Leap Research Grant Program

What are Leap Grants?
Leap Grants are seed or bridging research grants intended to increase the potential for STEM women faculty at NDSU to acquire external funding, thereby increasing their research productivity and potential for promotion and/or tenure.  These are intended for faculty with great ideas who need some extra support to become competitive. These are not intended for those who have already demonstrated success at obtaining external funding.  Each grant awards up to $30,000 for a twelve month (typically September through August) project, and will require additional application(s) to external sources as an outcome of the project.

Who can apply for a Leap Grant?
Assistant, Associate, and not-yet-tenured Professor ranks of NDSU women faculty in STEM disciplines may apply.  Priority will be given to Assistant Professors who have recently received a third year review.  Associate Professors will be given priority status if two years past their promotion from Assistant Professor to Associate Professor and have at least two years before they intend to apply for promotion to Professor.   Priority will also be given to those who were hired at Associate Professor rank and have at least two years before they intend to apply for promotion to Professor.  Associate Professors who previously received a Leap Grant at the Assistant Professor rank are eligible to apply, but will not fall into the priority category.

Who is considered to be in a STEM discipline?
NDSU Advance FORWARD proposes to increase advancement of women faculty in core STEM disciplines, including the biological sciences, agricultural sciences, computer sciences, earth sciences, mathematical sciences, physical sciences, psychology, sociology and engineering.  The National Science Foundation's classification of STEM degree programs can be found at http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/nsf08321/pdf/nsf08321.pdf, and serves as a guide as to which disciplines fall under STEM by NSF standards.  Classification as STEM can be ambiguous; therefore the onus is on the applicant to clearly describe how her research area is categorized as STEM.  Proposals that are not clearly STEM in nature will not be considered. 

 

Application Deadline for 2014-15 Academic Year: April 24, 2015

Leap Research Grant Program Call for Applications for 2015-16 Academic Year
Leap Research Grant Program Application Form for 2015-16 Academic Year
Leap Research Grant Program Internal Reviewer Form 2015-16 Academic Year
Leap Research Grant Program External Reviewer Form 2015-16 Academic Year
NDSU Budget Form

Slides from Leap Research Grant presentation, May 2009

 

List of awardees

2014-2015

2013-2014

Fall 2012

Fall 2011

Summer 2010:

Fall 2009:

Spring 2009

 

Acknowledging Support from NDSU Advance FORWARD

All scholarship resulting from funding programs must acknowledge support from the NDSU ADVANCE FORWARD program sponsored by the National Science Foundation, HRD-0811239. Awardees can use the following acknowledgment statement:

This research (in part) was supported by National Science Foundation Grant # HRD-0811239 to the NDSU Advance FORWARD program.

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