Internal Funding Opportunities

The following funding opportunities are available through the Office of Research.

Startup Program

Sponsored and administered by the Office of Research, in partnership with individual departments and schools/colleges, startup program funds are available to assist new faculty in developing a self-sustaining research program upon arrival at ECU. The Office of Research takes the lead for evaluation, administration, and assessment of startup requests and awards. The goal of this program is to develop cohorts of researcher who work collaboratively with external sponsors to address critical challenges across academic disciplines and make an impact on the communities we serve.

Startup Forms

Strategic Role and Requirements (PDF)
Startup Program Guidelines (PDF)
Startup Budget Form – 3 Years (Excel)
Startup Budget Form – 4 Years (Excel)
Startup Funds Request Form – 0 to 3 Years (PDF)
Startup Funds Request Form – 0 to 3 Years with UNC Faculty Recruitment & Retention Fund (PDF)
Startup Funds Request Form – 4 Years (PDF)

Internal Awards

Trendsetter Awards

In 2022, recognizing the importance of highlighting faculty who are highly effective in their research and creative activity output, we developed a new award, the Trendsetter Award, to identify noteworthy scholars in three categories:

Early career, with six or fewer years of service
Mid-career, with 5-9 years of service
Later career or “Eminent”, with 10 or more years of service

The application period for FY27 (7/2026-6/2027) Trendsetter Award is now open. All faculty with at least two years of service at ECU, regardless of tenure status, department, school and/or college and field of study were welcome to submit their nomination application, consisting of a current CV and Chair letter.

Trendsetter instructions
Contact Dr. Angela Lamson with any questions.

Award recipients will be announced at the annual Research & Scholarship Award Ceremony in Spring 2026.

View the 2025 Trendsetter Award winners.

Faculty Support and Reassignment Awards for Research and Creative Activity

Application Due Date: March 30, 2026 (before 11.59 PM)
Award Period: August 17, 2026 – May 7, 2027 (Award can be used in Fall 2026 or Spring 2027)

This program provides funds to allow faculty dedicated time in the academic year for creative and scholarly activity and to prepare and submit a competitive application for extramural support. We encourage applications in all fields, including but not limited to the arts and humanities. Activities may include preparing grants for research, scholarship, creative and artistic activities, fellowships and residencies, art, and music commissions, exhibits and performances, book publishing contracts, museum and library fellowships, artist-in-residence, and scholar-in-residence programs. Requests for time to work on creative or scholarly endeavors such as a book are allowed, if the project can be completed during the semester of the reassignment. Extramural sponsor types may include federal, state or foundation.

This support may be accomplished through a course buyout of the faculty member’s teaching and service assignments (one three-credit-hour course) in either Fall 2026 or Spring 2027. Alternatively, funds may be used for undergraduate or graduate student support (to conduct research or assist with teaching) to provide the faculty member with additional time to work on projects. Funds will be paid directly to the department to hire replacement faculty to cover teaching assignments or for student compensation. Faculty will not receive any direct compensation and summer stipends will not be provided.

Applicants must present a well-defined creative or scholarly product (such as a book or a written opera) OR a project that will form the basis of a subsequent proposal to an extramural sponsor. Products or projects that clearly identify and address an ECU Mission or Vision as stated in the 2023-2028 Strategic Plan will receive higher priority. If your product or project does not directly address ECU mission or vision, you may still find ways of connecting it with it by adding relevant activities.
If the applicant conducts a project for a subsequent proposal, they must specify a specific funding opportunity, sponsor, and submission deadline which must be within a year of award completion. If the awardee receives the grant for Fall 2026, they should submit their application to a funding opportunity by December 31, 2027 (or for those preparing a work, it must be completed by then). If the awardee receives the grant for Spring 2027, they should submit application to a funding opportunity by May 7, 2028 (or for those preparing a work, it must be completed by then).

We encourage all applicants to identify an internal mentor/advisory group (1-3 individuals) to advise the faculty member on development of the project and critique the proposal prior to extramural submission. Suggested members include senior colleagues (either in or outside the department or school) that have previously received related extramural support, chairs, directors, and/or associate deans.

The number of awards will be determined by the quality of the proposals, number of requests, and the budget for the fiscal year, however $50,000 (up to 10 awards) will be designated for the program.

Past reassignment award winners include faculty members for the fields of biology, chemistry, English, foreign languages and literatures, kinesiology and philosophy.

External Funding

SPIN, which stands for Sponsored Programs Information Network, is an extensive research funding opportunity database. SPIN contains over 40,000 opportunities from more than 10,000 sponsors. It’s available through the library’s database list and linked on the Office of Sponsored Programs website.