Professional Development Grant

Application coming soon.

Faculty who would like to engage in a professional development/ travel activity this academic year and make a compelling case that this grant would directly benefit multiple areas of faculty engagement (teaching, scholarship, & service) are encouraged to submit a proposal.

Those who receive the grant will:

Receive funding that can be applied to conference registration fees and/or professional development activities. Amount funded per individual varies based on need; however, most awards range between $200-$2000.

All faculty, tenure-track (including department chairs) and lecturers, are eligible for this award. Applicants who are applying for conference registration fees do not have to give a presentation at the conference in order to be eligible.  Individuals may receive grant funding more than once, but priority will be given to those who have not yet received this funding.

Faculty are encouraged to be creative in thinking about how conference attendance and/or a professional development opportunity can benefit multiple areas of emphasis at CSUN (teaching, scholarship, service).

Specific examples could include proposals to:

• Attend a teaching conference to learn and implement new learning-centered teaching strategies (area 1). To also meet their department scholarship expectations (area 2), the faculty member might develop a plan to collect data to investigate and measure the impact of that teaching approach which would eventually lead to presenting at a conference or publishing in a peer reviewed venue. Finally, the faculty member may offer a workshop (through the Office of Faculty Development, their College, or Department) teaching other faculty about the innovative strategy and impact results (area 3, service).

• Present at a discipline specific scholarly conference that aligns with department expectations for scholarly activity or maintaining currency in the field (area 1). The faculty member engages students in research related to this conference and returns to campus with an augmented mentoring approach to teaching students about their scholarly field (area 2). Finally, the faculty member serves on a department committee and makes strides to launch a new undergraduate research program for the department (area 3).

• Join a professional organization or specialized program that is specifically focused on developing faculty in higher education related to all three areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.

• Engage with a professional speaker or consultant to provide a professional development service (e.g., keynote speaker) that will address a topic that will impact all three areas of teaching, scholarship, and service.

If you have never attended a teaching conference, consider one of these.

• Association of American Colleges & Universities conferences
• National Conference on Race & Ethnicity
• Lilly Conferences 
• ACUE Teaching Courses
• Online Learning Consortium

Priority will be given to those who have not previously received funding for professional development from Faculty Development. A FacDev team will evaluate applications anonymously based on the following criteria:

1. Comprehensiveness: does the proposal explain how ALL three areas (i.e., teaching, scholarship, service) will be significantly enhanced as a result of this opportunity?
2. Strong Rationale: does the proposal make a case that this professional development activity is needed for their success at CSUN?
3. Detailed: is the proposal specific and detailed-oriented about the plans to engage with the professional development activity?
4. Realistic: do the activities proposed demonstrate promise that it can and will be accomplished within the stated timeline?
5. Consultation: if the proposal includes specific collaborations (e.g., serving on a committee, offering a workshop, launching something new on campus), is there evidence that consultation about the proposed idea has transpired and execution of the idea is viable?

Grant winners will…

• Attend an informational/ celebratory coffee (date/ time/ location details will be announced later based on winner schedules).

• Engage in the proposed professional development activity proposed in the application before the end of the academic year. The funding may not be used for different conferences or delayed.

• Submit a brief, one-page report to Faculty Development describing the impact of the conference on their professional development no later than June 30, 2023.

A complete application includes one original of the following:

• A completed application 

• The applicant’s redacted curriculum vita (CV), not to exceed 5 pages. (This file should contain your CSUN ID only not your name or any other identifying information).

• February 15th, 2023: Submit an application to Faculty Development by 4 p.m.
• Early March: Awards announced
• Spring 2023: Attend/engage the proposed activities
• June 15, 2023: Completion of all proposed activities, including funding spent
• June 30, 2023: Final written report due to Faculty Development ( )

If you have any questions, contact us in Faculty Development facdev@csun.edu