Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards
Program Summary
The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards advance the University’s enduring commitment to the scholarship and creative activity of early career faculty across the ten campuses of the University of California. Selected awardees will receive a one-time $50,000 allocation to support their proposed research plan and associated allowable activities during the upcoming academic year. Reflecting the power of the ten-campus system, these award recipients will represent the breadth of the excellence of the professoriate while accelerating the continued impact of UC in California, across the country and around the world. This program builds on a range of existing programs and initiatives designed to support thriving faculty careers at UC. Indeed, the changing national landscape for research funding demands a renewed commitment and investment in the talent, achievement and promise of early career faculty at UC.
Nomination and Selection Process
Each campus will nominate up to ten Assistant Professors, Assistant Professors of Teaching, Acting Associate Professors, and/or Assistant Professors in Residence for consideration based on confirmation of their eligibility and determination of good standing, and an internal application and selection process of their design. Up to 60 awards will be made on an annual basis. The selection committee will identify the top two applicants from each campus, who will receive the first 20 awards. This ensures that every campus is represented in any given year. The remaining awards will be made without regard to campus affiliation.
Application Criteria
All proposed projects should:
- Significantly advance an applicant’s career by helping to enable the completion of a milestone accomplishment (first book, major series of experiments, article(s) in major journals, a museum exhibit, etc.); and
- Be important contributions to the advancement of knowledge and/or significant creative achievements.
All projects meeting the criteria above are welcome; the final selection will also bear in mind:
- Projects for which access to extramural funding is generally limited;
- Projects for which the federal funding environment has changed, making federal grants difficult to obtain or for which grants have been lost;
- Projects for which access to extramural funding may prove challenging because they entail a new research direction for the applicants and, thus, some proof of concept or establishing a track record in the area is needed.
Project Components
Project Summary: A brief overview of the project (1700 characters, approx. 250 words)
Project Description: A statement of the proposed research including significance of the project to relevant scholarship (7000 characters, approx. 1000 words)
Career Significance: Provide goals for the award term and the impact of its completion (a) the project outlined in the Project Description and (b) the career of the applicant (3400 characters, approx. 500 words)
Budget and Budget Narrative: Provide details regarding the use of proposed funding, for example, preparation of research articles/books, PI salary, visits to archives or field sites, support for graduate students/post-docs, development of alternative funding sources for existing research, etc. (3400 characters, approx. 500 words).
Related Awards and Grants: Provide the following information for prior and current grants/awards that support this project:
- Source of funding
- Title
- Project status (past, current, pending)
- Start date
- End date
- Total funding amount
Attachments: The following attachments must be included in the application:
- Abbreviated CV (10 pages max)
- Budget (1 page max)
- References Cited (1 page)
Optional Attachments
Impact Statement: For faculty who have experienced disruption of federal funding (1700 characters, approx. 250 words)
Additional Materials Attachment: If applicable, describe how any of the following pertain to the project (1700 characters, approx. 250 words):
- Access to extramural funding is generally limited
- A project for which the federal funding environment has changed, making federal grants difficult to obtain or for which grants have been lost
- A project for which access to extramural funding may prove challenging because they entail a new research direction for the applicants and, thus, some proof of concept or establishing a track record in the area is needed
Program Administration
The Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Award is housed in the UCOP Office of the Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Academic Programs (FAAP). Vice Provost Monica Varsanyi oversees the program, and senior staff manages its implementation.
The UCSC applications will be reviewed by a ten member faculty committee, with 2 faculty representing each academic division.
Timeline
The deadline to submit applications for internal UCSC review is Monday, November 10, 2025 by 12pm. Candidates will be notified whether they’ve been selected as one of our campus’s ten applicants to move forward to UCOP on or around Tuesday, November 25.
Upon final selection and announcement of awards, around April 1, 2026, UCOP will transfer funds to individual campuses to be administered at the campus level. For 2025-26 awards, funds should be spent by June 30, 2027, with the possibility of a 12 month no-cost extension approved by VPAA Christina Ravelo. At the conclusion of each annual funding cycle, a final report will be required from awardees.
Application
Applications should be submitted using the below linked form. Please reach out to Executive Assistant Erika Wolford at ewolford@ucsc.edu with any technical questions about the form.
Questions?
If you have questions about the Early Career Faculty Research Excellence Awards program, Associate Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Suzanne Alonzo encourages you to attend one of the below open office hours scheduled throughout fall quarter. Click on any of the below options to add the event to your Google calendar. If none of the below times work for your schedule, you may send Suzanne your questions or request a solo meeting by emailing her at avpaa@ucsc.edu.