Donor-Funded Intramural Grants

An anonymous donor has established a fund to research responses to sexual misconduct on college campuses using MSU as a case study. The donor hopes that the immediacy of this research might serve to improve processes that can address and reduce the devastating impact of sexual misconduct on today’s college students.  The donor, who has had a lifelong interest in enhancing the safety of students on college campuses, said that an enormous opportunity exists at this point in time to make important strides in this area.  It is hoped that by studying processes in place at MSU Texas and their impact on student safety, significant improvement might be facilitated on campuses across the nation.

The gift will fund competitive research projects in the following fields: 

• Behavioral and social sciences;
• Criminal justice;
• Mass communication;
• Higher education practice and policy; and
• Student affairs. 

 The outcomes of activities funded through this grant must be published studies or poster or oral presentations of national stature.

Applications are encouraged from tenured faculty, professional staff in applicable fields, and students conducting research supervised by tenured faculty, and will be determined by existing policies in place for intramural grants awarded through the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research. Funding requests may vary, but should not exceed $5,000 for faculty and $2,500 for staff or students.

Title to all permanent materials and equipment purchased with MSU funds rests with Midwestern State University.  Current MSU policy will prevail to answer questions regarding intellectual property rights for research or creative productions resulting from projects supported by MSU funds.  If the grant recipient’s official employment at MSU terminates during the award period, the MSU grant terminates on the same day.

Complete proposals will be read and ranked by members of the University Research Committee.  Incomplete proposals will not be ranked.  Evaluation and awards will be made on the basis of intellectual and creative merit, plans for dissemination, and adherence to application guidelines.  Moreover, the clarity and quality of the written text will be important considerations in ranking.

The committee reports to Dr. Kathryn Zuckweiler, Dean of the Graduate School and Director of the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research, who convenes and chairs the sessions.  Each College appoints a member to serve as the representative to the committee. Appointments are made at the beginning of the Fall semester.

Important Note: For the complete guidelines and requirements, please refer to the Request for Proposals and Guidelines document, which can be downloaded on this page under "Application Materials, Forms, and Templates."

Applications are due in electronic format to the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research (OSPR) via email as an attachment at: sponsoredprograms@msutexas.edu not later than October 1, 2018 at 5 P.M.

PDF or Microsoft Word documents and Microsoft Excel spreadsheets will be accepted.  The application must be double-spaced and should use the Times New Roman font (12 point).  The narrative shall not exceed 10 pages; however, the bio sketch(es) and the intramural budget spreadsheet are excluded from the page count.  Margins should be at least 0.5 inches.  Proposals that do not adhere to the application guidelines will not be considered for funding.

To aid in the thorough evaluation of your proposal by committee members outside your field please ensure that language within the application is jargon-free and clear to readers.

Two categories of funding are available:

1. Tenured Faculty Funding: up to $5,000
2. Professional Staff or Student Funding: up to $2,500

Faculty may apply for funding to support supplies, student wages, travel, and/or expected publication costs, or funding for research-related equipment, defined as equipment, software, or online databases with a cost of $500 or greater necessary to conduct research. (Note:  For clarification on research-related equipment, see Fiscal Regulations and Procedures Policy number 5-21 Higher Education Assistance Fund (HEAF).  These guidelines will be used for determining eligibility of equipment).  Please identify these different categories on the project summary and budget spreadsheet.  When purchasing equipment above $500, include quotes for the equipment/software/databases with the project application.  Faculty may not apply for release time.

Results from grant-funded research are expected to be disseminated nationally, preferably no later than 2020.

A Final Report of the research/creative endeavor is due in the Office of Sponsored Programs and Research upon completion of the project. The report is to be submitted electronically to sponsoredprograms@msutexas.edu.  A template for the report is available on this page under "Application Materials, Forms, and Templates."

Completed applications must follow all guidelines in the Request for Proposals and use the following forms and templates.

• Request for Proposals and Guidelines: Donor-Funded Grants

• Application: Donor-Funded Grants
• Additional Bio-Sketches
• Intramural Award Budget Template

• Final Report Form (For best results, use "Print Layout" in Word to complete this form)