Call for Applications

Letters of Inquiry: Seed Grants for Interdisciplinary Projects in Society and Neuroscience

March 19, 2018

ELIGIBILITY: All full-time faculty at Columbia University and Barnard College. Non-faculty may apply with the support of a faculty co-investigator.

AMOUNT: Up to $50,000.00 for projects one-year in duration, with the possibility of renewal for a second year of funding.

DEADLINE: One-page Letters of Inquiry due March 19, 2018.

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS: Available to download on our website as a PDF document

The Presidential Scholars in Society and Neuroscience Program (PSSN) invites Letters of Inquiry for interdisciplinary projects that lie at the intersection of neuroscience and the arts, humanities, and/or the social sciences.

Faculty Seed Grant Competition

The PSSN Program will offer annual seed grants to enable collaboration between Columbia and Barnard faculty in the humanities, arts, or social sciences, and faculty in the natural sciences whose primary focus is the empirical study of mind, brain, and behavior.  This request for proposals is open to all full-time faculty at Columbia University and Barnard College who contribute to these interdisciplinary goals.  Applications from non-faculty (including postdocs and senior Ph.D. students) will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis, with at least one full-time faculty member serving as a co-investigator. Please contact [email protected] if you have any questions regarding eligibility.

Unlike previous years, a Letter of Inquiry will be the first step in the application process for 2018.  The committee will invite selected applicants to submit a full proposal. Grants will be awarded on or before July 1, 2018.

Letters of Inquiry should outline interdisciplinary research that involves either direct collaboration between neuroscientists and researchers from other disciplines, or traverses traditional disciplinary boundaries in order to investigate issues relevant to society and neuroscience.

Instructions for Letters of Inquiry

  • Letters of Inquiry should be no more than a single page with one-inch margins in 11pt font.
  • Please include the title of the proposed project and list the principal and co-investigator(s) and their departmental affiliations.
  • All letters should include a short summary of the project, a brief statement of interdisciplinarity, and should briefly describe the timeline and the total funding amount sought.

Generally, proposals that involve research already in progress or stand-alone curriculum development will not be funded.   All Letters of Inquiry must be received in full by 5:00 p.m. ET on Monday, March 19, 2018.  Please submit letters as a PDF or Word file and email to [email protected].

Visit the Seed Grants page on our website to view the previous awardees and their projects.