division. Funded teams meet monthly with DivRED leadership. Applications are generally due annually in August, with decisions anticipated in early November.

The Vertically Integrated Program for Undergraduate Research is a multi-year, credit-bearing framework designed to help faculty build student research pipelines from the undergraduate through graduate levels. The program supports sustained student engagement with faculty research agendas, strengthens research continuity and mentorship capacity, and expands access to faculty-led undergraduate research aligned with ODU's R1 mission. It is intended to serve as a scalable pathway that complements existing undergraduate research models. The program is expected to be open to faculty from all colleges and disciplines, including high-impact transdisciplinary teams. Award amount and reporting requirements are to be confirmed. Applications are anticipated in the late spring semester, with decisions anticipated in early summer.