Council on Faculty Research
Summer Research and Creative Activity Award
Applications are due by noon, Wednesday, February 4, 2026
The Summer Research/Creative Activity Awards are for research and creative activity projects performed by faculty during the summer months. The awards are made available in accordance with the 2022-2026 EIU-UPI Unit A agreement. The University will fund the best quality research and creative activity at EIU regardless of discipline.
Amount: Up to $5,000 per grant
There are two types of awards: Research and Creative Activity. There is a separate application for each award type; submit your proposal utilizing the application that is appropriate for your project. The type of proposal submitted will not affect your chances of being funded. The University will consider grant proposals whose primary purpose is research or creative activity, regardless of their potential for eventual profit.
- To qualify as research, the proposed activity must have the potential to generate knowledge. The proposed activity may be either (a) theoretical or empirical research or (b) applied research which relates to specific discipline(s).
- To qualify as creative activity, the proposed activity need not fit the traditional mold (art, music, dance, theater, education, or creative writing) but must involve a new medium or concept and must result in an observable outcome.
Proposals should be submitted as an e-mail attachment to eiugrants@eiu.edu or hand-delivered to the Office of Research and Sponsored Programs, 1102 Blair Hall by noon on the due date. Late proposals will not be reviewed.
Click here to download the Summer CFR Creative Activity Application Packet
Click here to download the Summer CFR Research Application Packet
Click here to download the Summer CFR Final Report Form
Guidelines for Summer Research/Creative Activity Awards
Click here for Tips for a Successful Proposal
Eligibility:
All tenured/tenure track University faculty in Bargaining Unit A are eligible. Members of the Council on Faculty Research are not eligible for the awards.
Faculty who are being paid for conducting sponsored research from outside sources for two or more summer months are ineligible to apply for a Summer Research/Creative Activity Award.
A researcher may submit only one proposal in which he or she is the principal investigator.
- Joint Proposals: A proposal may be submitted jointly by two or more eligible faculty members. However, the amount of the total award will not exceed the maximum allowed for any single proposal. The funding will be divided equally amongst the joint applicants (e.g., if the maximum award is $5,000, then two joint applicants would receive $2,500 each)
A faculty member who has failed to fulfill all obligations of a completed CFR grant or any other internal funding pr