Deadline: Sunday, May 26, 2024

The European Union Center at the University of Illinois is pleased to offer summer funding to support ongoing curricular innovation involving European studies in the 2024-25 academic year. These grants may support in-person, online, or hybrid instruction on topics having to do with Europe, international studies, or the instruction of a language of Europe. Funds may be used to develop a new course syllabus featuring European content, assemble new teaching resources, help faculty transition current courses to online formats, and/or support the development of new online, in-person, or hybrid courses, including through virtual exchange with partners abroad. Awards are earmarked for faculty at community colleges (CCs) and Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs) in Illinois or surrounding Midwestern states (read here about one profile of work on virtual exchange at community colleges, or here for a reflection by a faculty member at an HBCU supported in a past cycle). Grants will be offered on a competitive basis in the amount of up to $2,000*.

Projects should be completed by August 1, 2024 with a report submitted to the EU Center by August 5, 2024 to ensure that the center meets a deadline of August 15, 2024 for administrative closing of the grant year. These course development grants are made possible by a multi-year Title VI Area Studies National Resource Center grant from the U.S. Department of Education to the EU Center.

The funding will be paid as a one-time summer honorarium after the course development work is completed. CC/MSI faculty who are also enrolled at or employed by the University of Illinois, Urbana- Champaign are not eligible for this grant. Courses eligible for support must have significant content engaging with the study of Europe, European languages, or transatlantic/international affairs. Courses can be in any discipline. The call for proposals prioritizes courses that will be taught in Fall 2024.

At the end of the project awardees will be asked to provide a one-page summary of the work accomplished, and will be encouraged to share outcomes from the project with colleagues from other institutions, such as through the EU Center’s annual Illinois EU Studies Conference.

Applications will be reviewed beginning May 28 with a goal of issuing awards by June 4. Applications submitted after the deadline may be considered depending on the number of initial applications.

If interested, please submit the following materials in one combined PDF to eucenter@illinois.edu:

• A one-page project description on your proposed course;
• Brief curriculum vitae;
• Paragraph statement of how the grant would fill a need not supported by other available sources;
• Brief letter from the departmental chair in support of the project

Questions and concerns are welcome and may be directed to eucenter@illinois.edu.

* We expect to award two grants of up to $2,000 each, but may modify the number and amounts of the awards if the applications so warrant.