Scholarship of Teaching and Learning Grants

Deadline: Tuesday, February 24, 2026, 9:00 AM ET

Submit all materials via our Qualtrics application. 

The Scholarship of Teaching & Learning (SoTL) grant program supports faculty efforts to better understand and improve teaching and learning through in-depth, contextualized, and evidence-based studies. Projects may involve acquisition of new knowledge about teaching and learning or they may involve the novel application and assessment of existing knowledge based upon past or ongoing SoTL research. All projects require systematic investigation of effects, interpretation of results, and dissemination to peers both within Indiana University and beyond in an appropriate scholarly publication or presentation.

The SoTL program takes a scaffolded approach in supporting faculty in their development as a SoTL scholar. The phased structure of the SoTL grant program represents this approach. Research grants are available in amounts of $1,000 (exploratory), $2,000 (phase I), $5,000 (phase II), and $12,000 (phase III), dependent upon the purpose, scope, and nature of the study outlined in the criteria for each phase of the funding levels. 

*Exploratory phase is only open to faculty members who have been selected to participate in the accompanying Faculty Learning Community 

Funding (disseminated into the PIs research account) is typically, though not exclusively, used for the following types of expenses: 

• Data collection and analysis 
• Project or graduate assistant(s) 
• Research related travel 
• Conference presentations 
• Collaborations with other institutions, external specialists, and consultants 

Applicants should self-select into the funding level that they deem as most aligned with their proposal, with eligibility for funding based upon the criteria outlined for each phase. Both new projects and projects that received support in the past are encouraged to apply.  

Scholarship of Teaching and Learning (SoTL) Grants are open to all full-time faculty members (tenure track and non-tenure track) on the Indiana University Bloomington campus. While graduate students are not eligible to serve as principal investigators of a project, we do encourage students as co-investigators. Recipients should not currently have funding for other CITL-sponsored projects. 

All recipients are expected to attend one meeting per semester with other grant recipients and educational consultants until the project is complete. Recipients are also expected to formally disseminate the results of their projects to other IU faculty and, as such, help further the Communities of Inquiry, which have become integral to Indiana University’s SoTL Program. 

A final completion report using the provided template must be submitted to the SoTL Program Director upon completion of the project. Additionally, grant recipients will be expected to share their work in one or more SoTL-related activities at IUB, such as: 

• Presenting the work during the annual Celebration of Teaching hosted by CITL and FACET 
• Publishing the results of the project and adding the publication to the SoTL database 
• Blogging about the project on the CITL blog 
• Leading interest groups in topics related to the research project 
• Facilitating seminars that mentor or support new researchers 

All application materials, including recommendation letters, must be received by the deadline above to be considered; submit all materials via our Qualtrics application. 

A complete application consists of: 

• Project proposal utilizing the provided template, including a narrative, budget, and timeline. 
• Short cv for all investigators - maximum of 4 pages per investigator 
• Optional: Nominating letter - from the dean, department chair, or unit head of each participating investigator  

Proposals will be peer reviewed by members of the SoTL advisory board on the quality of proposed scholarship and its potential contribution to the advancement of teaching and learning. The review process utilizes a rubric similar to those use by peer reviewers of SoTL conferences and journals. Though the scholarship must be research-based, this may be broadly defined to include classroom research, research on the application and impact of existing educational models and methods, and research concerning other innovative methods that address teaching and learning at Indiana University. 

CITL consultants are available to discuss ideas or plans for this or any grant application you may be submitting. Contact us to set up an appointment.